Aid Watch: We want your feedback, as long as you speak English

Although the Yemeni community groups could not get critical documents in Arabic, they would presumably be glad to know that the statements about how the organisation will consult them ARE available in Arabic.

Read more on the Aid Watch website.

UPDATED: 2008 Humanitarian Accountability Report launched

The 2008 Humanitarian Accountability Report was launched during the 7th HAP General Assembly on the 5 - 6 May in Geneva; IRIN report a 'systemic shift' to focus on accountability although 'problems remain in transparency about interventions, communication with aid recipients, monitoring and reporting on sexual abuse and eliminating corruption'.

The Report opens with John Borton's, An Overview of Humanitarian Accountability in 2008, highlighting the principle developments and accountability trends across the humanitarian sector throughout the year; and includes the results of the fourth annual Survey of Perceptions of Humanitarian Accountability; a chapter on the Voices of disaster survivors; HAP Members' Accountability Workplan Implementation Reports and the HAP Secretariat's Annual Report.

Read more and order a copy on the HAP website.

Humanitarian Exchange Magazine No. 41 - Feature: The Cyclone Nargis Response in Myanmar

This edition of Humanitarian Exchange focuses on the humanitarian situation in Myanmar, with special reference to Cyclone Nargis, which struck the country on 2 and 3 May. In all, over 140,000 people were killed and 20,000 injured. The homes, communities and livelihoods of around 2.4 million people were affected, with the damage caused to infrastructure, commerce and agriculture estimated at $4 billion.

Articles in this issue explore the roles played by major international institutions in organising the response, in particular the UN and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN); issues of access for expatriate aid workers and assistance; needs assessment; and the importance of prior presence in enabling an emergency response. Other articles focus on the role of national civil society in the initial response, and initiatives to support national civil society through grants, training and capacity-building support. Taken as a whole, the articles suggest that the initial restrictions on access perhaps forced international actors into a more creative and flexible response, one which valued local and regional capacities more than is often the case.

Away from the Nargis response, a set of more general articles examine conflict-related displacement in eastern Myanmar, landmines and chronic health issues – a salutary reminder that there is a wider humanitarian crisis in Myanmar that deserves greater attention.

Other articles in this edition revisit Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s approaches to accountability, the need for health agencies to take chronic diseases into account in their response and the immensely challenging security environment for humanitarian agencies in Chad. One article examines the exclusion and neglect facing Aravanis (people who may be born inter-sex or apparently males, dress in feminine clothes and generally see themselves as neither women nor men) in the response to the tsunami in Tamil Nadu, India. We also have a topical examination into how humanitarian assistance is being targeted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Finally, Maurice Herson challenges the idea of dependency in relief.

Read more on the HPN website.

HPG: Beneficiary perceptions of corruption in humanitarian assistance: a Sri Lanka case study

Corruption in emergency relief is a huge challenge for humanitarian agencies. It can potentially undermine the effectiveness of their interventions and ultimately lead to the loss of lives. Corruption risks are often determined by the environment in which aid agencies operate, and are likely to increase in conflict-affected countries where governments are usually weak, the rule of law is not effectively enforced, the media and civil society are constrained and aid flows can become a lucrative resource.

Such an environment is present in Sri Lanka. The state is highly centralised and clientalistic, and political power is derived from patronage rather than performance. This is mirrored in the nature of civil society and the media is deeply partisan. Sri Lanka is ranked 3.2 out of a possible score of 10 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. Furthermore, non-state actors in the north and east of the country have formed predatory networks of taxation and extortion and are often the de facto authority in the areas they control. In this environment, humanitarian assistance is often manipulated for personal or political gain at the expense of affected populations. The sudden and substantial aid received in the aftermath of the tsunami in December 2004 further compounded these corruption risks.

This case study explores perceptions of corruption amongst beneficiary populations, with the aim of informing strategies that seek to reduce corruption in humanitarian assistance.

Download the report from the HPG website (pdf link).

International Crisis Group: Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province: Land, Development, Conflict

Sri Lanka’s government must address the security needs and land-related grievances of all ethnic communities in its Eastern Province or risk losing a unique opportunity for development and peace. Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese all feel weak and under threat, and recent ethnic violence could easily worsen. The government must devolve real power to the newly elected provincial council, end impunity for ongoing human rights violations and work to develop a consensus on issues of land, security and power sharing with independent representatives of all communities, including those from opposition parties.

Download the report from the ICG website.

BBI: Moving Beyond Rhetoric: Consultation and Participation with Populations Displaced by Conflict or Natural Disasters

UPDATE: Download an additional report, Listening to the Voices of the Displaced: Lessons Learned; author Roberta Cohen reviewed over 800 interviews with IDPs from different regions, stages of displacement and circumstances to analyze the concerns voiced by IDPs. The report is available from Reliefweb.

This desk study seeks to encourage reflection and debate on the benefits, limitations and risks of consultative and participatory approaches in working with communities displaced by both conflict and natural disasters.

It reviews previous experiences of consultation with internally displaced persons and others and explains why consultation is critical for both displaced communities and the agencies which work with them. Advantages of consultation and participation include both instrumental benefits, for example, better needs assessments, improved efficiency, implementation, and sustainability of projects; and value-based benefits, including empowerment and capacity building of affected communities.

Download the study from Reliefweb.

ODI: Need and Greed: Corruption Risks, Perceptions and Preventation in Humanitarian Assistance

As aid agencies are stretched to the limit in emergencies, they can become vulnerable to corruption. This policy brief explores corruption and its implications for humanitarian action.

Key messages

- Humanitarian assistance injects valuable resources into resource-poor and often insecure contexts with high levels of need. The complexity of humanitarian operations and their rapidly increasing budgets make addressing corruption –and the taboos surrounding it –absolutely essential for aid agencies.

- Despite recent efforts by humanitarian agencies to increase participation, accountability and transparency, humanitarian assistance remains an opaque process to those impacted by crisis. Investing in appropriate and effective accountability systems is imperative to demystify the process and prevent, detect and respond to corruption.

- Practices and policies to tackle corruption risks go hand-in-hand with promoting programme quality, particularly monitoring. Donors should permit and encourage flexibility in allocating funds to these functions, while not unduly pressuring agencies to accelerate spending.

- Although there is no clear consensus on the trade-offs between speed and control, above all in the critical phases of an emergency, we argue that the humanitarian imperative of saving lives and alleviating suffering is compatible with using time and resources to minimise corruption risks.

The policy brief can be downloaded from the ODI website. At recent event on the topic the main findings were presented and Alex Jacobs, Director of MANGO, Atallah Fitzgibbon, Performance Improvement Manager at Islamic Relief, and Roslyn Hees of Transparency International discussed its implications for humanitarian action. The report is also available from ODI.

Tufts: Targeting of Food Aid in Complex Emergencies

These studies were commissioned by the World Food Programme to investigate the participation of recipient communities in the targeting and management of humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies.

Somalia: This study examined community participation throughout the food aid program cycle to understand the role of recipient communities in the targeting of food assistance under the conflict conditions. The study found big differences in the accountability and legitimacy of local leadership in different locations, from clan elders and religious leaders in some locations, to “gate keepers” who control information, access, and resources in other locations, especially in IDP camps. The report makes various suggestions for improving participation in targeting, and improving targeting generally.

Columbia: This study examined the participation of displaced communities through the food aid program cycle with particular attention to its different steps (early warning, needs assessment, design, targeting criteria, beneficiary identification and selection, distribution, monitoring and evaluation). Close and regular contact with the communities and implementing partners was found to be an essential ingredient for participative and representative approaches.

Tearfund: 'Disaster Management Team Good Practice Guidelines: Beneficiary Accountability'

In the humanitarian field, accountability has conventionally reffered to the NGO being upwardly accountable to their donors on the use of their resources. This guideline from Tearfund wish to give information on how to be accountable for the beneficiaries as well.
Access this report via ReliefWeb

HPG: Preventing corruption in Humanitarian Assistance

This latest report documents perceptions of corruption in humanitarian operations through interviews with staff of several leading international humanitarian NGOs. It is a joint publication of Transparency International, Tufts University's Feinstein International Center, and ODI's Humanitarian Policy Group.

The report finds that many humanitarian agencies are aware of corruption risks and have developed a range of strategies to prevent it. Whistleblower policies, codes of conduct for staff, and financial controls are among the measures that organisations have already put into place.

However, the humanitarian community at large has not yet addressed this problem in a comprehensive manner. Humanitarian aid providers would benefit from wider and more systematic exchange on new approaches and best practices, including evaluating their effectiveness in mitigating corruption.

Access this report here

ALNAP: 'Don't Chase Headlines, Chase Good Quality News... Don't Be First, Be Accountable' - A New Agenda for News Media and Humanitarian Aid

“Don’t chase headlines, chase good quality news... Don’t be first, be accountable” is the key message delivered to the news media and humanitarian communities by this latest ALNAP report. The report draws on debates at the 23rd ALNAP Biannual Meeting held on the 4th June 2008 in Madrid, as well as a broader programme of research and analysis. It outlines a series of new opportunities and challenges for decision makers across the donor, media and humanitarian communities, and points towards a new agenda for news media and humanitarian aid.

Access this report via ReliefWeb
At the point of a humanitarian crisis, a complex set of obligations and interests arise in media and humanitarian agencies, and become interlocked. Relief agencies rely heavily on the media to get the humanitarian message out, to inform the world of unfolding disasters and to harness the power of donors to raise funds and respond to the crisis. Cash-strapped news agencies primarily concerned with providing coverage of the latest world affairs and ensuring currency, relevance and audience engagement are increasingly dependent on humanitarian agencies for access and information.

The relationships between providers of news and providers of humanitarian aid can influence public perceptions and capture political attention. They can trigger, inform, critique and, in some cases, undermine international responses. They can also fundamentally shape information flows and aid allocations. In times of crisis, the relationship can be essential and complementary, but it is also often - and at the same time - uncomfortable and ambiguous.

The report points to five key changes which could improve this complex relationship in favour of improved humanitarian outcomes. First, greater effort is required to improve understanding between aid and media agencies, moving towards mutual respect – and perhaps even trust – as a means of addressing the current, complex set of relationships. Second, there need to be attempts to change the existing flawed and simplistic narratives about crises and people affected by them, and to change the ‘media logic’ around disasters. Third, local and national media in disaster-affected countries should be viewed as instrumental part of humanitarian response capacities. Fourth, more should be made of the potential of existing humanitarian information platforms for communication. Fifth, and most importantly, those affected by crises need to be put centre stage in efforts to improve humanitarian reporting.

How can such changes be brought about? Increased accountability and transparency within both the humanitarian and media sectors lie at the heart of possible solutions. A wide range of actions, both short term and long term, could be taken by humanitarian agencies, the media and donor governments to change the current paradigm. The discussions at the Biannual Meeting and subsequent research and analysis identified five recommendations:

1. Evaluate the role of media relations and communications in humanitarian action, and actively apply this learning within and across agencies

2. Undertake a regular, independent review of “Humanitarian Reporting”

3. Establish collaborative partnerships to enable cross-sector efforts in “disaster myth-busting”

4. Establish a global alliance of media and humanitarian actors, at the local, national and international levels

5. Establish serving the needs of crisis-affected populations as a central common goal of both media and humanitarian agencies.

Humanitarian Accountability Partnership: 'To Complain or Not to Complain: Still the Question'

It has been more than four years since discoveries of pervasive misconduct and the subsequent release of the UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin catalysed humanitarian organisations to reevaluate their capacities for preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse. In order to envision global prevention and response strategies, there was a close examination of current practices which exposed weak or nonexistent codes of conduct, poor awareness of rights and duties, nonexistent or confusing complaints mechanisms and few (if any) on-staff investigators. Now, the consultations that are the subject of this report underscore that our global expectations of how long meaningful change would take, how much it would cost and what would be involved were unrealistic.

This report provides the background, purpose and methodology of the consultation. Then follows a detailed report for each of the three countries where consultations were held, including country-specifi c recommendations. The report concludes with an assessment of challenges facing humanitarian agencies in their efforts to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse, and a set of recommendations for next steps.

Access the report via ReliefWeb

TUFTS: Targeting in Complex Emergencies: South Sudan Country Case Study

Daniel Maxwell and John Burns

Can community-based approaches to the targeting of humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies improve participation and reduce targeting error? Although most of the literature suggests that community-based targeting works best in slow-onset emergencies with no conflict or displacement, participatory approaches to targeting assistance have been attempted in complex emergencies, either directly (through elected relief committees) or indirectly (often through unelected but representative leaders).

The population of Southern Sudan was caught in a civil war from 1983 to 2005. During the war, several major famines led to a massive food aid intervention by the World Food Programme—intervention that continues to the present.Much of this food was delivered to vulnerable people by air drops, with the actual targeting of assistance on the ground left to local leaders and traditional authorities. In the post-war era, however, the food aid program is shifting.There is still a general distribution modality for dealing with emergencies, and it has been adapted to accommodate the large flow of returned refugees and displaced people, going home after years or decades of being gone. But the post-war targeting of food assistance is more administratively managed, and less participatory—contrary to what much of the literature suggests.

Several examples provide ample evidence to suggest that participatory methods could improve targeting and reduce targeting error in the post-war era—as well as address some salient protection concerns—where authorities and chiefs are willing to promote this approach.

The report is available to download from the Tufts website.

The Guide to the HAP Standard: Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management

The HAP Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management Standard (2007) provides an industry standard for humanitarian accountability. It represents a broad consensus on what matters most when an agency responds to an emergency.

The Guide to the HAP Standard and accompanying CD-ROM feature:
- a detailed account of the Standard
- advice on securing certification
- practical support on implementing the benchmarks
- advice on achieving best practice
- extensive references and resources sections
- the full text of the HAP Standard.

This is available to borrow from the BRC library.

ALNAP/Provention: Flood disasters: Learning from previous relief and recovery operations

This briefing paper provides a synthesis of and introduction to key lessons from evaluations1 of relief and recovery/humanitarian response to flooding in the last 20 years from Africa, Asia and the Americas. The paper is intended for people working in relief and recovery operations for floods – those who have to decide if, when and how to intervene. Selected reading references are mentioned after each of the issues discussed and a listing of key resources and a bibliography of the evaluations used are included at the end of the paper.

Download the paper from the ALNAP website.

The paper covers lessons for the following key topics which may be relevant in various ways and at different times for flood preparedness, relief and recovery:

Lesson 1 – Flood risk reduction (p. 2)
Lesson 2 – Building ownership and engaging with local capacity (p. 5)
Lesson 3 – Needs assessment (p. 5)
Lesson 4 – Targeting and monitoring (p. 7)
Lesson 5 – Livelihoods recovery (p. 7)
Lesson 6 – Local economy and market (p. 9)
Lesson 7 – Water, sanitation and health (p. 9)
Lesson 8 – Shelter and housing (p. 11)
Lesson 9 – Managing nationwide response and coordination (p. 12)

In this paper the term ‘flood(s)’ is used to refer to flood as a hazard or phenomenon. ‘Flooding’ refers to the disastrous impact of the flood. Many of the lessons presented in the paper can reasonably be applied to hazards in general, however others are flood-specific.

While the paper focuses on relief and recovery, it starts with risk reduction and lessons for incorporating flood prevention and preparedness activities to avoid ‘vicious spirals’ in disaster risk and development failure (DFID, 2005).

Report: 10 years of Sphere in Action, enhancing the quality and accountability of humanitarian action

When it was first conceived, it was acknowledged that the Sphere Project was ‘an initial step towards effectiveness and accountability’ to those affected by calamity or armed conflict, and also to those providing resources, financial or otherwise. The Humanitarian Charter reaffirmed the primacy of the humanitarian imperative, reinforcing the right to life with dignity.

Ten years later, the Sphere Project continues to maintain these core principles, working together with other quality and accountability initiatives in the humanitarian sector.

This report aims to provide a small insight into the first ten years of the Sphere Project - with reference to some of those who 'govern' the Project as well as to a number of examples of those who 'use' the Humanitarian Charter and the Minimum Standards, citing first-hand experiences and case studies.

The report is available for download from the Sphere website.