Devex: Will new Ebola pledges face same old accountability problem?
Erin Hohlfelder, policy director for global health at the ONE Campaign

“…After more than six months spent building and updating our own Ebola resource tracker, we learned a clear lesson that we outlined in a new white paper last week: The tools we have today for tracking resources in a crisis are not fit-for-purpose. … In order for advocates to have data that will allow them to hold donors accountable for their promises, there must be a globally accepted, well-resourced tracking system that can collect and provide unambiguous information — ideally with the political teeth to ensure consistency and fairness across donors. At the same time, a system is only as good as donors’ willingness to supply it with good information. … Ultimately, if the existing mechanisms do not change to more consistently hold donors accountable for their pledges, there is a real risk that promises could continue to be unfulfilled without any real consequence. Until we can resolve this challenge, we are doomed to repeat our collective mistakes, and lose time, resources, and lives in the next crisis” (7/15).