ABSTRACT

There has been an increasing drive for accountability in the humanitarian sector over the past twenty years, particularly after failures in the humanitarian response to crises. But how meaningful has this ‘accountability revolution’ been? This chapter first discusses definitions of accountability and the evolution of work on accountability in the humanitarian sector. It examines some key weaknesses in current efforts to enhance accountability and presents some explanations for these weaknesses. A number of ways of strengthening accountability are then discussed. The chapter focuses principally on accountability of humanitarian organizations such as non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies, and draws mainly on examples from the health sector.