LONDON -- In the past year the world has suffered a series of natural disasters that have caused the deaths of some 200,000 people, serious injuries to many more, and enormous damage to property and infrastructure. Relief efforts by governments have often been too little and too late. Nongovernment organizations worldwide have done their best to fill the gaps, but they have been hampered by limited funds and their dependence on the availability of volunteers.

The tsunami at the end of last year was a particularly terrifying disaster for Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. The worldwide public response was generous, but many practical as well as bureaucratic difficulties hampered relief efforts. Helicopters, ships and aircraft were quickly mobilized, but the logistic problem of procuring and delivering relief supplies meant that aid often arrived late.

Survivors had to exist in primitive conditions without medical attention. Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders did much valuable work, as did local doctors and hospitals; but the demand for help was such that many people suffered pain for prolonged periods while others, who might have been saved if medical assistance had arrived quicker, died or lost limbs. One lesson that seems to have been learned is the need for effective early warning systems in vulnerable areas.