THE CLUSTER APPROACH: HOW DID YOU MAKE IT WORK

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THE CLUSTER APPROACH HOW DID YOU MAKE IT WORK?

• The Case of Gulu District Local Government
  Disaster Management Committee
• By
• Charles Uma
• (Uganda)

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GENERAL BACKGROUND

• The insurgency in northern Uganda has now lasted
  22 years.
• Displacements into Internally Displaced Persons
  (IDP) Camps began in 1996 when the rebel group
  started targeting the civilian population through
  abductions, maiming, burning of houses and
  committing many other atrocities against them.

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• This displacement necessitated a formal
  coordination structure to ensure protection,
  assistance and wellbeing of the IDPs.
• In that year (1996), the Government of Uganda,
  through Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) issued
  a circular that mandated Districts to take lead
  in the coordination of the humanitarian
  interventions in their areas of jurisdictions.
• Gulu District Local Government therefore formed
  the District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC)
  through that circular, though with less defined
  membership and roles and responsibilities.

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Impression of the Cluster Approach since it was
introduced in Gulu

• Introduction
• The Cluster Approach was proposed in 2005
  following a recommendation of the Humanitarian
  Response Review meeting that assessed the
  humanitarian response capacities of the UN, NGOs,
  Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement and other key
  humanitarian actors including the International
  Organization for Migration (IOM) and identified
  critical gap areas.

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• The Approach is a way of addressing gaps and
  strengthening the effectiveness of humanitarian
  response through building partnerships with UN,
  NGOs and host Governments.
• It ensures predictability and accountability in
  international responses to humanitarian
  emergencies by clarifying the division of labor
  among organizations, and better defining of their
  roles and responsibilities within the different
  sectors of the response.
• It is about making the international humanitarian
  community more structured, accountable and
  professional, so that it can be a better partner
  to host governments, local authorities and civil
  society.

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• Impressions
• The Cluster Approach was introduced in Gulu
  District in 2006 by OCHA after some meeting in
  Kampala, which was not attended by the Local
  Government staff.
• An orientation was conducted in the district to
  participants from UN agencies, NGOs, the Local
  Government staff and other agencies.
• The orientation painted a picture of introduction
  of a parallel coordination structure to what was
  on the ground, and had worked fairly well.
• Moreover, the Approach was seen as a Kampala
  matter, of the UN, and later NGOs, with poor
  linkage and involvement of local authorities

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• This created a kind of worry amongst members of
  the humanitarian actors in the district,
  especially the NGOs.
• What made it more worrying was the fact that not
  even the other UN staff originally in the
  district and had attended the Kampala
  consultative workshop on the approach could give
  a consoling explanation.
• However, while this was happening, the District
  Leadership remained firm noting that the overall
  responsibility for ensuring protection and
  wellbeing of the IDPs in her area was hers.

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• After further interactions with UN officials from
  Kampala, Geneva and elsewhere together with
  government officials, a common understanding of
  the Cluster Approach was developed.
• This better understanding led to adjustments in
  the then existing structure and membership of the
  coordination body.
• The Approach was also domesticated and aligned to
  the local structure for harmonious coordination
  of responses.

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• All partners then began to appreciate the
  approach as a reinforcing as opposed to parallel
  and competing structure in the coordination of
  the humanitarian interventions.
• Being new in the IDP field, UNHCR staff took a
  bit of time to adjust to the government led
  structure on the ground. They felt they were
  being deprived of some freedom characteristic in
  refugee situations.

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How the Clusters Have Related to the District
Government Structure Over Time

• Coordination Structure in Gulu District
• The National Policy for Internally Displaced
  Persons in Uganda, 2004 provides for an elaborate
  institutional framework for managing the IDPs in
  the Country.
• At the District level, there is the District
  Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) which is
  composed of relevant Heads of Government
  Departments, all humanitarian actors in the
  District and 01 female and 01 male
  representatives of the IDPs in the District.
  Other members are the District Chairman
  (Political Head) and the Resident District
  Commissioner (Central Govt. representative).

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• The DDMC is Chaired by the Chief Administrative
  Officer (CAO) who is the Accounting Officer and
  head of public service in the District.
• The Committee works through Seven (07)Sector
  Working Groups headed by the following HoDs
• Food Security District Agricultural Officer
  (DAO)
• Water, Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) District
  Water Officer (DWO)
• Health and Nutrition/HIV/AIDS - District Health
  Officer (DHO)
• Protection and Human Rights UHRC (Central
  Govt.)
• Governance, Infrastructure and Livelihood (GIL) -
  Nil
• Camp Coordination, Camp Management/Return
  Resettlement Senior Community Development
  Officer (SCDO)
• Education District Education Officer (DEO)

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• Existing Clusters in Gulu District
• The Clusters existing in Gulu and their leads
  include the following
• Health, Nutrition/HIV/AIDS - WHO
• Food Security Agriculture (livelihood) - FAO
• Camp Coordination and Camp Management/ Return and
  Resettlement (CCCM/RR) - UNHCR
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) - Unicef
• Protection and Human Rights - UHRC
• Education Save the Children in Uganda (SCiU)
• Governance, Infrastructure and Livelihood
  (Non-agricultural) - UNDP

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• Relationship between the two
• Because IDP management is the responsibility of
  the national Government, the Local Government
  Heads of Department in Gulu are the Chairs of
  each of their line Sector Working Groups
• The Cluster Leads are Co-Chairs of the respective
  Working Groups
• All agencies in the respective sectors/clusters
  are members of the various Groups
• Sector/cluster meetings are conducted monthly
  with agenda identified through consultations
  between the Chair and Co-Chair and members.
• Before the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement
  between the GoU and LRA in August 2006 the DDMC
  was meeting monthly. Now it meets once in two
  months.
• The Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) (then)
  assisted in linking the District to the Center
  and providing general guidelines on humanitarian
  responses in northern region of the country.

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• The CAO remains the overall coordinator
• UNOCHA Co-Chairs, provides the Secretariat to
  the DDMC, and is the Inter-Cluster Central
  coordination link between UN agencies,
  International NGOs and Government.
• The Disaster Preparedness Coordinator, Office of
  the Prime Minister plays Co-Secretariat role.

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HOW THE CLUSTERS WILL FIT INTO GOVT
STRUCTURE/PLAN DURING TRANSITION TO RECOVERY

• As earlier observed, the structure is already
  government led in six out of the seven
  coordination pillars in Gulu District.
• During the current transition from humanitarian
  to recovery phase, the encouragement is for the
  Cluster Leads to begin playing more advisory and
  technical backstopping as opposed to active
  coordination role like it was before.
• This has been experienced through a Durable
  Solutions Pilot intervention in one Subcounty
  (Lalogi) in Gulu District.

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• GIL Cluster which came late and is currently not
  directly headed by a main government department
  shall be carefully considered and either
  integrated into some of the major sectors or
  given another government headship as the case may
  be (proposed for Production Department).
• Planning, needs assessments and implementation
  are government led, supported by Partners, in an
  integrated manner for common understanding,
  better appreciation of the needs, more effective
  resource allocation, avoidance of duplication
  more focused response, ownership and
  sustainability.

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• Central Government priorities and standards,
  District and Subcounty plans and priorities
  should be over riding in all sectors (PRDP,
  DDP, SCDP).
• CAP to be aligned with the PRDP -
• Cluster members and their Donors need to be
  flexible to meet the above government wishes for
  the recovering individuals.
• The Parish Approach of service provision is
  committing to all actors and facilitates
  integrated interventions along government
  structure.

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Challenges

• Limited Donor funding
• Limited relevant District Structure for some
  clusters (Human Rights, GIL)
• Poor attitude of some Partners towards district
  leadership in coordination
• Limited capacity of the district
• Inadequate Human Resource
• Inadequate funding and logistics
• Lack of motivation among District staff

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END

• THANK YOU