June 2010
Learning lessons in Haiti
The hurricane season is fast approaching in Haiti and shelter remains the main priority after the devastating earthquake on 12th January 2010. Although the international community has made considerable progress after a generous but rough start, it must maintain its level of commitment and attention to Haiti and the humanitarian community to provide an effective and adapted response.
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 Ross Mountain, DARA Director General |
 Op-ed published in El Pais, March 2010HRI 2009 Haiti Crisis Report DARA assists EU presidency aid efforts in HaitiEvaluating the Haiti Response: Encouraging Improved System-wide Collaboration |
Six months after the earthquake there are still 1.5 million people displaced living in settlements sites, hundreds of thousands of whom are highly vulnerable to floods, storms or hurricanes typical of this season in Haiti.
Many agencies are fielding missions to evaluate their individual responses. This is welcome and necessary. But it is imperative that such reviews are seen in the overall context of the response to the disaster- and do not disrupt ongoing efforts and add further demands on an already overstretched national administration. We must beware of technical evaluations that declare operations a success even though the patient may still be in intensive care! Evaluations therefore must not be just about how an individual agency operates but how it works with others to solve problems in different sectors- especially within the clusters and other mechanisms that were established to maximise the effectiveness of the overall response. ALNAP, OECD-DAC and the United Nations Evaluation Group are to address this challenge.
Previous DARA missions to Haiti pointed out the importance of investing in disaster preparedness and risk reduction efforts. While nothing could have prepared the country to face an earthquake of this magnitude, if efforts had been made to build up local structures and capacities to deal with annual hurricanes, many more lives would have been saved.
What happened with the “lessons learned” from previous disasters like the Tsunami? Were these applied? If not, why not? As extraordinary as international search and rescue efforts have been in saving an unprecedented 135 people in Haiti, we all know that in such circumstances, neighbours and national organizations save the overwhelming bulk of victims. And at a fraction of the cost.
The lessons that need to be learnt should not be for the evaluators involved- or for the bookcase. Somehow we need to find better ways of transferring such knowledge to those who will be called upon to exercise their judgement and leadership in different but similar situations elsewhere on the globe. Without integrating and applying lessons from past experience, mistakes that have been made are likely to be repeated- at high human cost!
June 2010
Humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank
Op Ed by Ross Mountain in Arabic in An Nahar, a leading newspaper in Lebanon on Saturday 19th June 2010.
The killing in "self-defense" of unarmed civilians during Israel's assault in international waters on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza calls attention, once again, to the terrible situation of civilians living trapped under unbearable conditions in Gaza. Anyone asserting that these few boats could constitute a threat to the security of Israel is simply not credible.
It is also the latest in a series of actions that perpetuate an artificial humanitarian crisis –not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank - in which Israeli impediments to the movement of people and goods, on a daily basis test the tolerance and patience of the Palestinians beyond limits. Israel's construction of the West Bank Barrier, based on its claim that it needs to secure its people, is a cornerstone of this unnecessary crisis. It is the largest infrastructure project in Israeli history, expecting to cost around US$4 billion on completion. Although Israel signed an agreement to reduce the number of checkpoints and obstacles, these increased from 390 in 2005 to 630 in 2008, of which 550 were still in place in February this year.
The barrier and all the closures, differentiated passes and permits, settler- only roads and the enforced separation between Palestinians and Israelis resemble nothing so much as the laws and practices of racial segregation and forced removals that South Africa knew under Apartheid.
Perhaps more cruel than the barrier itself is the arbitrary system of the opening and closing of checkpoints. These often cut West Bank residents from their land, their neighbours and friends, deliberately impeding access between East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank- let alone movement to and from Gaza. The Israeli authorities' arbitrary decisions determine when, or whether, different border crossings are opened or if the different permits they insist are required are valid for movement or not, and make predictable humanitarian access impossible. Indeed a direct product of this massive expenditure is the progressive impoverishment and heightened frustration of the Palestinian people!
The suffering of civilians in Gaza and frustration of the humanitarian organizations on the ground struggling to provide aid have only increased in the aftermath of "Operation Cast Lead", the military operation launched by Israel in December 2008. During this operation, houses, factories, wells, schools, hospitals, police stations, the recently built airport, and many UN and public buildings were destroyed and damaged - as were food supply warehouses and water and sanitation systems. More than a year later, families are still living amid the rubble of their former homes, since the continuing blockade has made meaningful reconstruction impossible despite the billions pledged by the international community.
Virtually no improvement has been possible due to the item-by-item restrictions and elaborate procedures insisted upon by the Israeli authorities. With a broken economy and collapsed infrastructure, Gaza's society has become increasingly destabilized. Over 1.5 million Palestinians remain trapped in Gaza, heavily dependent on restricted aid flows for basic necessities. Around 80% of the population now depends on food aid provided by the international community. As one humanitarian worker, struggling daily with this situation, graphically described it, "we are feeding the inmates through the bars." In 2009 the international community contributed US$765 million to United Nations appeals for Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory. The UN appeal for 2010 seeks US$644.5 million. This huge amount of money would be unnecessary if the Israeli authorities removed the barriers, lifted the blockade and respected International Humanitarian Law as repeatedly demanded by the UN, the US, the EU, Russia- the members of The Quartet. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has exceptionally now also called for the Gaza closure to end.
During my recent mission to the region, humanitarian actors on the ground, amongst them donors, NGOs, UN agencies, and other partners shared with my team their concern that international humanitarian assistance was in effect subsidizing the Israeli occupation. How much better and more helpful to building peace between the two communities would it be to invest such money in improving the skills and future prospect of the Palestinian people instead of serving as a band aid to avert the absolute collapse of their living conditions. Let us be clear. This is a manufactured humanitarian crisis that need not exist, that does not need to demand hundreds of millions of dollars year by year.
The collective punishment the civilian population in Gaza is facing means that the international community has to deliver aid to cover needs brought about by the actions of the Israeli authorities. And at a high cost. As an illustration, the World Food Programme reports that the additional costs for procedures demanded by the Israeli authorities for the delivery of their food supplies to the citizens of Gaza has trebled their transport and handling costs. Who pockets this difference? Not the Palestinians, as purchases and storage take place mostly in Israel.
There are many examples of protracted and trivial negotiations to import items such as pencils for schools. Only after months of negotiations, progress was made with the Israelis allowing materials like glass into Gaza to repair windows shattered by the attack in December 2008. However, this was only achieved after involving the highest level of the UN and diplomatic missions.
Making matters worse, the application of the political "no contact" policy with Hamas by a number of key donors to humanitarian programs in the occupied Palestinian territories violates the basic humanitarian principle of dealing with all authorities - de facto as well as de jure - to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches the vulnerable on the basis of their needs. Indeed, as the International Crisis Group has emphasized the international donor community must shoulder its share of the blame for continuing to politically support the isolation of Gaza.
The thwarted efforts of the flotilla to bring humanitarian and building supplies have highlighted Israel's restrictive policies despite the outcry of the international community. In the wake of the Israeli killings, will donor countries now insist on the lifting of the blockade on humanitarian supplies for Gaza and the absurd limitations on movement including in the West Bank? None of these pose a credible threat to the security of Israel and would make all the difference to the health and welfare of the population of the occupied Palestinian territory. Or will the obstinacy of the Israel government and the spin of its skilled spokespersons be allowed to prevail once more?
Desperation grows in Palestine: HRI 2010 Crisis report
Ross Mountain is DARA’s Director General. He visited oPt in March 2010 within the context of the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) 2010.
June 2010
During the third quarter of 2009, three typhoons swept across the Philippines. Typhoons Ketsana and Parma struck on the 26th of September and on the 3rd of October, causing extensive flooding. Typhoon Mirinae caused further casualties and destruction when it struck on the 31st of October.
| Report: Inter-Agency Real Time Evaluation (IA-RTE) of the Humanitarian Response to Typhoons Ketsana and Parma in the PhilippinesRead the interview to Riccardo Polastro Read more about the evaluation |
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 Laguna houses destroyed by Thiphoon Parma©DARA, Riccardo Polastro |
The typhoons killed almost 1,000 people, destroyed over 46,000 houses and caused significant damage to over a quarter of a million homes. Over 10 million people were affected, with some 700,000 physically displaced.
The Philippines is among the 15 most hazard-prone countries in the world, with one third of its population living in at-risk areas. For this reason, the country has dedicated significant resources to its capacity for disaster management and response. Under normal circumstances, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GoRP) has the capacity to manage a response to natural disasters. However, because of the magnitude of the typhoons, assistance from the international community was requested.
The GoRP and the international community responded to the disasters by releasing emergency relief stocks and launching search and rescue operations. Teams, including the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), cluster leads and the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) carried out initial rapid assessments in order to identify priority needs.
Evaluation of effectiveness and efficiency
Given the exceptional magnitude of the disaster, the international community considered that there were valuable opportunities to commission an Inter-Agency-Real-Time Evaluation (IA-RTE) of the humanitarian response in Philippines. The purpose of a real-time evaluation is to provide immediate feedback on findings, conclusions and recommendations to on-the-ground humanitarian actors so that they can benefit from the information as quickly as possible.
DARA was commissioned to conduct the IA-RTE, which focused on the effectiveness and efficiency of the response including coordination, timeliness, analysis of clusters and management of systems.
Low overall donor commitment
In October 2009, after Ketsana, the UN launched a flash appeal for $74 million. A month later, after Parma and Mirinae, it was revised to $143.7 million. According to the UN's Financial Tracking Service, only 39.2 percent of that appeal has been funded.
Outside the UN flash appeal, the country also received bilateral support from donors such as the United States, Australia and ECHO. Nevertheless, the overall donor commitment remained low.
Because it is a middle-income country, donors do not consider the Philippines a priority destination for their humanitarian funding and tend to focus only on emergency relief. A factor that explains why donors just focused on short-term funding is the fact that the GoRP asked the World Bank to carry out a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment. Therefore the recovery needs were addressed by other funding channels, mainly through loans. The assesment estimated that $942.9 million were required to meet recovery needs, while $3.48 billion were needed for reconstruction.
 Houses destroyed in areas at risk©DARA, Riccardo Polastro |
More integrated coordination needed
The international community coordinated the response, together with the GoRP and the NDCC. DARA found that both national and international actors did not always understand the roles, mandates and mechanisms of clusters. The existing parallel coordination systems, one for national coordination and the other in charge of coordinating the international effort, mostly operated as one forum during the disaster.
Additionally, a series of needs assessments were carried out in the aftermath of the typhoons. DARA has found that many of them were not carried out in a coordinated fashion and lacked a common approach. These assessments also lacked analysis on the identified needs and on the linkages among them. This reduced the level of efficiency of the aid and hampered coordination and information flow among humanitarian actors.
Improving preparedness and planning
The evaluation team has found that assistance from the international community complemented the national response and was of significant value in areas where the emergency was prolonged.
However, several interviewees also said that international response was initially reactive and "running behind the challenges". The levels of preparedness among the humanitarian actors differed. When the disasters struck, the Red Cross and NGOs with longstanding presence in the country responded swiftly. Comparatively, it took more time for the UN to mobilize.
Key findings and recommendations
The report concludes that the international response to the typhoons arrived late. On a more positive note, it also found that humanitarian efforts did save lives weeks after the disasters, notably by preventing waterborne diseases through access to potable water.
DARA also found that some of the identified needs were not met, mainly due to lack of funding. Today, many people remain in a situation of displacement, with ongoing needs for shelter, protection, and the restoration of their livelihood.
DARA’s report has specific recommendations on how to improve donor and international response for disaster-prone, middle-income countries:
June 2010
After the International Donors' Conference in New York, DARA welcomes the outpouring of support but urges donors to address persistent and urgent humanitarian needs.
On January 12th, an earthquake ripped through Haiti and in just 35 seconds killed an estimated 250,000 people, wounded hundreds of thousands of others, and left over one million homeless. Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, was left in ruins.
The immediate humanitarian response on the ground was a logistical "perfect storm", with major infrastructure devastated and international aid teams based in Haiti decimated by the earthquake. In the aftermath of the disaster, some countries sent humanitarian supplies and rescue teams to Haiti. Millions of dollars were raised by governments, organisations and individuals.
Between 900,000 and 1.2 million Haitians were left homeless and moved to temporary camps set up around Port-au-Prince. Providing shelter materials to this population remains a top priority. Sanitation is also a major concern. The current conditions in the camps increase the risk of outbreaks of malaria and dengue. As the hurricane season approaches, the situation of hundreds of thousands of people is still extremely precarious.
Haiti is facing enormous challenges
On March 31st, the international community came together in New York City to put together a plan to rebuild Haiti. Over 150 nations and institutions attended the Donors' Conference for Haiti's Reconstruction at UN headquarters. Donors pledged close to $10 billion. Of that amount, $5 billion were promised for 2010 and 2011, exceeding the established $4 billion target. The largest contributions came from the European Union and the United States.
 ©Getty Images |
| Op-ed published in El PaisHaiti mission photosHaiti context and recommendationsAllan Lavell's interviewHRI 2009 Haiti Crisis Report |
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The first $4 billion will be destined in the next 18 months to rebuild destroyed infrastructure, including government buildings, hospitals and schools.
DARA considers that these commitments by donors are important and reflect their recognition of the enormous challenges that lie ahead, but cautions that the pledges were not matched by specific operational plans and changes in aid provision. In that sense, the conference raised questions about whether donors' commitments will translate into meaningful improvements in the lives of Haitians who need the most urgent help.
Another key issue raised during the Conference was the international community's capacity and approach to the rebuilding of what has been considered to be a failed state as the immediate relief needs of millions of Haitian people are still unmet.
For that purpose, donors have also been called to respond to the $1.44 billion UN appeal for food aid and emergency shelter. The hurricane and rainy seasons are already underway, putting at risk an estimated 1 million Haitians made homeless by the earthquake.
A decentralization plan
Haiti lost more than 100,000 homes in the earthquake, and replacing lost housing is a top priority for the Haitian government and for the international community’s reconstruction plan. Both the Haitian government and donor countries insist that a decentralisation strategy is at the heart of the reconstruction plan. This plan aims to carry out reconstruction projects in parts of the country that are less vulnerable to natural disasters than Port-au-Prince.
Haitian president René Préval wants to use the reconstruction plan as an opportunity to decongest an overcrowded capital and revitalize the country’s agriculture. But weeks after the earthquake, those who left Port-Au-Prince are already returning to the capital. Relief aid was very slow in reaching rural areas, and Haitians probably suspect that things will not be any different in the reconstruction phase.
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A better Haiti
In some aspects, the Haiti donors' conference went far beyond the issue of rebuilding the physical structures destroyed by the earthquake. DARA, whose Director General Ross Mountain led a team to Haiti to provided technical assistance to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation in the aftermath of the earthquake, believes that there is a clear opportunity for Spain and the EU to play a pivotal role in defining how the aid will be structured. Spain can also play an important role in the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), which will be co-chaired by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and where Spain has both a presence and voting rights.
The IHRC will be tasked with coordinating efforts and with ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the process. These are seen as key steps to assuage donor concerns about corruption and political unrest, problems that have historically plagued Haiti. Furthermore, key actors should agree upon a common action plan and an agenda that reach beyond the physical reconstruction of Haiti and aim towards the creation of a new country.
Ross Mountain underscored that "the magnitude of the devastation in Haiti and the complexity of the situation on the ground demands that humanitarian actors improve their current mode of operation. The success of the plan to build a 'better Haiti' will depend on how Haiti's leaders will manage their responsibilities and coordinate reconstruction efforts with donors, the UN and the international development and humanitarian community. The effective use of international aid requires a clear disbursement strategy from donors, a better financial tracking system and close coordination among all actors, including recipients".
Mountain also stressed that "the first step to building a 'better Haiti' is to address immediate humanitarian needs, which will help to create a stable environment, increase respect for human rights and ensure basic protection for the population".
April 2010
Ross Mountain, Director General of DARA, chaired a conference panel on health priorities in disasters and crises at DIHAD 2010 (Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition), 5 April, 2010.
 Ross Mountain during his presentation at DIHAD 2010 |
The panel for What does "first things first" actually mean? was made up of HE. Ambassador Tony Frisch, Deputy Director General and Head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Department, and DR. Jemilah Mahmood, Chief of the Humanitarian Response Branch of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), amongst others.
Former Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mountain opened the discussion by drawing the distinction between complex emergencies and natural disasters given the recent earthquake in Haiti. He mentioned that the massive earthquake has brought to the forefront the need to adapt responses to the crisis in question, as well as the need to invest in prevention and preparedness.
Search and rescue
He also stated that in natural disasters, clearly the search and rescue effort need to have priority. Mountain, who travelled to Haiti shortly after the earthquake hit, noted that some 70 international teams had managed to save an unprecedented 135 people. However, he added that this should not obscure the fact that in such circumstances neighbours and national organizations save the overwhelming bulk, and thus the importance of investing in national capacity.
Evolving needs
Mountain went on to note that priorities change even over the short time of the emergency from search and rescue to water, sanitation, food, shelter, and psycho-social, with protection particularly of women and children being a constant preoccupation, especially for those living in camps.
Cluster approach and coordination
Mountain referred to the cluster approach and the importance of mechanisms being in the emergency site rather than in capitals only. He emphasized that coordination is about ensuring impact for the victims and that speed was of essence. Structures are important but clarity of goals, leadership and management should be indispensable at all levels.
Donors and good practice
DARA’s Director General also drew attention to the key role of donors as part of the response, not only in terms of what is given, with the frequent problems of inappropriate contributions in kind, but also how aid is given, encouraging good practice, supporting access, protecting civilians and maintaining the international humanitarian role.
Specific reference was made to the 23 Good Humanitarian Donorship principles that were agreed to by OECD donors in Stockholm in 2003 and he referred to the DARA’s work in this respect.
Centre for Conflict Resolution group seminar, Cape Town, South Africa, 19 – 20 April, 2010
Ross Mountain will participate in a Policy Advisory Group Seminar, "Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the DRC", hosted by the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR). Mountain will give a presentation on the theme "The Role of the United Nations in the DRC" on April 19.
March
Op-ed published in El PaĂs, 31 March 2010, co-signed by Ross Mountain, Director General of DARA; Richard Youngs, Director General of FRIDE; Fernando Perpiñá, Secretary General of Club de Madrid; Emilio Casinello, Director General of Centro Internacional de Toledo para la Paz.
The Haiti Donors Conference, which will be held in New York on March 31st, is of vital importance for the future of the Caribbean nation. The January 12th earthquake that struck the capital city provoked the collapse of thousands of buildings (many of which were already unstable), buried hundreds of thousands of people, left more than a million homeless; and within a matter of 30 seconds, destroyed 60% of the GDP of what was already the poorest American nation. Haiti will be unable to come to grips with such colossal challenges without the coordinated support of the international community. Spain needs to play an important role in this process. The earthquake struck shortly after Spain assumed EU presidency, signifying that from its very first moments in power, Spain had to take leadership of European aid coordination. Vice President Fernández de la Vega travelled to the devastated capital a few days following the quake, and was present at the first Donors Conference held in Montreal shortly thereafter. The Spanish Agency for International Development Coordination (AECID), in conjunction with the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), facilitated on-site donor coordination. During the first few days of uncertainty, an initiative was taken to create a “European shop” at the base of MINUSTAH, the UN mission in Port-au-Prince, and was regarded very favorably by all other donors.
Spain has traditionally held an important role in Haiti. It is the third largest bilateral donor following the US and Canada, and the fourth largest in emergency response following the US, Canada and Saudi Arabia. Haiti is a priority country for the AECID, even though Spain does not have defined geostrategic interests there, nor a direct historical responsibility. Spain is a highly respected and a valued participant due to such impartiality, and is one of the few European states that maintains a permanent diplomatic presence in Haiti, along with France and Germany.
International response to the catastrophe has been quick and abundant, but not always effective. In total, more than $2.3 billion has already been mobilized in emergency humanitarian aid. The enormous scale of the disaster, the collapse of logistics at the outset, the scarce participation and involvement of Haitians; in conjunction with the crisis in the capacity of local and international institutions, might help explain, although certainly not justify, some of the malfunctions that have been detected in the response. For example, the urgent need of shelter for hundreds of people to counter the arrival of Haiti’s rainy season has yet to be resolved. In addition, sanitation needs are far from being met and less than 20% of the requirements in the early recovery and agriculture sectors have been covered. It is of vital importance to assure the coordination of reconstruction efforts and the integration of preventative and risk reduction strategies that will limit the consequences of possible natural disasters in the future. The goal is not only to recover what has been destroyed, but also to reestablish the country upon new foundations, as Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has stated.
Spain’s role goes further than its current tasks: it will continue to carry out the EU presidency de facto, given that no other member states that will preside over the EU in the next few years have diplomatic representation in Haiti. It should be noted, however, that Spain is not taking advantage of other available opportunities.
In such dramatic situations, it is possible that the new European architecture will need to reformulate the focus of member states in relation to new institutions within the Union. It would not be logical, however, if one of the most important donors didn’t have an adequate level of representation, especially while assuming EU presidency. Thus, the presence of Spain must be supported by the right to speak in debate and vote in the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) that will be co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Haiti and former President Clinton.
In addition, Spain’s positive image can be influential in focusing on needs, as opposed to commercial or political interests. It may also serve to integrate regional initiatives due to its influence on Latin America, and support joint policies of the two entities of the Hispaniola , taking advantage of Dominican solidarity after the earthquake. Similarly, Spain must contribute to the orientation of mechanisms channeling aid to reconstruction in order to ensure that adequate strategies are put into place. It is an opportunity for aid to be measured not only in quantity, but also in quality.
March 2010
DARA continues to make progress in the development of the Risk Reduction Index (RRI) which will provide a means for measuring disaster risk reduction capacities and conditions in different countries. In the short term, this index methodology will be applied in pilot fashion in 7 Central American and Caribbean countries and will hope to highlight those conditions that contribute to such disasters as that recently suffered in Haiti.
With this index, DARA attempts to collaborate in the strengthening of national, sub-national and local capacities in one of the most disaster-prone areas of the world.
DARA’s intention is to inform and hopefully influence donor and affected countries’ policies with the intention of reducing the vulnerability of at risk populations. “The [RRI] effort goes beyond putting a number on existing capabilities and conditions by reaching out to educational and advocacy principles,” said P.H.D. Allan Lavell, who heads the project, at the Connecting for Sustainable Change, Building Disaster Resilience through Global Networking, Conference held in London January 25-27.
 Bolivia©UNICEF |
The index is based on a well developed conceptual framework and tried methodology, combining analysis at different spatial scales and uses both internationally published, national level quantitative and qualitative data based on different stakeholder’s perceptions and knowledge.
DARA’s project is an effort to complement other global efforts to understand or measure the implementation of risk management principles. The index will concentrate on the underlying risk factors component of the Hyogo Framework for Action and, “will downscale the level of analysis from the national level and upscale from the local level, examining processes at a sub-national level of resolution” added Lavell.
For this purpose, the DARA team has coined the term Representative Territorial Unit (RTU) which is where risk and its management are expressed territorially in different modalities. The RTUs are representative of disaster risk in the nation as a whole and, therefore, the information collected within the RTUs will help establish national risk management tendencies.
After completing a diagnostic profile phase in selected Central American and Caribbean countries and a pilot run of the sub-national questionnaire based methodology in Costa Rica, DARA is now initiating the fully fledged RRI Country Phase, where the questionnaire methodology will be applied in seven countries and sub-national indexes calculated. The results of this effort will be discussed and debated in a national workshop organized with the presence of RTU key informants and other national level actors.
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID in its Spanish acronym) is financing the development of the project in Central America and the Caribbean. DARA is hoping to expand the experience to other countries in West Africa and South East Asia, where potential partners are now being identified.
The RRI is part of a broader DARA programme known as the Disaster Risk Reduction Initiative (DRRI) .
March
DARA will publish a report in the following weeks on its Inter-Agency-Real-Time Evaluation (IA-RTE), commissioned by OCHA, of the humanitarian response to typhoons Ketsana and Parma, which swept through the Philippines in September and October 2009.
 Interview focus group in areas of origin. ©2010, DARA |
Lying on the Western Pacific typhoon belt and the north-western fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is among the most disaster prone countries in the world. DARA’s evaluation, sought to learn from the initial phases of the response and to identify lessons to enable field and headquarter staff to undertake corrective action as the response evolves.
The evaluation looked at the affected population throughout the entire cycle of displacement: people who remained, left, those who returned as well as those who were resettled.
This IA-RTE is the world’s fourth and takes place five years after the UN Humanitarian Reform. It questions the cluster approach in a middle income country.
| IASC RTE in MozambiqueHRI 2010 Philippines missionUNICEF Asia-Pacific Country Offices regional training |
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Main findings
 Focus group in a transitional shelter camp. ©2010 Riccardo Polastro, DARA |
The report contains specific lessons learned about Real Time Evaluation processes, such as when and how to activate an RTE. It includes SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result-oriented and Time-bound) recommendations on how to improve the response and similar future responses in middle income countries that are disaster hot spots. It is intended for decision-makers at both headquarters and field level, including the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, the humanitarian organizations, the Philippines government, donors and the wider international and local humanitarian communities.
The evaluation took place in The Philippines. A series of interviews and workshops were held with key national and international stakeholders. The main findings and recommendations were shared at national level with the Government of the Philippines, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), and at regional level with inter-agency representatives present in Bangkok, Thailand. Debriefings later were held in headquarters, both in Geneva and New York.
The final draft is being commented by the Humanitarian Country Team.
February 2010
DARA has provided technical assistance in Haiti to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID in its Spanish acronym) in its EU Presidency commitment to contribute to the coordination of the on the ground response.
In the aftermath of the earthquake which struck on January 12, DARA travelled to Haiti to contribute to the maximization of aid efficiency.
The objective of this mission was to contribute to the coordination of the response, supporting the leading role of the UN and local authorities. It involved both human and material resources, alongside mechanisms to link with the coordination systems and stakeholders working in the field. The mission carried out needs assessments, shared information and pointed out gaps and bottlenecks.
In past evaluations, particularly during the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) and in Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) missions to Haiti, DARA reported that a lack of coordination between donors caused confusion, delays in aid delivery as well as the duplication of efforts. "Effective coordination ensures an adequate, effective, equitable and flexible allocation of aid," said DARA's Director General Ross Mountain. "In Haiti, I was impressed by the readiness of humanitarian donors to work together and adjust their support in real time to meet needs as they evolved."
DARA welcomes the Spanish government's commitment to put humanitarian issues at the forefront of the EU agenda in order to build bridges between member states when cooperating with the most vulnerable countries.
In the case of Haiti's reconstruction, Spain can play a leading role within the context of its Presidency. Spain is the largest donor to Latin America and prior to the most recent earthquake, it was one of the few donor countries providing assistance to Haiti. "Since only 3 out of the 27 member states have on ground representation in the country, it can be expected that Spain will lead the EU's common aid efforts in Haiti for far longer than the official six months," said Mountain.
Click here for DARA's statement
Click here for Haiti context and recommendations
Click here for Allan Lavell's interview
Read the HRI 2009 Haiti Crisis Report
February 2010
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has selected DARA to carry out an Inter-Agency Real-Time Evaluation (IA-RTE) of the humanitarian response to the recent typhoons Ketsana and Parma in the Philippines.
The typhoons which hit the Philippines on September 26 and October 6 2009, respectively, affected more than 8.4 million people as well as causing massive damage to infrastructure. The large-scale disaster, of an unusual magnitude for the country, produced a large Flash Appeal.
This IA-RTE is the world’s fourth and will provide insight on the current situation, including real-time feedback and learning to the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) on a local level, and to the IASC Interest Group (IFRC, FAO, OCHA, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHABITAT , UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and WHO) on an international level.
The main objectives will be to learn from the initial phase of the response and identify lessons that need to be taken forward into the programme, providing the means for field and headquarters staff to undertake corrective action in real time as the response evolves. The IA-RTE results aim to support the ongoing operational planning of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), the main user of the process and recommendations. Overall the IA-RTE will focus on the effectiveness and efficiency of the current response’s coordination and management systems, and on requesting feedback from beneficiaries on the already achieved results.
DARA will carry out desk reviews, field visits and interviews with stakeholders. The organization has vast experience in both response to natural disasters and Real-Time Evaluations. In 2007 DARA participated in the real-time evaluation of the IASC response to the cyclone and floods in Mozambique; one of the first of its kind and a pilot RTE for a broader programme of such evaluations. DARA also peer-reviewed ALNAP’s guide to RTE evaluations, the world’s first publically available on the subject.
In recent years, inter-agency real-time evaluations have proved very useful in improving humanitarian response. An IA-RTE is an evaluation carried out at the early response stages of a humanitarian operation, simultaneously feeding back its findings for immediate use by the humanitarian community at the field level. Their purpose is to unlock inter-agency coordination problems or operational bottlenecks as they occur.
January 2010
DARA has sent a team of experts to Haiti to provide technical assistance to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID in its Spanish acronym) in its EU Presidency commitment to contribute to the coordination of the Union’s on the ground response with the rest of the humanitarian system and Haiti´s local government.
In the aftermath of the earthquake which struck Haiti on January 12, Ross Mountain, Silvia Hidalgo, Joel Boutroue, Ricardo Solé and Soledad Posada from DARA will contribute to the EU Presidency’s efforts to maximize the efficiency of aid.
 Haiti earthquake, January 2010 |
"We welcome the Spanish government's commitment to put humanitarian issues at the forefront of the EU's agenda, and ask that it exercise its leadership to make sure that the EU brings a common vision and approach to aid efforts in Haiti," said DARA Director Ross Mountain, who is heading the DARA team.
The objective of this mission is to contribute to the coordination of the EU response, supporting the leading role of the UN and local authorities. It will involve both human and material resources, alongside mechanisms to link with the coordination systems and stakeholders working in the field. The mission will carry out needs assessments, share information and point out gaps and bottlenecks.
"We will work to make sure that through cooperation among actors on the ground, and in consultation with Haitian authorities, we can help the EU be as effective as possible in its relief efforts," added Mountain.
In past evaluations, particularly during the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) and in Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) missions to Haiti, DARA reported that a lack of coordination between donors caused confusion, delays in aid delivery as well as the duplication of efforts.
"Effective coordination will ensure an adequate, effective, equitable and flexible allocation of aid," stressed Mountain. "To achieve this, those who are allocating aid must apply a rigorous approach to needs assessments, both at the global and at the local level. "
Click here for DARA's statement
Click here for Haiti context and recommendations
Click here for Allan Lavell's interview
Read the HRI 2009 Haiti Crisis Report
January 2010
The evaluation agency had reported neglect and lack of disaster preparedness in Haiti on behalf of donors and agencies
As the world reels in shock at the sight of thousands of dead, injured and hungry Haitians, DARA experts, who had visited the Haiti various times within the context of the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI), had warned the international community that years of neglect and inadequate disaster preparedness had placed the country at risk of a major catastrophe. DARA is now urging the world to avoid committing the same errors that doomed past humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti.
The earthquake hit Haiti only months after DARA, denounced that aid efforts there in response to devastating storms in August and September of 2008 had failed to reach many of those in need. Donor response was so slow that 40 percent of the aid promised for storm recovery has yet to be delivered.
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DARA calls for aid agencies and donor countries to go beyond immediate disaster aid and support middle to long-term recovery for Haiti's population, as well as mainstreaming prevention and disaster risk reduction measures, something that has been neglected in past efforts. "The world's generosity towards Haiti must not die off as soon as the last TV crew leaves the area," said DARA spokesperson Silvia Hidalgo. "True generosity comes in the form of a sustained effort to help Haitians rebuild their homes and their society. The international community must also make sure that Haitians are equipped to handle disaster prevention in the future, and thus avoid such widespread death and destruction."
The disaster struck when Haiti had not yet recovered from the effects of the hurricanes, which killed 800 people and left another 800,000 homeless. In its 2009 HRI, DARA concluded that inadequate disaster preparedness of local organizations, combined with broken infrastructures and insufficient funding and resources, contributed to the devastation and to the ultimate failure of the international community to alleviate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Haitians who had lost everything.
DARA's HRI also denounced that donors responding to recent disasters in Haiti have also largely failed to respect fundamental Principles and Good Practice Humanitarian Donorship (GHD), a set of guidelines that the world's main donors have subscribed to but often ignore.
DARA recommends that donations be destined to those relief organizations already on the ground in Haiti. With an overwhelming amount of choices for the average citizen wanting to make a contribution, DARA suggests that people choose those agencies that have long-standing projects in Haiti. "This will ensure that every cent will to go to those most in need," said Hidalgo.
Even before the earthquake hit, Haiti was already immersed in a critical socio-economic crisis that has placed it at the bottom of the economic ladder in the Western Hemisphere, with 80 percent of its population surviving on less than one dollar per day. This level of impoverishment, exacerbated by the effects of trade liberalization and combined with periodic natural disasters, has made it very difficult for Haitians to rebuild their society each time a disaster strikes.
Hidalgo, who participated in the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) on behalf of DARA, also underlined the importance of involving Haitians in every step of the rebuilding and recovery process, a lesson learned from the post-Tsunami recovery period. "Involving local governments and NGO's from the earliest stages of the process can help turn recovery into rehabilitation and sustainable development, and this means working on local capacity building from the start," she said.
DARA also expressed concerns over ongoing access problems to victims of the catastrophe, particularly in poorer neighborhoods and outside Port-Au-Prince. According to the 2009 HRI, access to the neediest populations continues to be a prevalent problem when trying to provide post-crisis humanitarian aid.
As the aid reaches destroyed communities among much chaos, distribution in many areas has also been unequal, with much of it ending up in the hands of those who are first to reach the aid trucks, mostly young men. "In these situations it is often about the survival of the fittest, and organizations must make an extra effort to make sure that the aid also reaches the elderly, women and children, who are greatly suffering the impacts of the disaster," said Hidalgo.
DARA experts also worry that the situation in Haiti could be replicated in other disaster-prone regions with fragile governments and infrastructure. "Katmandu is a place that comes to mind," said Allan Lavell, an expert on urban planning who heads DARA's Risk Reduction Index (RRI), a key project in the Disaster Risk Reduction Initiative (DRRI). "There, we also have a combination of extreme poverty, a highly seismic region and flimsy homes built on fragile slopes."
Click here for Haiti context and recommendations
Read the HRI 2009 Haiti Crisis Report
January 2010
The massive earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale, that recently hit Haiti only 10 miles from the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, has caused shock worldwide. DARA, which has worked in Haiti within the context of the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) in 2007 and 2009, has also analysed the Spanish cooperation response to the 2008 hurricane season.
Haiti has a population of nine million, two of which live in the capital, and is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. A total of 80% of the population lives below the poverty threshold, on less than one dollar a day.
This extreme poverty is compounded by vulnerability factors, such as a lack of local capacities, great political and institutional instability, chronic food insecurity, non-existent job opportunities, deforestation, a weak state of infrastructures, low coverage to safe and treated water (46%), as well as hygiene and sanitation (28%), and a lack of investment in disaster prevention and preparedness measures on behalf of previous governments. The combination of these contextual elements explain why even small-scale natural disasters have an incalculable impact on its population.
Previous to this last earthquake, Haiti was still undergoing the recovery phase after suffering a devastating hurricane season between August and September 2008. Responding adequately to the emergency by "Building Back Better" is extremely difficult, especially in Haiti’s case where there response cycle is constantly interrupted by frequent small-scale disasters that prevent the country from fully recovering each time.
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Mainstreaming disaster and risk management is a priority for Haiti. However, the National Disaster and Risk Management System (SNGRD) depends on the Directorate of Civil Protection (DCP), a very weak institution with significant limitations in terms of infrastructure and intervention capacity. Improving the SNGRD’s intervention capacity successfully can only be achieved by reinforcing the DPC, given that the country lacks an evacuation plan, emergency material prepositioning capacity and a clear strategy regarding temporary shelter.
There is a pressing need to link humanitarian efforts to the post-emergency phases. A recurrent situation is the substitution of local capacities with the provision of basic services without working towards institutional strengthening. In spite of efforts and willingness of the cooperation organizations working in Haiti to prioritize "prevention and early recovery", these still need to materialize into clear and integrating initiatives. Land property disputes between governmental authorities only further limit the development of rehabilitation and recovery works.
Recovery efforts should be the building blocks for a better future for Haitians. Some recommendations for the international community, particularly donors, include:
DARA will cover Haiti in 2010 during the development of its Disaster Risk Reduction Initiative (DRRI) in Central America and the Caribbean.
Click here for DARA's statement
Read the HRI 2009 Haiti Crisis Report
January 2010
Ross Mountain took up his position as DARA's Director General on January 1st 2010 following a long and distinguished career in the service of the humanitarian sector.
With this appointment, DARA - an international, independent non-profit organization - seeks to broaden and strengthen its commitment to improve the quality and impact of development and humanitarian interventions through evaluations.
Ross Mountain (Christchurch, New Zealand, 1944) has led various core UN humanitarian, recovery and development operations in Asia, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East and the Caribbean, and has been the Director of the UN's Humanitarian operations in Geneva, Switzerland. He has over 35 years experience in the humanitarian and development sectors.
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Prior to joining DARA, his latest assignment was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr. Mountain was one of three officials responsible for MONUC, the largest United Nations mission in the world.
Previously he held a range of senior posts in Iraq, where he replaced Sergio Vieira De Mello, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Representative of the Secretary General killed in Baghdad by a terrorist attack in 2003. Following his appointment by Kofi Annan, Mr. Mountain became Special Representative for the Secretary General ad interim, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative.
Afghanistan, Liberia, Haiti and Lebanon are other destinations where Ross Mountain has served throughout his career.
Mr. Mountain's appointment is part of DARA's determination to reinforce its efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of aid so it reaches those who most need it amidst increasingly limited humanitarian access, global financial turmoil, and the proliferation of natural disasters and violent conflicts.
Silvia Hidalgo, cofounder of DARA welcomes this appointment: "As well as all the qualities for which he is known, Ross Mountain is currently considered the best humanitarian coordinator and has always strived to ensure that the political, economic and military spheres remain at the service of the humanitarian one. We are certain he will successfully meet the many challenges in DARA," says Hidalgo.
More information on HRI 2009 Madrid presentation
December 2009
DARA presented the HRI 2009 findings in a special and interactive debate with leading UN and NGO representatives, as well as journalists at Caixa Forum in Madrid on 3rd December.
The debate, which examined how best to overcome the barriers facing the humanitarian system when responding to crises and natural disasters, was opened by Silvia Hidalgo of DARA who called for donors to respond adequately to all crises "including those not covered by the media".
 Silvia Hidalgo during her presentation |
Last year 230 natural disasters and 39 conflicts affected more than 250 million people worldwide. Wealthy donor governments are fundamental in exerting influence to improve humanitarian response.
Hidalgo also stressed the need to unify efforts at a time when needs are outstripping capacity as well as available resources, "A number of international NGOS have seen themselves forced to let go over 100 humanitarian workers in just one week," she declared.
DARA sent teams to 13 humanitarian crises last year and found in 10 of them that limitations to the unhindered provision of aid continues to be at the forefront of factors jeopardizing the wellbeing of affected populations.
Only half of the donor countries are actively facilitating access to people in need. According to Hidalgo, governments should reinforce their efforts to address the problem of access in places like Somalia or Afghanistan more effectively, without it being conditioned by economic, political or military interests.
Another of this year’s HRI most important findings is the persisting lack of risk reduction measures even though disasters are expected to take their toll on a larger number of people in the near future. Haiti, this year’s most forgotten crisis, suffers continuous natural disasters. In terms of conflicts, improved contingency plans in Sri Lanka and Gaza could have prevented loss of lives.
Led by Cuatro TV journalist Olga RodrĂguez, an interactive debate followed in which the audience's opinions, expressed through an electronic voting system, marked the expert panel discussion which featured the participation of Ross Mountain, Former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the DRC and Incoming DARA Director General, Aldo Ajello, Former European Union Special Representative in the Great Lakes Region, Silvia Hidalgo, RamĂłn Lobo, El PaĂs journalist, and Marta Arias, UNICEF Spain Advocacy Director.
 Aldo Ajello during his presentation |
Lobo called for a reformation of the humanitarian system as a whole since many of "the efforts are short-term when reality is long term," he said. On the other hand, Ajello urged the international community to further target the root causes of crises and invest more in prevention measures and in assuring the security of humanitarian workers.
The appropriateness of the HRI’s ranking system to classify donors based on their commitments to improve the quality and efficiency of humanitarian aid was also discussed. Over 86% of the audience hailed the HRI as a fundamental tool for donor transparency.
During the event, Silvia Hidalgo announced Ross Mountain as DARA’s new Director General as of January 1st 2010. In his speech Ross Mountain expressed his pleasure "in joining DARA and in continuing the extraordinary work initiated by Silvia." He referred to the HRI as a "bold initiative", especially "when 9 million children died unnecessarily and 1 biillion people went to bed hungry" in what has been considered a "good year".
Click here to view the HRI 2009 presentation at Caixa Forum photos
December 2009
DARA has provided the Spanish government, the fourth largest donor to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2009, with technical assistance.
The CERF is one of the central pillars of the United Nations Humanitarian Reform, as well as one of the main funding mechanisms allowing the strengthening of humanitarian response.
AECID (The Spanish Development Cooperation Agency), member of the CERF’s advisory board, contracted DARA to inform its position in the November 2009 Advisory Group Meeting held in New York.
DARA provided AECID with advice on what role Spain can play in the future, as well as background information on the main challenges facing the CERF, such as criteria, timing of funding, and accountability amongst others. In these types of pooled funding mechanisms:
Read the CERF Advisory Group November 09 Report
For more information visit:
http://www.aecid.es/
www.cerf.un.org
December 2009
Following the global launch of the 2009 Humanitarian Response Index in Washington DC on 10 November, DARA is organizing a special debate and interactive presentation of this year's ranking and findings in Madrid on December 3.
 ©DARA, 2009. |
Leading UN and NGO representatives, as well as journalists, will analyze how to best overcome the barriers the humanitarian system faces when responding to crises and natural disasters.
The event will consist of interactive audience contributions, led by Cuatro TV journalist Olga RodrĂguez, and a panel discussion featuring:
The debate will look at how humanitarian organisations can respond more effectively to disaster and conflict amidst increasingly limited humanitarian access, global financial turmoil and the proliferation of natural disasters and violent conflicts.
Last year 230 natural disasters and 39 conflicts affected more than 250 million people worldwide. That same year, 260 humanitarian workers were killed, kidnapped or seriously injured, the highest toll on record.
Place: Caixa Forum, Paseo del Prado 36, 28014 – Madrid
Date: Thursday December 3
Time: 11:30 am
November 2009
DARA has launched its HRI 2010 field missions by sending a team on a pilot exercise to the Central African Republic (CAR).
The pilot mission, which ran from 18th to 26th November, was encompassed in DARA´s annual efforts to refine and improve the methodology and survey questionnaire based on feedback and lessons learnt from previous years.
It is the second time that DARA members visit the CAR, thus allowing an opportunity to assess how the international community’s response has evolved over time.
The CAR, considered a neglected humanitarian crisis despite the increase in humanitarian funds since 2007, ranks 178 out of 179 in terms of human development and has a recorded life expectancy of 43 years. While humanitarian response is concentrated in the north of the country, where banditry and fighting between rebel groups and the military have forced the displacement of more than 200.000 civilians in the past years, the south of the country’s population is afflicted by an extreme deterioration of living conditions.
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The freezing of the wood, diamond and gold industries, which in turn have led to dwindling incomes in the south, have not but aggravated an already precarious situation. Malnutrition levels have flared within a population struck by illness and epidemic, and with minimum or non-existent access to medical assistance.
International humanitarian response in the CAR faces the double challenge of efficiently responding the multiple humanitarian needs all over a country with access and security problems, and of placing this crisis in its corresponding place within the priority list of donor countries.
In the course of 9 days, DARA’s team managed to interview the majority of UN agencies and NGOs present in the country.
Over the three years that the HRI has been in existence, DARA has carried out field research in a total of 33 humanitarian crises and collected about four and half thousand survey responses.
For more information on the international humanitarian response in CAR, visit www.hdptcar.net
Now in its fourth year, the HRI was created in 2006 by DARA and is a commitment made at The Clinton Global Initiative. It ranks 23 of the wealthiest donors (OECD/ DAC members) by analysing their performance against the Principles of Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) that they themselves have signed up to.
In January, DARA sent a team to the Philippines and Indonesia to analyse the international response to two of the most relevant natural disasters in 2009. Information on these missions will soon follow. A team is currently in Nairobi, Kenya, looking into the response to the Somalian crisis.
DARA will soon upload a crisis report on CAR with the main findings.
Click here to view the HRI 2010 missions Page
Click here for the HRI 2009 findings
November 2009
DARA has completed a regional training course for 14 Asia-Pacific Country Offices of UNICEF in the Philippines, from September to October this year.
After introducing an evaluation policy in 2008, UNICEF Country Offices in the Asia Pacific region organized a training course in order to reinforce monitoring and evaluation capacities of UNICEF CO's.
 UNICEF training group photo |
DARA, as the only external organisation to participate in the training, was invited to present the key note speech on new trends in evaluation in the context of aid effectiveness (Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action), as well as the evaluation in humanitarian aid contexts and HRI modules. Additionally, the organisation also acted as discussant of the real-time evaluation module among others.
The training provided participants with an increased understanding of different types of evaluation and approaches, improving their capacity to use both quantitative and qualitative methods. It also enhanced their competencies for managing and contracting evaluations.
The course was based on first-hand experiences regarding lessons learned and good practices emanating from UNICEF and the UN system.
Like in this case, DARA encourages conducting needs assessments before carrying out training in order to guarantee these being demand driven and utilisation focused.
November 2009
DARA will hold two events for the international launch of its global Humanitarian Response Index 2009 findings on Tuesday 10th November in Washington DC.
The first of these events will be a press conference at the National Press Club, which will then be followed by a special presentation at The Brookings Institute.
Endorsed by Kofi Annan, Jeffrey Sachs and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) is the only independent initiative that measures how well governments support humanitarian action around the world. Now in its third year, the HRI ranks 23 of the wealthiest donors (OECD/ DAC members) by analysing their performance against the Principles of Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) that they themselves have signed up to. The HRI is a collective effort that relies on the input of representatives from over 450 humanitarian agencies.
Humanitarian crises threaten the lives and livelihoods of over 250 million people every year. Increased threat of "natural" disasters and conflict, coupled with the compounded effects of climate change, global financial turmoil and limited access means that more and more people need assistance now and in the coming years.
An estimated US$ 10.4 billion was provided by the world's main government donors for humanitarian assistance in 2008. As both the main funders of humanitarian action and international governmental actors, these donors have a powerful and influential role to play in promoting positive changes in the way the humanitarian sector provides assistance to those who need it the most, when they need it the most.
The HRI was created in 2006 by DARA and is a commitment made at The Clinton Global Initiative. It aims to ensure that resources and funds are used as efficiently and effectively as possible to meet the needs of the millions of people affected by crises.
The 2009 launch will cover how well individual countries -including the US- performed in a year of economic downturn and change. The report includes analysis of the performance and policies of each donor country based on quantitative data, and on field research carried out in 13 major humanitarian crises during 2009.
The presentation at Brookings will include introductory remarks by Strobe Talbott, President of Brookings. HRI findings will be presented by Silvia Hidalgo and Philip Tamminga of DARA. The event will feature a debate by an expert panel made up of Jose Maria Figueres, Former President of Costa Rica; Maria Otero, US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs (TBC); Ross Mountain, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the DRC; and Elizabeth Ferris, Senior Fellow, Brookings-BernProject on Internal Displacement, who has contributed an article in this year's edition of the HRI.
The HRI's findings of this year's Humanitarian Response Index will be available on this website following the launch.
November 2009
Almost half of the world’s main donor governments are not doing enough to ensure that public funding for humanitarian assistance is reaching those most in need, when they need it most, according to DARA’s 2009 Humanitarian Response Index (HRI)(TM), launched in Washington DC on 10 November.
DARA has held two events to present the HRI 2009 findings: a press conference at Washington’s National Press Club followed by a special presentation at The Brookings Institution.
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Now in its third year, the HRI ranks 23 of the wealthiest donors (OECD/ DAC members) by analysing their performance against the Principles of Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) that they themselves have signed up to.
Key 2009 findings include:
| Donor | HRI 2007 | HRI 2008 | HRI 2009 |
| Norway | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Ireland | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| European Commission | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Netherlands | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Luxembourg | 12 | 7 | 7 |
| Switzerland | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| United Kingdom | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Australia | 14 | 11 | 10 |
| New Zealand | 8 | 13 | 11 |
| Finland | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Canada | 7 | 10 | 13 |
| United States | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| Spain | 17 | 16 | 15 |
| Germany | 13 | 17 | 16 |
| Belgium | 15 | 14 | 17 |
| Austria | 20 | 21 | 18 |
| Japan | 18 | 18 | 19 |
| France | 19 | 20 | 20 |
| Italy | 22 | 19 | 21 |
| Greece | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| Portugal | 21 | 22 | 23 |
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Endorsed by Kofi Annan, Jeffrey Sachs and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the HRI is the only independent initiative that measures how well governments support humanitarian action around the world. For the HRI 2009, DARA visited 13 humanitarian crises around the world including Afghanistan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Myanmar and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The report includes analysis of the performance of each donor country based on quantitative data, and on field research carried out in the aforementioned crises.
This year’s HRI report shows that the global economic crisis, along with the increasing frequency and severity of disasters and ongoing crises, are having a serious effect on the ability of humanitarian organisations to respond effectively to needs. Donor governments can do much more to focus and prioritise their aid budgets to have a greater impact.
Presenting the findings at the National Press Club, Silvia Hidalgo, DARA Executive Director and co-founder said:
“Given the global economic crisis, more effective use of public money and greater quality and impact in humanitarian aid has never been more important. In places like Pakistan, Sudan, or Somalia, countless human lives could be saved and suffering avoided if government donors applied basic good practice in the way they fund and support humanitarian organisations”.
Overall, the HRI 2009 also highlights some serious gaps in how the international community deals with crises:
The HRI 2009 report calls for donor governments to develop guidelines on how to best facilitate access and to significantly boost funding to support a more harmonised approach to conflict and disaster prevention and risk-reduction efforts.
Huge expectation for the HRI 2009 findings at Brookings
The HRI 2009 findings presentation at the Brookings Institute took place in a very packed Murray Room. Various representatives of the most important NGO's, government agencies and World Bank members assisted the highly awaited presentation of this year's report.
The event was opened with introductory remarks by Strobe Talbott, President of Brookings. HRI findings were presented by Silvia Hidalgo and Philip Tamminga of DARA. The event also featured a debate by an expert panel made up of Jose MarĂa Figueres, Former President of Costa Rica; Ross Mountain, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the DRC; and Elizabeth Ferris, Senior Fellow, Brookings-BernProject on Internal Displacement, who has contributed an article in this year’s edition of the HRI.
Introduction video of the HRI 2009
Humanitarian crises threaten the lives and livelihoods of over 250 million people every year. Increased threat of “natural” disasters and conflict, coupled with the compounded effects of climate change, global financial turmoil and limited access means that more and more people need assistance now and in the coming years.
Introduction video of the HRI 2009
The HRI was created in 2006 by DARA and is a commitment made at The Clinton Global Initiative. It aims to ensure that resources and funds are used as efficiently and effectively as possible to meet the needs of the millions of people affected by crises. The HRI is a collective effort that relies on the input of 450 representatives from 250 humanitarian agencies.
Click here to view the HRI 2009 launch press conference photos
Click here to view the HRI 2009 presentation at Brookings photos
The HRI 2009 will be launched in Madrid, Spain on December 3rd. More information will added shortly.
Related Pages
Order your copy of the 2009 Humanitarian Response Index here
See how each individual donor has performed
Read more on each of the crises visited
For Media
Read the full News Release
See the Overview Facts and Figures sheet
Click here for individual donor fact sheets
November 2009
Evaluation of ICRC
DARA is currently participating in the first evaluation of the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) policy on internally displaced persons (IDPs). The evaluation is the first to look at the organizations operational position towards IDPs and the results will seek to influence future protection and assistance provided to IDPs and victims of war.
As part of the 11-month study, a team of experts from DARA and regular partner organization Groupe URD conducted field visits to Colombia, Yemen, Chad and Georgia. The evaluators met with ICRC staff, UN agencies, NGOs, donors, government staff and displaced populations.
Although there is currently no legally binding definition for an IDP, the ICRC has a specific mandate in the Geneva Conventions to protect and assist all civilians who have been affected by war, regardless of the category in which they are classified.
Download the ToR of this evaluation here
September 2009
As part of research for the 2009 edition of the Humanitarian Response Index, DARA field teams have visited a total of 13 crises countries across four continents. Interviews have been conducted with over 450 field representatives of humanitarian organisations, local authorities and NGOs and a total of over 2000 survey responses on donor behaviour in these crises have been collected.
 HRI mission to Sri Lanka. ©2009 DARA |
The visits are part of DARA’s research for the 2009 edition of the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI), which will be launched on 10 November in Washington DC. The index assesses and ranks 23 of the world’s wealthiest donors on their response to humanitarian crises around the world.
Missions carried out this year have included Afghanistan, Chad, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Georgia, Myanmar, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Timor Leste.
For example, during a field visit to the West Bank and Gaza in March and April, DARA researchers assessed the humanitarian situation and interviewed more than 50 aid organisations about the support they have received from their international donors.
Humanitarian Response in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The response of donors to the humanitarian emergency following Israel’s offensive in Gaza last December and January has been generous. However, DARA’s initial findings also suggest an undermining of the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence in donorship.
In Gaza, denial of access to those affected by the crisis was a particular problem as was the failure of donors to respond more precisely to their needs. The provision of unsolicited donations suggests that efforts to achieve better donor and operational coordination still have some way to go.
During its mission, DARA visited some the worst effected areas of Gaza and the West Bank including Gaza City, Rafah, Hebron, Nablus and the district of Qalqilya.
For a look back at the 2008 HRI, please click here
September 2009
DARA’s Humanitarian Response Index was featured in a session of the CGI Annual Meeting in New York as one of four outstanding commitments from previous years.
As a preview of its HRI 2009, DARA called for a major reform of the humanitarian donorship system at the Clinton Global Initiative held in New York September 22nd-25th.
Silvia Hidalgo, DARA’s Executive Director, and JosĂ© MarĂa Figueres, DARA Board Member and Former President of Costa Rica, revealed that the initial HRI findings, which will be made known on November 10th in Washington D.C., show a humanitarian system that is not fully equipped to respond to existing needs, especially with disasters expected to take their toll on a larger number of people in the advent of climate change.
With more than 250 million people annually affected by natural disasters and over 39 major conflicts in 2008 alone, Silvia Hidalgo called for a reform of the humanitarian system as a whole and an increase in annual expenditure: “$8 billion may sound like a lot but it’s very little to meet even existing needs. We are concerned and trying to get the system to reform itself in order to be prepared for the increased needs in the immediate future.” Making sure that the right kind of aid reaches those in need is the HRI’s driving force. DARA has found that limited humanitarian access to people in need continues to be the greatest challenge faced in humanitarian assistance. Silvia Hidalgo insisted on the need to increase and unify efforts to open up spaces for the unhindered provision of aid, “with the number of international staff in places like Somalia having dropped to zero.” Developed in 2006, after DARA identified a gap during its participation in the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC), the HRI is an independent initiative that annually assesses and ranks donor countries against their commitment to improve the quality and effectiveness of humanitarian efforts.
Now in its third year, the HRI is a five-year Clinton Global Initiative commitment. President Figueres stressed that the cost of the project was easily justified by the influence it had. “Through a $1.5 million per year investment we are moving the needle towards better humanitarian donorship and the $8 billion that go into this field.” Based on quantitative and qualitative data, to compile the HRI 2009 DARA visited 13 crises and obatained over 2000 responses. The report will be launched on November 10th in Washington D.C.
July 2009
Evaluation of DG ECHO's Actions in the Saharawi Refugee Camps
The results of DARA's recent evaluation indicate that, after more than thirty years, basic needs have yet to be met in the Saharawi Refugee camps.
The organisation was selected this year by the European Commission's Humanitarian Office department (ECHO) to evaluate its humanitarian assistance to Saharawi refugees displaced by the conflict over Western Sahara.
DARA's findings indicate that there is an overall static humanitarian situation in the camps with minimal prospects for linking relief, rehabilitation and development. The evaluation concludes that additional coordination and collaboration at the international and local level is crucial to resolve this situation.
The three-month study, between April and June 2009 was the first evaluation of DG ECHO's support to the Saharawis living in refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, since 2001.
The evaluation team assessed the impact of funding decisions between 2006 and 2008, focusing on the validity, effectiveness and efficiency of the food and nutrition, health, shelter, water and sanitation aid provided to around 150,000 refugees in the camps.
The evaluation aimed to advise DG ECHO on priorities, recommendations for improving the impact of the humanitarian response and help orientate future actions to be funded.
The methodology chosen included a document review, an ad-hoc questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with key informants. A total of 157 interviews, both at HQ and field level, were carried out and triangulated with self-conducted as well as pre-existing survey results.
The Saharawi Refugee camps represent a unique protracted and forgotten crisis. They were established in 1976 in the wake of the conflict between the Polisario Front and Morocco. Since then, for over thirty years, between 90,000 and 200,000 people have remained heavily dependent on international aid.
Download the complete report and findings here
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May 2009
Leading experts from global and regional organisations gathered in Costa Rica in May to evaluate progress in the development of DARA’s new Risk Factor Index.
The meeting conducted one of the first systematic examinations of the underlying risk factors in natural disasters, such as hurricanes, volcanoes and earthquakes, and how these are managed.
DARA’s aim is to develop an index that will measure the effectiveness of policies, strategies and activities for reducing the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable local communities. With a unique focus on what works, the index will also aim to capture issues related to climate change that are often ignored. In terms of geographical scope, the Risk Reduction Index will initially focus on the countries of Central America and the Caribbean, one of the most geologically unstable regions of the world and one of the worst affected by hurricanes.
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Hyogo Framework for Action
The index methodology will be based on the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction published by the UN’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and on the five priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action, (HFA) the first international agreement on disaster reduction. As such the eventual aim is to develop a methodology applicable to other regions of the world. The two-day workshop in Costa Rica (28-29 May) was financed by the UN Development Programme in Latin America. The index for 11 countries in Central America and the Caribbean is financed by the Spanish International Agency for Development Cooperation (AECID).
The meeting was attended by disaster risk reduction experts from a range of international and regional organisations including:
DARA’s team of experts will now pilot the methodology in the eleven selected countries and work to expand the experience to other countries in Africa and Asia, where partners are being identified.
March 2009
Guide to Real-time Evaluations of Humanitarian Action
The guide to real-time evaluations (RTEs) published in March by the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP), deals with one of the most demanding yet increasingly popular types of evaluation practice. It is intended to help both evaluation managers and team leaders in commissioning, overseeing and conducting evaluations that are carried out during rather than after an emergency operation.
In recent years, RTEs have become increasingly vital in improving the quality of response to humanitarian crises by helping to solve operational problems as they occur. However, although several organisations have produced their own internal guides to the practice, the ALNAP guide is the first aimed at the humanitarian sector as a whole.
DARA was selected to participate in the guide's peer review committee following its experience in the real-time evaluation of the inter-agency response to the 2007 floods and cyclone in Mozambique.
Download Real-time Evaluations of Humanitarian Action - An ALNAP Guide March 2009 here
February 2009
Mid term Evaluation of the WFP Country Programme in Mozambique
DARA's evaluation of the WFP Country Programme in Mozambique has found that the school feeding programme has been effective in terms of access to and retention in education. However, although it accelerates already positive tendencies, the programme is not enough of an incentive to reverse high drop out or low enrolment levels.
Members of DARA were commissioned to assess the degree to which the WFP Country Programme's objectives in Mozambique pursued between 2007 and 2009 had been achieved.
The WFP Country programme aims to:
The findings indicate that the programme has provided families or caregivers with incentives for sending girls, orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs) to school and ensuring that they do not drop out. However, the design of the School Feeding programme has had negative effects on efficiency. Logistics support is costly, requiring substantial human and financial resources and coordination. This is mainly due to countrywide distribution, which involves the transport of small amounts of food over large distances.
The report highlighted the need for identifying a more replicable model for school feeding that would facilitate the inclusion of such into the Government's sector strategic framework. It concludes that sustainability will depend on the Ministry of Education and Culture's political and financial commitment.
DARA's evaluation approach was based on identifying the main issues related to programme performance that could help improve existing and future interventions. The evaluation followed the WFP's Evaluation Quality Assurance System (EQAS) and UNEG's evaluation criteria focusing on relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability. Data collection was based on interviews and analysis of secondary data related to CP activities. The two-man evaluation team carried out its mission from 19 October to 1 November 2008.
Mozambique remains among the world's poorest countries. The country has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in Africa: approximately 1.3 million children are chronically undernourished and chronic malnutrition among children under the age of five is still extremely high, at 41 percent.
Download Summary Evaluation Report Mozambique Country Programme here
Download Full Report of the Evaluation of the Mozambique Country Programme (2007-2009) here
February 2009
Who Helps Who and Who Decides
The governments of disaster prone countries should do more to define their own priorities and not let the foreign aid system do it for them. This is just one of the findings of a new study co-authored by DARA that examines the long term effectiveness of the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
 Painting of Tsunami wave on the walls of Meulaboh football stadium, Aceh Province, Indonesia. ©Riccardo Polastro, DARA. |
A ripple in development? Long term perspectives on the response to the Indian Ocean tsunami 2004 is the result of a joint evaluation analysing the situation in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives during the period 2004 - 2008. It concludes that effective transition from relief to rehabilitation and development depends on local capacity building and the appropriate use of international assistance. This means involving local governments and NGOs at the earliest opportunity to ensure that development is sustainable while defining the role of international organisations according to their capacity rather than the availability of funds.
The evaluation consortium of All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), Channel Research, DARA and Team C Voter also offers a series of recommendations including:
 Tsunami survivor living near the buffer zone in Kalutara. ©Riccardo Polastro, DARA. |
The consortium's study was commissioned by seven major aid donors led by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the governments of Indonesia and Sri Lanka and a group of international aid organisations.
This latest evaluation is the second to examine the links between immediate relief, rehabilitation (or reconstruction) and development (LRRD) in the response to the 2004 Tsunami.
As part of the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC), DARA also participated in the first system wide evaluations in 2005-06, producing a series of reports on funding of the response to the Tsunami:
The 2005-06 evaluation was the first system wide study of a humanitarian response to be conducted since development of the approach following the Rwandan genocide. DARA's experience in the project, eventually led to its development of the Humanitarian Response Index.
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