Why Humanitarian Reform

1
Why Humanitarian Reform?

• Recognized gaps in humanitarian response
• Humanitarian Response Review commissioned in 2005
• Concluded that major improvements were needed in
  humanitarian response
• IASC endorsed humanitarian reform in September
  2005

2
What is the Cluster Approach?

• A method of work
• to address identified gaps in response
• to enhance the quality of humanitarian action

3
Why the Cluster Approach?

• To improve the predictability, timeliness and
  effectiveness of humanitarian response
• To strengthen leadership and accountability in
  key areas

4
What is a Cluster?

• A group of agencies, organizations and other
  stakeholders, interconnected by their respective
  mandates, working together to address needs in a
  specific area of humanitarian activity for
  greater effectiveness and efficiency.

5
Expected Output of the Global Clusters

• Develop global guidance, standards, tools and
  resources
• Build response capacity through training, rosters
  and material stockpiles
• Provide operational support through preparedness
  and planning, technical expertise, advocacy and
  resource mobilization

6
The Beginning of the Health Cluster

• Set up in September 2005 with WHO as lead agency
• First seen in action in Pakistan in October 2005
• Currently 30 global level partners

7
Strategic areas of the Global Health Cluster

• Coordination and Management
• Information Management
• Rosters and Stockpiles
• Capacity Building of National Counterparts
• Operational Support

8
Current work of the Global Health Cluster

• Guidance and tools for Coordination and
  Management
• Stakeholders analysis (to accompany 3W),
  strategic planning, joint action plans, gap
  filling
• Health aspects of the recovery phase
• Advocacy
• Capacity Building of National Stakeholders
• Information Management
• an Inter-cluster Rapid Assessment Tool and
  accompanying definitions and guidance
• comprehensive Assessment Tool
• assessment, monitoring, tracking systems
• Mainstreaming health information with larger
  humanitarian IM system
• Rosters and Stockpiles
• Selection, Training and Roster-ing of Health
  Cluster Field Coordinators
• Regional stockpiles of health supplies with
  necessary logistic support
• Capacity Building
• Guidance to strengthen national capacity in
  emergency preparedness, response and recovery
• Operational Support
• Global working relations within the health
  cluster, between global clusters, and with
  country clusters
• Advocacy, resource mobilization, trainings
• Benchmarks/indicators for and evaluations of the
  impact of the cluster approach

9
Added Value from the Global Level

• Partners work within jointly determined and
  agreed methods of work using cluster-endorsed
  guidance and tools
• Increased surge capacity through trained and
  rostered emergency health experts
• Collaborative and coordinated emergency response
  within and between clusters/sectors

10
Health Cluster at the Country Level

• Lead and coordinate
• Seek collaboration and inclusiveness
• Conduct health needs assessment
• Facilitate a joint strategic plan and action plan
• Incorporate cross cutting issues
• Turn plans into action through leadership
• Monitor and report
• Build local capacity
• Advocate and mobilize resources
• Be provider of last resort

11
Country Level Health Clusters

• Chronic Emergencies
• CAR
• Chad
• Colombia
• DRC
• Ethiopia
• Liberia
• Madagascar
• Somalia
• Uganda

• Acute Emergencies
• Pakistan
• Lebanon
• Philippines
• Mozambique

12
Added Value at the Country Level

• Joint health assessments
• Joint strategic planning and planned actions
• Info sharing and analysis for evidence based
  action
• Avoid overlap, increase complementary actions
• Identification and filling of gaps
• Clear lead
• more predictable and effective response

13
Feedback from country health clusters

• Successes
• Coordination
• Joint planning, assessments, evaluations,
  advocacy and appeals
• Info sharing mapping actors, mailing lists,
  assessment results, programming transparency
• Funding donors pledge more funds to the pooled
  fund, access to funding is possible for more
  partners, increasing transparency and equity
  common platform capable of lobbying donors and
  governments
• Clearly identified cluster lead with roles and
  responsibilitieswhich is not the case with the
  sector approach

14
Feedback from country health clusters

• Challenges
• Coordination is at the central level, but still
  weak at the provincial level
• Lack of partner participation
• Lack of government participation role unclear
• Cluster approach perceived as a UN structure (top
  down) attempt to control other actors
• Humanitarian appeals still under-funded no
  specific funds for cluster for dedicated
  resources and staff funding competition
• Weak information flow
• Weak inter-cluster linkages
• Meeting overload parallel structures
• Lack of guidance, bench marks and support from
  global cluster lead
• Not sufficiently identifying and addressing gaps

15
Feedback from country health clusters

• Needs
• Increase communication between global and country
  clusters
• Promote intensively the system and its added
  value
• Merge cluster with existing coordination
  mechanisms
• Increase government ownership of the process
• Engage donors in clusters at all levels
• Commit resources to the Cluster lead to enhance
  the leadership and coordination role offer
  training courses send experienced HCFC
• Commit resources/funding to partners to fill gaps
  during the transitional period
• Provide simple guidance, tools and resource
  materials
• Increase transparency in the fund allocation
  process
• Standardize information systems and indicators to
  be collected to monitor impact

16
Next steps for the Global Health Cluster

• Bring products and services to country clusters
  through peer review, field testing and joint work
• Strengthen communication between global and
  country clusters through website, working group
  representation, open discussion, work shops,
  field visits
• Increase support to country clusters through
  advocacy, resource mobilization, rosters,
  pocketbook, trainings
• Build inter-cluster/sector coordination and joint
  products at the global level, and introduce to
  country clusters through joint field visits and
  communications