Why do Non-Governmental Organizations Matter?
In the early 1990s there began to be a recognition of the importance of NGOs. NGOs were found to have closer ties to on-the-ground realities in developing countries and, perhaps more important, to be able to deliver development aid considerably more cheaply than states or intergovernmental organizations. As the UN Secretary-General’s 1998 report stated, “In terms of net transfers, non-governmental organizations collectively constitute the second largest source of development assistance”.[6] An article in the New York Times just before the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 cited development successes by NGOs such as the Trickle-Up Program, and stressed their low costs and high impact.[7] NGOs also began to play a role in humanitarian assistance in conjunction with peacekeeping missions. They began to be referred to increasingly in UN resolutions, and some even began to meet informally with members of the UN Security Council to coordinate actions in emergency situation
