A. THE INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENT_FR

A.1 Introduction
A sudden-onset emergency situation is often characterized by overwhelming needs,
competing priorities, destroyed or damaged communication and transportation infrastructure,
a rapid influx of providers of humanitarian assistance coupled with an outburst of mutual
aid from local communities, as well as overwhelmed and highly stressed officials from
governmental and non-governmental institutions. Given this view of an emergency, an image
of chaos quickly springs to mind.
The opposing view would be one of coordinated activities and structures that bring order
to the chaos. At its best, coordination contributes to humane, neutral, impartial, timely and
relevant assistance, increased management effectiveness, a shared vision of the best
possible outcomes from a given situation, a seamless approach to service delivery and
donor confidence resulting in sufficient resources to achieve the desired outcomes, i.e., the
least possible amount of human suffering and material damage, seamless recovery and a
rapid return to normal living conditions and the ongoing progress of development.