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Save the Children International has resumed its relationship with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Save suspended ties with the management consultancy giant in July after BCG was revealed to have helped set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the US- and Israeli-backed organisation running militarised distribution sites in the Gaza Strip where thousands of Palestinians were killed and injured.
In an email obtained by The New Humanitarian, Save CEO Inger Ashing wrote to staff on 13 November that BCG had introduced new training and oversight for humanitarian projects, and the consultancy’s leadership had "demonstrated… accountability”.
BCG fired two partners and launched investigations after reports surfaced over the summer of how its consultants helped set up the GHF, which began operating at the end of May. The GHF was widely criticised as a dangerous and deadly initiative that sidelined traditional aid responders and served Israeli military and political interests. Its four distribution sites were located in areas of central and southern Gaza under Israeli military control.
The GHF began operating after Israel imposed a three-month total siege on Gaza from the beginning of March through the end of May, creating a severe starvation crisis. Thousands of hungry Palestinians flocked to GHF sites – some of the only places with food – after Israel partially lifted its siege. There, they were funnelled into fenced-in areas and shot by Israeli soldiers and US security contractors who staffed the GHF sites.
The GHF was strongly condemned by humanitarian agencies, though a secret 6 August meeting, revealed by The New Humanitarian, suggested that aid agencies find ways to operate in “parallel, complementary ways” with the organisation.
BCG employees were also involved in economic modelling that priced the cost of removing Palestinians from Gaza. The consultancy said its leadership was misled over the nature of the work in Gaza.
Ashing was among those who expressed outrage as the reports about BCG emerged, mainly in the Financial Times newspaper. In July, Ashing described BCG’s actions as “utterly unacceptable” and “devoid of humanity” as she announced Save would pause its work with the consultancy.
It was the first major NGO to make such a move. Some other organisations followed suit, with the World Food Programme and Plan International telling The New Humanitarian they would be reviewing their relationship to BCG.
Now, after discussions with BCG’s global leadership, Ashing wrote in the email obtained by The New Humanitarian, “I have been assured by the significant steps leadership have taken to address these failings and prevent a repeat in future”.
Ashing said “strong private partnerships [are] vital” to achieving the INGO’s goals. BCG’s “immediate focus will be on helping us to explore the use of generative AI [artificial intelligence] in our humanitarian and development work,” she added.
Ashing’s decision to resume the relationship was based on the outcome of an external investigation into BCG, which found a number of flaws with the consultancy’s processes, according to the email. Ashing’s email outlined the company’s remedies, including a humanitarian charter that provides “guidance on which organisations BCG will partner with, the type of work they will undertake, and how they will prepare teams for this work”.
“Save the Children was actively consulted on this effort,” a spokesperson said.
The Financial Times reported in September that BCG’s new humanitarian policies would prevent the consultancy from working on aid distribution in conflicts and prioritise work with established aid groups with which it has existing partnerships.
Ashing’s email continued: Save’s “partnerships carry risks and must be based on trust, and subject to scrutiny and accountability. BCG’s leadership have demonstrated this accountability through the steps already taken and the commitments they have made.”
Edited by Eric Reidy.
