HAP International | News

Humanitarian standards-setting initiatives hold historic meeting

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Boards of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), People In Aid and the Sphere Project met for the first time ever in Geneva on 25 April.

This was a significant event in the long history of collaborative working between the three initiatives and a key milestone on the journey towards a more coherent standards architecture. This historic face-to-face encounter provided the opportunity to build trust and discuss ways to achieve greater coherence.

Humanitarian standards are crucial for “increased quality and accountability in humanitarian response,” said Erik Johnson, Chair of the Sphere Project Board in his opening remarks to the half-day meeting. “Coherent, easy-to-use and straightforward standards are more likely to be put into practice. And if they’re used, they’re more likely to make a difference in the lives of conflict- and disaster-affected people. That’s why we’re here,” he added.

The three initiatives have adopted the name Joint Standards Initiative (JSI) for their collective effort. Much has been achieved within the framework of the JSI thus far, including a joint deployment to the Horn of Africa, the development of the web portal JointStandards.org and a fruitful dialogue to set the goals for the next stage of the process.

Against this backdrop of collective achievement some 40 members of the three Boards discussed their shared goals and visions for a more coherent humanitarian standards architecture, as well as the scope of the JSI and the next steps in the process.

Addressing the meeting participants, Neil Casey, Chair of the People In Aid Board, highlighted its “unprecedented” character. “There is a tremendous amount of commitment represented in this room as well as much agreement on what we want to achieve and how we move forward,” Casey said.

Commenting on the event, the then Chair of the HAP Board Matthew Carter said: “The coming together of the three Boards was a historic moment within the humanitarian enterprise, highlighting the great potential of closer and more structured working.”

One of the next steps of the process is a wide consultation with the initiatives’ main stakeholders, including humanitarian field workers. A working group on standards and organizations made up of representatives of the three Boards plus independent experts will analyze the consultation’s findings, make recommendations and propose changes towards a new humanitarian standards architecture.

The outcomes of the consultation process and of the working group will be shared at a Forum on Humanitarian Standards to be held in the Spring of 2013. The whole process is being overseen by a Steering Group made of the three Board Chairs and the three initiatives’ senior staff. A full-time Coordinator will be appointed in June.

For Carter, “there are both challenges and great opportunities in taking forward the JSI, but fundamentally HAP believes that this commitment will bring about major and positive change across the sector and be another move to enhancing accountability to people affected by disasters.”

Highlighting the “historic opportunity to address what is a very important challenge,” Johnson affirmed “dialogue and debate, and the evidence-based approach which have defined our standards” as the “best tools” for the task ahead.

In his closing remarks, Casey stressed the need for the ‘greater coherence’ process to be both “ambitious” and “beneficiary-led”. “Let’s not think about organizational restructuring, but about what our beneficiaries need; let’s put them at the heart of the process,” he emphasized.

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CDAC Media and Tech Fair

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network works to keep people affected by crisis well informed and actively communicating with those responding to the crisis. It envisions crisis-affected people being equal partners in, and agents of, their own recovery.

Towards this end, the CDAC Network held the Media and Tech Fair in March, which brought together humanitarian agencies, media networks, and practitioners to share experiences, explore the potential and highlight the impact of using technology in increase effective communication to affected communities.

Field Case studies were shared by various agencies such as Action Aid, Infoasaid, BBC, Frontline SMS, IFRC, Internews, IOM and many others. The case studies, from across the globe highlight the different ways in which communication can take place, the challenges around effective and meaningful communication and the possible solutions.

You can see the field studies videos and read more about the Tech and Media Fair at:

http://www.cdacnetwork.org/public/news/media-and-tech-fair-wrap

For more information contact:

Rachel Houghton: CDAC: rachel.houghton@cdacnetwork.org

Craig Tucker: CDAC: craig.tucker@cdacnetwork.org

Maria Kiani: HAP: mkiani@hapinternational.org

Mobile Phone Accountability Assessment - World Vision

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Knowledge is power and information provision from WV to communities is a key component of quality and accountability. In April 2012 a team from WVUK and WV Cambodia completed a rapid assessment to assess if SMS might improve the way an area development program (ADP) provides information to communities.

Here is what they found.

Voices of affected Communities Turkana, Kenya

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A central objective of the Joint Deployment to the Horn of Africa was to ensure that the voices of those affected by disaster are amplified and brought centre stage to ensure greater action on accountability and quality. Under the objective of collaborating with and supporting existing networks, and building on the on-going processes, an interagency mapping exercise was conducted during the joint deployment in collaboration with the In-Country Network (ICN) on Protection from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (PSEA).

View the report

The 2011 Humanitarian Accountability Report released

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The HAP membership and its Secretariat have released the annual review of the "year that was", the 2011 Humanitarian Accountability Report. This year's report was published in conjunction with the 2011 HAP Secretariat Report.

The Humanitarian Accountability Report (HAR) for the fourth year running contains an annual overview of the developments in humanitarian accountability by the highly regarded researcher John Borton. This year's Humanitarian Accountability Report also contains the 7th annual survey of perceptions on humanitarian accountability, and a chapter on a joint mapping exercise carried out in the region of Turkana, Kenya.

HAP International welcomes new member, Health & Nutrition Development Society, in the partnership

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

HAP International is pleased to announce Health And Nutrition Development Society (HANDS) of Pakistan, as the latest new full member in the partnership.

HANDS’ mission is to promote basic health services, primary education, income generation opportunities and development of institutions to empower underprivileged communities in rural areas. Their work is focused in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, and in 2011 they served more than 13 million people in 19,000 villages / settlements.

HANDS was started in 1979 by a group of volunteer doctors led by their professor, and focused on primary health care in villages in underprivileged rural areas. Over time, HANDS has diversified its activities to include education, poverty alleviation, social mobilization, Disaster Risk Reduction, Gender Development, Human & Institutional Development, Community Infra structure, and Shelter. HANDS currently partners with numerous organisations, including UNHCR, WFP, WHO, DFID, Save the Children, UNICEF, CARE International, Plan International, the GAVI Alliance and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation.

HANDS provided relief services in 2010 - 11 floods in Sindh by mobilising 250 professionals and more than 10,000 volunteers. HANDS rescue team evacuated more than 85,000 people. They set up nearly 300 camps in 12 affected districts of Sindh, assisting more than 360,000 people with shelter, food, clean drinking water, hygiene kits, and health education, livestock and medical services.

HANDS’ strategy in early recovery and rehabilitation phase in the aftermath of 2010 and 2011 flood disasters in Pakistan is ‘The Appropriate Measures for Early Recovery and Early Rehabilitation’ (TAMEER), under which umbrella several projects have been started, which include water, hygiene & sanitation, livelihoods and community physical infrastructure activities. It has also established Disaster Management & Preparedness Centres in Northern and Southern Sindh.

HANDS has a commitment to accountability in its published principles and values, which include the statement, ‘Our process is based on an understanding of roles and responsibilities, which include accountability, ethnic impartiality and effective participation’.

For more information, please visit the HANDS website at www.hands.org.pk.

HAP International welcomes new member, Strengthening Participatory Organization, in the partnership

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

HAP International is pleased to announce Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) of Pakistan, as a new full member in the partnership.

SPO is one of the largest civil society organisations in Pakistan, with 17 regional and project offices. It was started in 1987 and works with more than 200 grassroots-level partner organisations in more than 60 districts. Its mission is to strengthen and support community organisations and public interest institutions of Pakistan for the benefit of poor and disadvantaged sections of society for sustainable development through a participatory approach.

Its core programme areas are democratic governance, social justice and peace & social harmony. In addition, SPO responds to disasters and emergency situations, such as the earthquake in Azad Kashmir, internally displaced people of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, and relief activities in flood-affected areas including Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh.

SPO is a rights-based organisation which works through capacity building, action research, awareness raising, advocacy, policy dialogue, trainings, dissemination of information and literature, mobilisation of communities, developing partnerships with local organisations and encouraging and supporting peace movements.

SPO currently receives funding for its core programme from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid), the British High Commission and the Embassy for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Atif Sandhu, Head of Disaster Preparedness and Response at SPO, explains that, ‘Seeking HAP membership is a step forward in order to develop the organisation’s image as a responsible, transparent and accountable outfit to the beneficiaries of emergency initiatives, so that they pose their confidence in the organization and participate in all the interventions being implemented by SPO’.

For more information, please visit the SPO website at www.spopk.org.

A comment on the Rwanda Genocide Day of Reflection from the HAP Executive Director

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Despite many years of working in the humanitarian field, I have never had a reason to visit the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. The opportunity arose this week as the UN were hosting a Ceremony of Observance at the ‘Palais des Nations’ for the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. The Palais is a series of huge neo-classical buildings in one of the smartest districts of Geneva. I navigated through the usual airport style security and found my way to the enormous Conference Room XIX. On the way in I passed a young Rwandan woman, comforting her beautifully gurgling 2 month old baby, nestling on her shoulder.

During the ceremony we were reminded of the horrors of the genocide in Rwanda, when over the course of 100 days in 1994, a million Tutsi’s were murdered because of their ethnicity. I worked in neighbouring Burundi several years later and heard first hand terrible stories of these atrocities as well as the retribution and counter attacks that followed.

The current High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, reminded us that we must never let genocide happen again and we must learn that weak state institutions can lead to impunity. She drew attention to the current humanitarian crisis in Syria and the importance of keeping international attention on the needs and rights of those innocent people caught up in this conflict.

The last speaker on the podium was a genocide survivor, Annick Kayitesi. I realised as she started talking that this was the woman I had passed earlier with her baby son. She spoke powerfully about her memories of the genocide and about her parents being killed and concluded by saying that her greatest personal victory was to start her own family.

It was important and poignant to have a disaster survivor at the heart of the International Day of Reflection, which was also a reminder of how HAP International came into being 10 years ago, out of the response to the Rwandan genocide, in recognition that greater focus and attention was needed on disaster survivors themselves and their rights and dignity.

Robert Schofield, HAP Executive Director
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Vision and mission of HAP

The vision of HAP International is a humanitarian system with a trusted and widely accepted accountability framework, which is transparent and accessible to all relevant parties.

Its mission is to make humanitarian action accountable to its intended beneficiaries through self-regulation linked by common respect for the rights and dignity of beneficiaries.

To find out more about the History of HAP: http://hapinternational.org/about/history.aspx