Reforming the system

Reforming the system

The scale of the humanitarian challenge we face today is greater than ever before. The international community needs to rise to meet this challenge, and to make the most of available resources. DFID plays a leading role in supporting and reforming the humanitarian system.

The Humanitarian system

In the event of disasters, international humanitarian aid arrives in affected regions from many sources: from donor countries such as the UK, from charities, and from multilateral bodies such as the UN. Much of the funding provided by DFID and other donors is channelled through UN agencies and NGOs who have the capacity and expertise to reach those in need.

The staff of NGOs and UN agencies work hard - and in many cases risk their lives – to help meet those needs. This work saves countless lives and reduces the suffering of people across the globe.

The system as a whole, however, is highly complex and because of the risk of gaps or duplication, the whole sometimes achieves less than the sum of its parts. With enhanced coordination and leadership, better accountability and stronger partnerships, the international response to disasters can be more effective.

Since 2005, the international community has worked together to reform and strengthen the humanitarian system. The UN has a unique mandate to lead and coordinate such a response and DFID is supporting it to play this role. Non government organisations (NGOs) are our key partners on the ground, and DFID is also working closely with others to ensure that NGOs are engaged in and able to benefit from these reforms.

Reforms

The key elements of Humanitarian reform are:

1. Leadership

2. Coordination

3. Better and more humanitarian financing

4. More effective UN humanitarian agencies

1. In-country leadership

Humanitarian Co-ordinators (HCs) are appointed by the UN to lead and coordinate the humanitarian response to a disaster. A strong HC is vital to ensuring effective coordination of a response, but they also rely on the cooperation and support of UN agencies, NGOs and others in country.

We need a greater number of HCs, all with the right humanitarian experience and in-country support to provide leadership on the ground in an emergency. In many cases the HC is also the UN Resident Coordinator (RC), responsible for coordinating broader development work. DFID is supporting the UN to develop the pool of Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators.

2. Coordination

The "Cluster approach" allocates a lead agency to coordinate and, where necessary, fill gaps in delivery in each sector (e.g. protection or health) in an emergency response. Every agency has its specialist focus and expertise, but coordination amongst all agencies is essential to avoid gaps or duplication.

The clusters coordinate within each sector, while overall coordination is the responsibility of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) with the support of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

When agencies co-operate under the clear leadership of a Humanitarian Co-ordinator – as in the 2008 storms in Haiti – aid is provided to maximum effect, lives are saved, effort is maximised. DFID is working hard with partners to ensure stronger coordination and greater impact in every emergency.

3. Better and more humanitarian financing

It is vital that donors continue their commitment to humanitarian spending. It is also essential that this money is spent where it is most needed and that it reaches those in need quickly. A number of reforms have focused on ensuring that money is spent as effectively and efficiently as possible, to make the most of available resources.

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was established in 2005 by the United Nations to enable more timely and reliable humanitarian assistance to countries and people affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts. It has since made more than $400 million a year available to meet urgent needs. DFID is currently the largest donor to the CERF. Yet existing funds aren’t enough. UK Minister of State Gareth Thomas recently called for new donors and an increase in the CERF to $1 billion a year by 2010.

The CERF is now a well-established single source of disaster relief. Something similar needs to be established for each disaster: a single pot of money at country level (often known as a Common Humanitarian Fund or CHF) which will enable Humanitarian Coordinators to act faster on the ground in a crisis. In the Central African Republic pooled funding allowed the Humanitarian Co-ordinator to get money quickly to where it was needed most, which meant more lives were saved.

DFID is working to see pooled funding in 80% of countries facing protracted crises by 2010, and greater efforts to ensure the money gets released rapidly to NGOs on the ground to meet urgent needs.

4. More effective UN humanitarian agencies

DFID is supporting UN agencies to strengthen their ability to respond to crises swiftly and effectively. We do this through our Institutional Strategies (agreements with UN Agencies based on their own strategic plans). We also provide core funding to strengthen agencies' performance and ensure they can respond more flexibly to needs.

Political commitment

We need high level international political commitment to ensure these reforms are successfully implemented and to maximize the impact of humanitarian response. DFID’s Minister of State Gareth Thomas recently proposed an annual meeting of Ministers, the UN, Red Cross and NGOs at which we can come together to drive progress forward and take key decisions on financing, leadership and coordination – issues which are fundamental to our ability to help people in an emergency.

The 21st century will increasingly be defined by new challenges as we see humanitarian disasters occurring with greater frequency and ferocity. It is essential that we continue to drive these reforms to enable us to deliver effective humanitarian aid locally - where and when it is needed.

Links

Humanitarian reform - speech by Gareth Thomas