DG ECHO

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DG ECHO

• Operational Strategy 2009

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HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

• Increase in natural disasters
• Crises are becoming increasingly complex
• Increasing demand on humanitarian aid
• Difficulties in implementing aid
• Degradation of security conditions

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BUDGETARY CONTEXT

• Year of constraints
• Budget planned for 2009 for humanitarian aid
• 504,531,000 (Humanitarian Aid)
• 230,025,000 (Food Aid
• 33,295,000 (DIPECHO)
• 9,200,000 (Support Expenses)
• TOTAL 777,051,000

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• Evolution of budget

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• Africa, Caribbean, Pacific

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ACP COUNTRIES

• INITIAL BUDGET 2009 339.8 M
• Humanitarian Aid 218.8 M
• Food Aid 116 M
• DIPECHO 5 M

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4 GEOGRAPHICAL CLUSTERS

• SUDAN AND CHAD 140 M
• HORN OF AFRICA 69 M
• CENTRAL, SOUTHERN AFRICA and
• INDIAN OCEAN 91.5 M
• WEST AFRICA 27 M
• CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC 12.3 M

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MAJOR CRISES AND RESPONSES

• SUDAN 110 M (Darfur and South Sudan)
• DRC 36 M 9 (North Kivu)
• CHAD 30 M (Refugees from Sudan and CAR
  IDPs and local vulnerable populations)
• ZIMBABWE 25 M (developments?)
• BURUNDI/TANZANIA
• 20 M (support to return and
  reinstallation of refugees)
• SOMALIA 18 M (Central and South)

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MAIN CHALLENGES

• Security/access Somalia, Sudan, Chad
• Civil-military relations Chad, CAR, Eastern DRC
  (?)
• LRRD Liberia, Sahel, Kenya, Uganda
• Relations with authorities Ethiopia, Eritrea,
  Sudan, Zimbabwe

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• Central and Eastern Europe,
• NIS, Mediterranean countries, Middle East

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• Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus

• Initial budget 2009 109 M (inc. Food Aid
  45.5 M)
• Major crises and responses
• Palestinian crisis 58 M (FA 30 M)
• Iraqi crisis 30 M (FA 10 M)
• Sahrawi refugees 10 M (FA 5.5 M)
• Other crises
• Chechen crisis 6 M
• Georgia 2 M
• Yemen 1 M
• DIPECHO (South Caucasus) 2 M

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Palestinian crisis

• Occupied Palestinian Territory ( 52 M)
• Large scale protection crisis exacerbated by
  access problems.
• Worsening humanitarian situation to which DG ECHO
  adapts accordingly its response (food, health,
  watsan, psycho, coordination, protection/advocacy
  on access and respect of IHL).
• Palestinian refugees in Lebanon ( 6 M)
• Refugee camps remain with serious humanitarian
  needs, notably shelter in Nahr el Bared.

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Crise iraquienne ( 30 M)

• Baisse du nombre dincidents violents
  insuffisante pour un contexte propice au retour
  et au développement.
• Conséquences sur capacité de mise en uvre
  (remote control).
• Ciblage sur les besoins essentiels et urgents
  protection, médecine durgence, aide aux déplacés
  et aux victimes des violences.
• Réfugiés dégradation des conditions de vie
  appui aux plus vulnérables, en coordination avec
  les autres instruments daide aux pays daccueil.

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Sahrawi  refugees in Algeria ( 10 M)

• Forgotten crisis with little prospect of
  immediate durable solution
• High dependency on humanitarian aid. 
• Constraints at local level coordination
  difficulties between official assistance and aid
  sent by the solidarity movement Very few
  donors and partner NGOs delicate balance between
  working in close cooperation with local
  authorities representing the refugees and
  maintaining an independent, needs-based,
  impartial and accountable humanitarian aid. 
• Food aid 60 of the assistance basic food aid
  and fresh food distributions. Non Food hygiene
  items, shelter, vaccines, essential medicines,
  water, sanitation and waste management.

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• Tchétchénie ( 6 M) Stabilisation de la
  situation (sécurité reconstruction) confirme
  la stratégie de sortie mais accès aux victimes du
  conflit à nouveau difficile.
• Géorgie ( 2 M) Aide massive des donateurs aux
  victimes du conflit de lété 2008 ECHO
  concentrera son appui sur les activités
  durgence protection, assistance et appui au
  retour.
• Yémen ( 1 M) Focus sur le conflit au Nord,
  (crise oubliée) malgré problèmes daccès.

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• Asia and Latin America

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• Protracted crises
• Response to new crises (natural disasters and new
  displacements)
• Disaster preparedness

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1. Protracted crises

• Afghanistan 33 M - increasing humanitarian
  needs in a steadily worsening security situation.
• Sri Lanka 16 M - intensified conflict, lack of
  access to IDPs, and increasing hostility to
  humanitarian agencies.
• Burma/Myanmar 18.5 M (excl. Nargis response) -
  deteriorating humanitarian situation in many
  border regions access outside Irrawaddy Delta
  ever more sensitive.
• Colombia 12 M - no let-up in the conflict or
  number of IDPs or refugees focus on handover to
  the authorities after emergency phase.

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2. New crises the experience of 2008

• Response to
• 16 natural disasters
• 2 new conflicts
• 1 refugee situation
• 92.9 M
• Including
• Bangladesh, Cyclone Sidr follow-up 17 M
• Burma/Myanmar, Cyclone Nargis, May 39 M
• Nepal/Bihar Floods - broken dam, September 6.6 M

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3. Disaster preparedness

• Two DIPECHO Action plans to be launched in 2009
  in South Asia and South America for 10 M each
• Two Action Plans will continue to be implemented
  - in South East Asia and Central America (10 M
  each) - in 2009 from 2008 budget

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Cross Cutting Issues

• Access
• Government restrictions (Burma/Myanmar, Sri
  Lanka)
• Conflict restrictions (Afghanistan, Sri Lanka,
  Colombia)
• Involvement of military forces in humanitarian
  action (Afghanistan)
• Mainstreaming disaster preparedness
• Adoption of small-scale disasters decision (1
  M), allowing for rapid response to disasters
  which have significant impact in limited zones

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• Food Aid and Disaster Preparedness

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Humanitarian Food Assistance Budget Perspectives
Food Aid 2009

• 2009 initial Food Aid budget 230M.
• This is approximately 30 of DG ECHOs overall
  budget.
• Challenging prospects for Food Aid in 2009, due
  to
• -food price crisis continuing and
• -the effect of the economic crisis increasing
  caseload at field level.

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Humanitarian Food Assistance Primary objectives
for Food Assistance 2009

• In the face of the on-going food price and
  economic crisis DG ECHOs FA objectives remain to
  save lives alleviate human suffering, by
• Restoring maintaining stable nutritional
  status.
• Protecting livelihoods supporting early,
  short-term livelihood recovery.
• Enhancing the effectiveness of food assistance
  delivery.
• DG ECHOs response to be
• Holistic and coherent and
• Linked with other forms of responses to needs.

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Humanitarian Food Assistance Indicative
Geographical Allocations 2009
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Humanitarian Food Assistance Policy Development
within DG ECHO

• Action Plan of the European Consensus on
  Humanitarian Aid
• Requires that the EC
• elaborate diversified approaches to food
  assistance and livelihoods support and
• action (must be) taken to adjust policy and
  financing to contexts and needs.
• In 2009 DG ECHO will revisit its policy for
  Humanitarian Food Assistance
• This will inter alia reflect better the
  increasing shift from food aid to food
  assistance.
• It will be established in close coordination with
  other EC services and the participation of
  external stakeholders.

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DG ECHO Strategy in DRR/DP 2009

• Main Pillars of Action
• Targeted DP actions with mitigation component
• Dipecho in South America, South Asia, Caribbean
  and South Caucasus.
• Targeted Disaster Preparedness actions in larger
  DRR initiatives.
• 2) Strengthening Integration of DRR/DP in all
  relevant relief and recovery actions
• - Improve the quality of the humanitarian
  response.
• - Allow easier LRRD practice. Improve resilience
  of communities.
• 3) Advocacy, coordination, capacity-building and
  dissemination of good practices.
• - Improve advocacy and coordination for effective
  DRR and capacity building.
• Strengthening UNISDR system Capacity for the
  implementation of the HFA.
• TOTAL INITIAL BUDGET for 2009 - 34 M EURO
• FULLY IN LINE WITH THE EU STRATEGY FOR
  DEVELOPPING COUNTRIES AND EU CONSENSUS ON
  HUMANITARIAN AID

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• Information and Communication

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A reminder on visibility

• Visibility is not optional ? contractual
  obligation.
• Basic rules are easy
• Commission humanitarian aid logo next to the
  partner logo
• acknowledgment of Commission as the donor in
  media interviews, press releases or any other
  relevant situation
• Making our action visible to the world
• ensuring our work is understood and supported
• Possibility of a case-by-case exemption for
  security reasons in exceptional circumstances and
  duly justified cases - but this must be agreed in
  advance

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Visibility and communication actions in the
financing agreement

• The principle of effectiveness applies as much to
  this as to any other element of the project
• (1) Basic visibility does not need to be
  expensive
• Acknowledge Commission as donor on website
  providing link to DG ECHO website
• Press releases highlighting projects
• Stickers, posters, t-shirts and signboards

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Visibility and communication actions in the
financing agreement

• (2) If you want to do more proactive
  communication
• a lot can be achieved with a little ( a little
  imagination)
• be results-oriented
• Last year (2007) partners spent around 2.4
  million in visibility lines.
• Are we - or you - getting value for money?