Humanitarian assistance programs are increasingly integrated with development programs to support this process, and there are some new programming dimensions through our Transition Initiative, as well. First, the emergency response, which focuses on saving lives and reducing suffering, can simultaneously assist the return to sustainable development by supporting local capabilities, providing safety nets, and strengthening human capacity. Programs in maternal and child feeding, emergency health care and shelter provision can be administered in ways that contribute to the regeneration of communities and to regional stabilization. The provision of seeds for food crops along with relief food to disaster victims in farming areas enables these producers to return to self-sufficiency. A second principle is that prevention and mitigation of the effects of disasters must be built into response programs.
Prevention requires strengthening local response capacities.
Disaster preparedness requires careful examination of relief and recovery planning. This early warning system has prompted evacuations of threatened populations before eruptions, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. A third guiding principle is that timely, effective assistance to countries emerging from crisis can make the difference between a successful or failed transition. Countries experiencing a significant political transition, national conflict, or a major national disaster, such as a prolonged drought, may have special needs which are not addressed by traditional disaster response. Nor do these countries generally have the infrastructure that allows the resumption of long-term programs of sustainable development.