They need these grants to continue their activities. Generally speaking, many NGOs tend to maintain an independent position and do not cooperate with other NGOs. Fundrasing is very competitive, since the total amount of grant money available is limited, says Professor Takao. In other words, the issues that already have the attention of the public and the media are higher on their list of priorities because they know these issues will attract donors. The problem is that issues which exist outside the scope of public sentiment and media attention are treated as if they were less important.
Refugee camps provide an ironic case in point.
A refugee camp that has come about as the result of civil war gains huge public attention through the media. Many NGOs support refugee camps. Food and medicine are brought in by NGOs and UN organizations. However, just outside the camp, you often find that the indigenous local population has been living in abject poverty for years and years. It's easy to treat something whose dire symptoms are temporary and easy to trace, like the plight of refugees, but it's very difficult to tackle the core problem, which is poverty in general.