The total budget is CHF 5.3m (USD 5.2m or EUR 3.5m) (Click here to go directly to the summary budget of the plan).

Transcription

1 Disaster services Executive summary The increasing frequency of disasters, coupled with emerging threats and trends which leave more people vulnerable to the effects of disasters, underlie the need for a strong International Federation capacity to respond, coordinate and adapt to changing needs. The purpose of the disaster services programme is aligned with Global Agenda Goal 1: to reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters and is well articulated through the three strategic aims of Strategy 2020: To enable National Societies, supported by the secretariat of their Federation, to build disaster resilience and safety of communities and to deliver appropriate and timely response to disasters and crises while ensuring improved restoration of community functioning. This plan will focus on DM services prioritized by National Societies including coordination, information management and trend analysis. The plan will strengthen DM management tools and systems, assessment, analysis, planning, and resource mobilisation approaches to enable National Societies to provide more DM services to more vulnerable people and to increase the effectiveness of their preparedness, relief and recovery programmes. Disaster Services will reflect the demand for greater professionalism and accountability in the way disaster operations are planned and implemented and a quality assurance function will be established to set standards and evaluate global performance. The promotion of a learning culture within disaster management will seek to enable greater innovation, improve effectiveness and strengthen ability to adjust to external trends and National Society needs to better anticipate risks and serve vulnerable people. The secretariat will seek to improve the efficiency of the International Federation s disaster response by coordinating global tools and adapting surge capacity to meet the wide range of disaster response needs. Priority will also be given towards ensuring that the global tools are understood and valued more widely by the membership and are therefore readily requested when needed. Through partnership with scientific organisations and based on scientific data and predictions, the International Federation will continue to provide monitoring and early warning of unexpected events or abnormal trends through its Disaster Management Information System (DMIS). By translating scientific data into early warning for communities, the International Federation has the potential to make a tangible difference in reducing the risk of disasters to vulnerable people. The total budget is CHF 5.3m (USD 5.2m or EUR 3.5m) (Click here to go directly to the summary budget of the plan). Context The increasing frequency of disasters, coupled with a number of emerging threats and trends, are leaving more people vulnerable to the effects of disasters and inflicting greater damage, loss, and dislocation on vulnerable people worldwide. According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology 1

2 of Disasters (CRED), in 2008, more than 235,000 people were killed by disasters, 2.14 million affected, while the cost of disasters was over 190 billion US$. While the number of disasters recorded in 2008 was lower than 2007, over recent years there has been an increase in the number of small and medium scale disasters, especially storms, floods and epidemics, which National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies respond to under their mandate as auxiliaries to the public authorities. The first half of 2009 saw a continuation of this trend, with the Red Cross Red Crescent responding to a high number of smaller-scale, local level disasters. The situation of vulnerable people is now aggravated by evolving, complex threats such as climate change, new patterns of marginalisation, demographic growth and a rising proportion of older people, unplanned urbanisation, high levels of violence, involuntary migration, emerging infectious disease and the growing burden of non-communicable disease, environmental degradation, and insecurity of access to food, water, and natural resources. The humanitarian sector is further challenged by of the recent financial crisis and the increasing involvement of military and political actors in humanitarian response. The complexity of the humanitarian environment has led to demands for improved coordination. At the same time, improved forecasting and technology for early warning call for improvements in our capacity for early action and for information management in disasters. There are also calls for greater innovation and more inclusive ways of delivering assistance, with a strong focus on accountability, good partnership and good donorship. All of the above reinforces the need for a strong International Federation, flexible enough to adapt to a fast changing world. In this context, the International Federation needs to have the capacity to mitigate, prepare for and respond to disasters worldwide and across all levels household, community, national, regional and international. The International Federation is committed to achieving its Global Agenda Goal 1: to reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters and to the three strategic aims of Strategy 2020: 1: Save lives, protect livelihoods, and prepare for and recover from disasters and crises 2: Enable healthy and safer living 3: Promote social inclusion and a culture of non-violence The International Federation, and the National Societies as auxiliary to the public authorities, are among the leading providers of assistance globally and are responsible to provide relief to people affected by disaster. Depending on their capacity to respond and the scale of the disaster, National Societies can call upon international assistance through the International Federation s secretariat. The International Federation secretariat is committed to ensuring the institutional capacity in preparedness for response, response and recovery to provide that support in a timely manner. The secretariat has a constitutional obligation to organise, coordinate, and direct international relief action as a core service to its members and calls upon its membership to provide additional human resources, technical, material and financial assistance to sister societies in affected countries. With the increase in the number of small and medium scale disasters, the work of National Societies to assist communities to mitigate, prepare for or respond to disasters at a local level is an important added value of our Red Cross Red Crescent network. The effects of food insecurity can also be mitigated at local level through long-term community projects supported by National Societies. The Geneva secretariat will provide support to Nationals Societies in building more resilient communities, mitigation and risk reduction, and food security and livelihoods. Geneva headquarters will maintain a strong strategic oversight in all areas of disaster management. The secretariat s and National Societies needs for Disaster Services are also informed by: an increased focus on accountability, good partnership and good donorship initiatives demand for improved quality in disaster management programming - linking relief recovery and development (LRRD) and measures to ensure that gender equity and diversity principles are put into practices in operations 2

3 increased use of information technology - reflecting better forecasting, predictability and information about the impact of many disasters, and improved means of communicating with those at risk. growing demand for flexible and innovative ways of delivering assistance such as the use of cash and vouchers in emergencies. To assist in sharing information on disasters, disaster monitoring and early warning, the International Federation provides a web-based platform to its members through the Disaster Management Information System (DMIS). By translating scientific data into early warning for communities, the International Federation has the potential to make a tangible difference in reducing the risk of disasters to vulnerable people. Priorities and current work with partners In late 2009, the International Federation secretariat established a Disaster Services department, tasked with increasing and improving organisational preparedness for response at all levels of the International Federation, in order to save lives and livelihoods and support emergency response and post disaster recovery, whilst paving the way towards sustainable development. The new department consolidated many of the functions previously performed by the Operations Support Department, the Operations Coordination Team and the Technical Advisory Team and has strengthened roles and responsibilities for developing global systems and procedures and for providing quality assurance services to Zones and National Societies. The disaster services plan for is built around: i) business continuity in the provision of key disaster services; ii) transition activities involving the consolidation and review of roles and functions within the International Federation secretariat; and iii) new roles and services reflecting strategic realignment to the priorities identified in Strategy Key strategic priorities for the provision of disaster services in 2010 and 2011 include: Stronger cooperation, coordination and support arrangements with Movement partners and other humanitarian actors in order to achieve the strategic aims of the International Federation Improved planning, performance management and accountability for International Federation disaster services and disaster operations Development and maintenance of harmonized operational procedures and systems to support disaster operations with a focus upon early warning / early action, contingency planning, assessment and analysis, revised appeal and budget templates, plans of action, and recovery frameworks Stronger IFRC global response capacity on the three key issues of food security / livelihoods, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation Increased knowledge, skills and human resource base, to design, deliver, monitor and evaluate quality post-disaster recovery programmes that ensure cohesive transition from relief to recovery and longer term development Ensure that effective tools and reliable surge capacities are always available for appropriate and timely response to disasters, in a seamless arrangement that connects local to global Ensuring global coherence and consistent quality and accountability in operations through putting accountability principles into practice setting performance standards, monitoring compliance and coverage. Systematically evaluating operational performance against criteria including efficiency, impact, standards (Sphere, Code of Conduct, etc.), cross-cutting issues (gender, etc.) and other accountability criteria. Ensuring that a DM learning and accountability culture is formed within the International Federation secretariat Keeping the International Federation secretariat senior management team (SMT) informed of progress on major operations and briefed on issues that may require their action Establish clear disaster services agreements with Zones recognising the different capacities and technical assistance needs of the different Zones benchmarking performance on Emergency Appeal development and implementation quality standards 3

4 Review how the International Federation conducts emergency relief with the objective of modernizing and adapting approaches for improved performance and impact and to more effectively link relief, recovery and development Review the current DMIS with the objective of providing efficient access to quality data and analysis of evolving and potential disaster situations to Zones and National Societies Improved secretariat capacity to analyse external trends Consolidated approach to DM training harmonization of curricula, tools and guidance consistency Support to relevant commissions, implementation and monitoring of governance decisions. Any gaps in the capacity of the International Federation secretariat to deliver against the strategic priorities will be addressed through the continued decentralisation of operational responsibilities to the Zones and the strengthening of capacity as close as possible to National Societies. International Federation secretariat country level capacity building support will always be channelled through Zone offices. The International Federation secretariat also recognises, the important contributions of National Societies to supporting the International Federation as well as making their own direct (in-kind) contributions toward advancing the strategic aims. Promoting and better utilizing National Society inkind contributions is a key challenge for the next two years. Secretariat programmes in Disaster services a) The purpose and components of the programme Programme purpose To enable National Societies, supported by the secretariat of their Federation, to build disaster resilience and safety of communities and to deliver appropriate and timely response to disasters and crises while ensuring improved restoration of community functioning. The disaster services programme budget is CHF 5.3m (USD 5.2m or EUR 3.5m). Programme component 1: Coordination and technical advice on disaster preparedness, response and recovery Outcome: Zones and National Societies are provided with timely and effective technical assistance on disaster preparedness, relief and recovery with a focus on assessment, analysis, strategic planning, programming, and learning. Key activities and initiatives: Disaster services agreements and performance benchmarks (against quality standards for Appeal development and implementation) are established or reinforced with Zones (recognizing the different capacities and technical assistance needs of the different Zones). Timely programmatic and technical advice is provided on draft Emergency Appeals and Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) proposals when requested. Knowledge, skills, and human resource base are increased in order to design, deliver, monitor, and evaluate National Society preparedness, response and recovery programmes that ensure cohesive transition from relief to recovery and longer-term development. Programme component 2: Quality assurance support to operations Outcome: Improved performance management and accountability for International Federation disaster services and operations, with a focus on assessment, analysis, and planning. 4

5 Key activities and initiatives: Global coherence is improved, and consistent quality and accountability promoted in operations, through setting global standards and supporting Zones and National Societies to monitor compliance. Systematic evaluations of all major disasters are carried out against performance criteria, including efficiency, impact, standards (Sphere, Code of Conduct, etc.), cross-cutting issues (gender, etc.) and other accountability criteria. Innovative approaches to disaster programming are developed and effectively disseminated, including participatory approaches, assessment methodologies, cash transfer programming in emergencies, and effective mainstreaming of OD, P&V, and cross-cutting issues. Programme component 3: Providing focused and flexible surge capacity Outcome: Adapted disaster response tools and reliable surge capacities that are always available for appropriate and timely response to disasters, in a seamless arrangement that connects local to global efforts. Key activities and initiatives: Disaster response surge capacities are consolidated into one user accessible roster / management system supported by a web-based platform and "community of practice" forum. A global Heads of Operations capacity is established for leading large scale operations. FACT, RDRT, and ERU stakeholder analysis is conducted to consider issues of supply and demand and to propose new working modalities that will more effectively support decentralized operational decision-making. Programme component 4: Coherent disaster management guidelines and training Outcome: New and existing disaster management tools, guidance and training materials are effectively harmonised, quality assured and disseminated to support disaster operations. Key activities and initiatives: Refinement of operational procedures and systems to support disaster operations, with a focus on assessment and analysis, revised appeal and budget formats, comprehensive quality plans of action, contingency planning, and recovery frameworks. DM trainings are consolidated, including the harmonization of DM training curricula, tools, and guidance for greater consistency and efficiency. Key guidance material is developed or revised for organizational disaster preparedness, relief, recovery, and global response surge tools, and including guidance notes, manuals, and case studies. Programme component 5: Timely information analysis and learning Outcome: Improved information management approaches and tools (DMIS, early warning & early action, evaluations, and lessons learned) for operational effectiveness and decision-making. Key activities and initiatives: Development and maintenance of an effective International Federation secretariat oversight and information management capacity for disaster operations to keep senior management informed of progress on major operations and briefed on issues that may require their action. The Federation-wide organizational early warning early action system is strengthened to provide timely alerts on potential disaster situations to Zones and National Societies - linked to community-based early warning early action systems where feasible DMIS services and the web-based platform are reviewed and adapted with the objective of providing efficient access to, and analysis of, evolving and potential disaster situations to Zones and National Societies. 5

6 Review of how the International Federation conducts emergency relief with the objective of modernizing and adapting approaches for improved performance and impact and to more effectively link relief, recovery and development. Lessons learned are more systematically captured and disseminated to strengthen the disaster management learning and accountability culture within the secretariat. b) Potential risks and challenges Major external and organisational risks and challenges will be regularly assessed and shall inform the priorities and work planning of the Disaster Services Department in compliance with the broader global DM Strategy and Coordination plan. A catastrophic disaster such as a global pandemic, may result in individual states taking actions (such as border closures) that render the International Federation unable to deploy international technical assistance or surge capacity. In planning contingencies for such events, local response capacities will be strengthened. Local to global surge capacities will be developed to be more flexible and responsive to a wide range of threats and needs. Responding to multiple major disasters at country or regional levels may require the Disaster Services programme to re-prioritize its resources to respond to technical support needs. Coupled with this are the risks that demand for disaster services exceeds resources available and that human resources become too thinly spread to be effective. Investing in building capacities at country, regional and zonal levels to respond both within and outside of their normal areas of operation is critical for ensuring adequate global response capacity. There are a number of risks associated with Disaster Services business continuity during the ongoing decentralisation process and organisational restructuring exercise in There is a risk that disaster coordination and operational support capacity could be diminished during the transition process so it will be critical to maintain a strong essential services capacity (such as for the deployment of the global response tools) at all times. The decentralization of disaster operations coordination functions to the Zone level will pose an additional challenge for the International Federation secretariat to maintain the global integrity of the global tools and to ensure equity and transparency in the systems for managing them. The success of the disaster services programme will depend upon the ability of the International Federation secretariat to recruit and maintain quality technical advisors and appropriately skilled staff. This will require, adequate financial support to resource the Disaster Services department and fund its programmes. Equally important is the need for clear and agreed roles and responsibilities for disaster services between the secretariat at Geneva and Zone levels and between the International Federation secretariat and National Societies. This should be achieved through joint planning and regular performance review to ensure that the International Federation remains relevant and competitive compared to other disaster service providers. Role of the secretariat a) Technical programme support The disaster services programme implementation will be led by the Disaster Services department in the International Federation secretariat in Geneva, coordinating and drawing upon technical resources available at country, regional and Zone office levels and working with cross-divisional, crossdepartmental teams where appropriate. The various review activities described above will be planned and implemented in harmony with the global DM Strategy and Coordination plan. The Disaster Services department will maintain strong centralized functions including technical oversight and coordination services, quality assurance support to operations, the coordination of global surge capacity, globally coherent and consistent guidelines and training materials, information management, analysis and learning. This will support the further decentralization of technical 6

7 resources and responsibilities for operational decision making and National Society capacity building to the five Zone offices and as close to National Societies as possible. The programme will also make effective use of local and international consultants and short-term secondments (with Movement and non-movement partners) for the deployment of technical expertise in support of disaster services and operations. The programme will also utilize access to shared resources through strategic partnerships, operational alliances, reference centres and hosted programmes. b) Partnership development and coordination Clear and agreed roles and responsibilities for disaster services between the International Federation secretariat at Geneva and Zone levels and between the secretariat and National Societies will support effective IFRC partnership development and coordination. The Disaster Services department will forge key internal strategic partnerships with each Zone, through Disaster Management Coordinators and their Disaster Management Units. The Disaster Management Working Group will continue to serve as an important forum for reflection and discussion. The Emergency Support Group and the various IFRC reference centres will support the implementation of the broader Disaster Services programme. A review of existing external partnerships and a strategic re-alignment exercise against the priorities articulated in Strategy 2020, will take place in early Key external partnerships will be maintained with the United Nations, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) and selective INGO consortia, civil contingencies organisations and scientific and academic organisations. c) Representation and advocacy The focus of disaster services support for representation and advocacy will be on the key issues of food security / livelihoods, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation this will be conducted in coordination with the global community preparedness and risk reduction programme. The Disaster Services department will support the Humanitarian Diplomacy division to advocate to Movement and non-movement partners on the dissemination and implementation of IDRL, the Principles and Rules for Disaster Assistance, and on using the World Disaster Report to promote disaster risk reduction. d) Other areas Other secretariat priorities to be supported under the Disaster Services programme will include the effective mainstreaming of organizational development (OD) and principles and values (P&V) into disaster services and operations. The provision of globally coherent technical advice and quality assurance services will require close coordination with the approaches and tools being developed by the Planning Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting department. The Disaster Services programme will also collaborate closely with the work of the Development division to ensure the linking of disaster preparedness, relief, recovery and development. Promoting gender equity and diversity The rationale for integrating a gender perspective in the activities of the International Federation lies in the Red Cross and Red Crescent mandate - to prevent and alleviate human suffering without discrimination. The International Federation's focus is on gender, rather than women. Gender equality ensures that there is no sex-based discrimination in the allocation of resources or benefits or in access to services. The goal of the International Federation is to ensure that all Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes are non-discriminatory and benefit men and women equally, according to their needs and with the equal participation of men and women at all levels within the National Societies and the International Federation's secretariat. Recognizing that often in disasters it is women, children and minority groups that are most severely affected, all programme guidance will ensure that gender is incorporated as part of the analysis of the disaster impact, the assessment and the subsequent programming. The individual plans of each sector 7

8 elaborate on the specific gender-related actions in their respective areas. The International Federation will continue to ensure compliance with agreed standards and guidelines on gender and will prioritise consideration of gender and diversity as key components in any new guidelines and best practice frameworks. Quality, accountability and learning The secretariat is committed to compliance with the Federation-wide performance and accountability framework and to deliver on its accountability principles, which include explicit standard setting, open monitoring and reporting, transparent information sharing, meaningful beneficiary participation, effective and efficient use of resources, and systems for learning and responding to concerns and complaints. These will all be used to improve programme quality, performance and learning. The International Federation will use various tools such as systematic evaluation, peer review and objective lesson learning exercises to ensure the quality of secretariat services according to globally accepted DM standards and to assess the impact of those activities on the lives of disaster affected populations. The Federation-wide reporting system is another element which will aim to reliably monitor and report on key data from National Societies to show the performance and improve the accountability of the International Federation. Specific activities will also be subject to their own review and structured feedback mechanisms, or to independent reviews or evaluations when required. National Societies are highlighting the lessons learned from their work in reports and incorporating learning into their planning, training and capacity building. Our actions are guided at all times by our Fundamental Principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. The International Federation also works according to our Code of Conduct, agreed with eight major disaster response agencies in 1994 and used to monitor behavior and standards in relief delivery. The International Federation also adheres to the disaster relief Sphere Standards, which also identifies minimum standards in disaster assistance in the five key sectors of water supply and sanitation, nutrition, food aid, shelter and health services. The International Federation is supporting the revision of the Sphere Standards to develop improved mechanisms to ensure good practice and accountability in the delivery of assistance. The Code of Conduct and the Sphere Standards hosted programme will be managed by the Disaster Services Department. The secretariat also promotes the use of the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to cover the costs of monitoring and evaluating DREF funded relief operations and to measure beneficiary satisfaction. How we work The International Federation s activities are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the International Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity". Contact information Global Agenda Goals: Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters. Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies. Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability. Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity. For further information specifically related to this plan, please contact: Simon Eccleshall, Head, Disaster Services department: simon.eccleshall@irfc.org ; phone ; and fax