ORAP CEO Participates in an online event preparing for the World Humanitarian Summit on Humanitarian effectiveness: Regional priorities in Eastern and Southern Africa

Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress C.E.O Mvuselelo Huni with Hon. Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives Development Sithembiso Nyoni 

The Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP) is organizing a series of online events in support of the World Humanitarian Summit regional consultation process for Eastern and Southern Africa. The World Humanitarian Summit is being convened by the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and will be held in Istanbul in 2016, with the aim of setting a new agenda for global humanitarian action. The main themes will be:

·         Humanitarian effectiveness,

·         Reducing vulnerability,

·         Managing risk,

·         Transformation through innovation, and

·         Serving the needs of people in conflict.

Learn more about the Summit at www.worldhumanitariansummit.org.

The Chief Executive Officer of ORAP, Mvuselelo Huni, was asked to be one of the presenters at the event on the Priorities for Improving Humanitarian Effectiveness in Eastern and Southern Africa. Below is the 5 minute presentation she made. The other speakers at the event were:

·         Michael Charles, Regional Programs Coordinator for the Southern Africa region, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

·         Francis Onditi, Regional Child Protection Coordinator for West and East Africa, Save the Children International.

·         Filipa Gouveia, Programme Officer and Humanitarian Focal Point, UNFPA Mozambique.

·         Rania El Rajji, Humanitarian Affairs Advisor, MSF-Spain (Kenya).

·         Joseph Nkinzo, Executive Director, Hope in Action International, (Kenya).

The recorded event is available at phap.org/23oct2014.

Topic: Coordination among agencies towards the empowerment of local organizations is the key to efficient and sustainable humanitarian interventions in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The humanitarian challenges in Eastern and Southern Africa are varied across a broad spectrum. This means that the responses need to be diverse too. However, the common factor of all humanitarian action is that it must improve the lives of people in need. I shall speak briefly about my belief that the key to effective humanitarian action is the empowerment of local organisations and communities through effective coordination.

Humanitarian action in Africa is implemented by many different groups that come together towards a common goal. These include governments, donors, NGOs, communities themselves, and even the private sector. The goal is to relieve the immediate distress of the people and prevent further harm, and in some instances building their resilience as well. These different actors are guided by the Humanitarian principles of:

·         Humanity

·         Impartiality

·         Independence, and

·         Neutrality.

As they work together they are knit together by the universally agreed Principles of Partnership, which are:

·         Equality,

·         Transparency,

·         Result-orientated approach,

·         Responsibility, and

·         Complementarity.

However, when it comes to implementation there are many other forces that dictate the way that the various organisations act, ranging from government internal and foreign policies, availability of funds, the extent of the crisis, and the capacities of the actors. Meaning that these principles can be interpreted in different ways by different actors.

The empowerment of local organisations (and I use the term ‘organisation’ to refer to any grouping from local communities to government) is key to humanitarian effectiveness for two main reasons:

Firstly, locals have a close understanding of the context, the history of the place and the people, including the causes of the crisis and possible remedies. They also understand how the crisis affects different sectors of society – youth, elderly, women, children, the disabled etc – and how best they can be incorporated. Unfortunately, in many cases the engagement of locals is done in such a way as to disempower the main actors, for example, when they are recruited to be lower level staff that has no influence on programme design.

Secondly, locals have a close interest in the outcomes of the intervention, i.e. the future of the people and the place. They have a significant bearing on the sustainability of the action and the building of resilience among the people.

Empowerment comes through the intentional inclusion of local organizations in the planning, implementation and monitoring of any humanitarian work. While external actors may have technical expertise, it becomes ineffective and unsustainable if used outside the context and acceptability of the target communities.

Empowerment also comes through instilling comprehensive accountability into the local organisations. This means that they are held to the high standards demanded of donors, UN agencies and other external technical partners. This is demanded by the Principles of Partnership, to ensure that those in need receive high quality assistance. This calls for openness from both local and external organisations so that they can teach one another. Admittedly, this is not a simple task, but the effort pays off in the long term and ensures that the financial investment has a significant return.

At ORAP we believe that bringing about positive change to communities, whether they are in an emergency situation, recovering from a disaster, or working towards sustainable development, bringing about change comes through relationships and dialogue. Acknowledging the role played by those in need and those able to assist. A one sided approach that is delivered by those bringing assistance often creates a situation of dependency, does not build any level of resilience, and often leaves a community open to future vulnerability.

Dialogue and relationship building is a continuous process but it is most critical at the point where the need is identified. Just as a technical team ensures that all the relevant disciplines are brought to the table to design a comprehensive intervention, it is imperative that the people in need are also represented so that their true needs are met.

There are significant strides being made towards achieving the goal of empowering local communities. In Zimbabwe there are donor agencies such as USAID that are placing emphasis on the inclusion of local organisations in all stages of programme design. This has become easier as the country has stabilized, but it was the willingness of such agencies to engage directly with locals at various levels that has contributed to the stability we now enjoy.

In conclusion, humanitarian effectiveness requires great effort and intentionality from all involved. The local communities and organizations must be willing to reveal themselves in order to be met at their true point of need. They must be open to being taught and critiqued and held to high standards, with due respect to their experience and knowledge. While those bringing the assistance need to be willing to listen and learn in order to tailor their interventions appropriately and bring about meaningful change.

Coordination among agencies has been happening at higher levels for a long time. The successes of that need to be instilled into all levels of humanitarian action.

Thank you