Introduction to Humanitarian Assistance
Bryan Schaaf
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
U.S. Department of State
•All Slides Unclassified
Objectives
• Introduce humanitarian
assistance
• Describe PRM’s
mandate and
responsibilities
• Note linkages between
humanitarian assistance
and environmental
issues.
• Discuss USG response
to the Libya conflict.
What is Humanitarian Assistance? When Is It Needed?
Objectives of Humanitarian Assistance
To save lives, alleviate suffering, and minimize the
economic costs of conflict, disasters and displacement.
Humanitarian assistance is provided on the basis of
need according to principles of universality, impartiality
and human dignity. (State Department/USAID Definition)
The State of the Displaced (as of end 2010)
• 43.7 million people forcibly displaced,
the highest number in 15 years. This
includes;
– 15.4 million refugees (including
Palestinians)
– 27.5 million internally displaced
– 837,500 asylum seekers
• Largest numbers of refugees are in
Pakistan (1.9 million), Iran (1.1 million)
and Syria (1 million).
• 7.2 million refugees in protracted
situations across 24 countries.
• Refugees and asylum seekers gravitate
to urban areas and IDPs to rural areas.
Refugee returnees in both rural and
urban areas.
What are Some Challenges in Providing Humanitarian Assistance?
Emerging Challenges, New Approaches
• Increasing displacement as a result
of conflict and natural disasters.
– People affected by natural disasters
increased from 150 million in 1990
to 300 million in 2008
• Population growth, urbanization
• Relief to development gap
• Insecurity, lack of access to
populations of concern
• Mixed migration flows
• Environmental degradation (human
made, climate change, etc.)
PRM Roles/Responsibilities
• Formulate policy on U.S.
humanitarian response.
• Conduct humanitarian
diplomacy to advocate for
protection & assistance.
• Focus on protection and
the achievement of durable
solutions.
• Monitor & evaluate U.S.
contributions to IOs and
NGOs.
• Manage U.S. refugee
resettlement program.
Who is Responsible for Refugee Health?
• The Host Government
• The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR)
• United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East (UNRWA)
• Support from other IOs and NGOs
– IOs: World Health Organization
(WHO), United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF)
– NGOs: International Rescue
Committee (IRC), International Medical
Corps (IMC), local groups, etc.
• Financial/Diplomatic support from
governments essential. PRM is
the USG lead for refugees.
Who is Responsible for the Health of IDPs?
• The Host Government. However…
• Under the Cluster Approach, the World
Health Organization (WHO) facilitates
coordination among health actors.
– Ex: Haiti Earthquake (2010)
– Ex: Pakistan Floods (2010)
• Other Important Clusters:
– UNICEF leads WASH and Nutrition Clusters
– WFP leads the Food cluster.
– UNEP leads on “Environment” as an issue
cutting across all clusters.
• USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance (OFDA) is USG lead for IDPs.
Best Practices in Refugee Health
• Health services for refugees are
accessible to the host community.
• Health services are provided at a level
comparable to that of the host country.
• Health services meet minimum
standards, as laid out in the Sphere
Handbook and UNHCR Guidelines.
• Programs build the capacity of refugees
to plan, carry out and monitor health
programs.
• Programs take into account age, gender,
and diversity.
Environmental Issue One: Land
•
Refugee camps often located on marginal land
– Prone to floods, droughts, breeding ground for
mosquitoes.
– Having qualified site planners is critical.
– Short term versus long term planning
• Refugee camps never meant to be
permanent, but often exist for decades.
• Additional land must be negotiated.
•
Access to land for agriculture often restricted
– Denied in Kenya, granted in Uganda.
– Implications for food security.
•
Lack of formal land tenure systems
– Both a development and humanitarian issue.
– A source of conflict in many countries, but no one
UN Agency is responsible for land tenure.
• Ex: Land, shelter, and solutions in Haiti.
• Ex: UNHCR assistance in mediating land
disputes for returnees to the DRC.
Environmental Issue Two: Water
• Why is water a critical issue?
– Promotes public health, reduces patient visits
to health clinics.
– Reduces social burden on women and
children as well as protection risks.
• What causes water programs to fall
short?
– Lack of technical input/capacity, especially in
remote and isolated areas.
– Lack of community involvement.
– Lack of preventative maintenance.
– Lack of ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
– Lack of long term strategic planning.
Kenya: What does this picture tell you?
Kenya: What Does This Picture Tell You?
Environmental Issue Three: Sanitation
• Sphere Standards for Sanitation
– Number: Maximum 20 people/latrine
working toward one latrine/family as
soon as possible.
– Protection: Separate latrines for men
and women, no more than 50 meters
from dwellings.
• Complicating Factors
– Topography: Terrain may not be
conducive to digging latrines
– Ownership: Land-owners may resist
latrine digging on properties that have
become IDP sites.
– Natural Disasters: Flooding can
destroy latrines, cause health hazards.
Chad: Is This An Acceptable Latrine?
Tunisia: What Does This Picture Tell You?
Environmental Issue Four: Fuel
• Nearly half of the world’s population –
about 3 billion people – cooks their food
each day on polluting, inefficient stoves
• Why is this a problem for:
–
–
–
–
For refugee health?
For refugee protection?
For the environment?
For relations between refugees and their host
communities?
• Interventions
– Fuel Efficient Stoves (FES)
• USAID Evaluations in Darfur, Kenya
– Ethanol Stoves (Ethiopia)
• Project Gaia
– Solar Power (Kenya)
• EDP Foundation
– Reforestation (Chad)
• UNHCR
1 month supply of wood in Dadaab
500 – 1,000 Kenyan Shillingsillings
What Does This Picture Tell You?
Fuel (Cont.)
• Current Initiatives
– Fuel and Firewood Initiative (Women’s
Commission)
• Objective: Develop and disseminate
guidelines concerning safe access to
cooking fuels and to encourage rigorous
field testing of alternatives to wood.
– Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
• Objective: Save lives, improve livelihoods,
empower women, and combat climate
change by creating a thriving global market
for clean, efficient cooking solutions.
• Future Opportunities
– Costing/Replicating alternative energy sources
– Improving evidence base for fuel efficient stove
uptake/usage
– Expanding partnerships with universities,
foundations, private sector.
Case Study: Tunisia
• February 15th: Riots in
eastern Libya evolve into
armed struggle against
government forces.
• Since that time, over
193,000 third country
nationals have fled the
country.
• Over 81,000 Libyan
refugees estimated to be
in Tunisia.
500
0
4/26/2011
4/24/2011
4/22/2011
4/20/2011
4/18/2011
4/16/2011
4/14/2011
4/12/2011
4/10/2011
4/8/2011
4/6/2011
4/4/2011
4/2/2011
3/31/2011
3/29/2011
2500
2000
2,415
2,415
6,060
5,591
2,375
4/25/2011
5,870
2,375
5,695
4/23/2011
2,375
2,374
6,257
5,950
4/21/2011
2,366
2,364
6,469
6,406
2,364
4/19/2011
6,663
2,380
6,375
4/17/2011
2,360
6,906
6,184
4/15/2011
2,360
2,339
7,711
6,557
4/13/2011
2,330
2,327
8,367
8,275
4/11/2011
2,756
2,357
10,021
2,732
4/9/2011
10,898
11,915
12,043
11,892
11,430
10,692
10,001
8,488
8,680
8,798
7,937
8,178
10,530
10,919
10,714
9,669
8,191
7,341
6,708
6,014
9,411
12,600
16,677
17,275
17,130
15,713
17,218
17,220
14,865
9,267
# of Eritreans, Iraqis, Palestinians and Somalis - End-day
2,737
3000
9,817
4/7/2011
4/5/2011
4/3/2011
4/1/2011
3/30/2011
3/28/2011
3/26/2011
3/24/2011
3/22/2011
3/20/2011
0
2,759
2,766
2,748
2,744
2,736
2,728
2,718
2,707
2,646
2,464
2,493
2,430
1,789
1,724
1500
3/27/2011
3/25/2011
1,607
1,519
1,250
1,019
1000
3/23/2011
3/21/2011
823
3/19/2011
3/18/2011
3/16/2011
3/14/2011
3/12/2011
2,000
910
748
3/17/2011
748
748
708
695
682
805
4,000
3/15/2011
3/13/2011
3/11/2011
805
3/10/2011
16,546
6,000
3/9/2011 549
3/8/2011
8,000
549
10,000
3/7/2011 310
Initial Outflows Into Tunisia
Total RAS Jdir Camp Population - End-day
20,000
18,000
16,000
14,000
12,000
What Were the Implications for Tunisia? For Migrants?
Who Were the Responders?
1) Tunisian Civil Society
– Tunisian Red Crescent, bolstered by
many other National Societies
– Local NGOs, individuals
2) Tunisian Government
– Tunisian Military
– Key Ministries: Social Affairs,
Women’s Affairs, Health
3) International Organizations
– UNHCR, IOM, ICRC, UNICEF, etc.
4) International NGOs
– Save the Children, Doctors of the
World, Doctors Without Borders, etc.
How Did the U.S. Government Respond?
• Deployed Teams to Tunisia, Egypt,
Malta and eventually to Libya itself.
• Carried out needs assessments and
made recommendations for funding
actions and diplomatic engagement.
• Provided +$81 million for
humanitarian response in Libya,
Tunisia, and Egypt including
protection, assistance, evacuation.
• Provided diplomatic support to the
Tunisian government and
encouraged other donors to play an
active role in the response.
Three Key Questions
•Are we more or less likely to
see similar emergencies in
the future?
•Are we adequately prepared
to deal with mixed migration
flows?
•How can we support the
leadership role of
governments in future
emergencies?
Getting Started in Humanitarian Assistance
• Help Wanted: Advocates, diplomats,
policy makers, and IO/NGO staff.
• Consider volunteering/working
with:
– NGOs that protect/assist conflict
victims overseas; or
– NGOs that have offices in the
United States (e.g, that integrate
resettled refugees.)
– The American Red Cross offers
trainings on disaster response.
• Be familiar with humanitarian
principles/standards. Knowing
languages very helpful.
Online Resources
Humanitarian Jobs Blog
Relief Web
Interaction
International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
Humanitarian News and Analysis (IRIN)
OCHA Online
World Humanitarian Day (August 19th)
Sphere Handbook
In Conclusion
• The United States demonstrates leadership through
strong financial support to humanitarian responders
and through humanitarian diplomacy.
• Humanitarian organizations are adapting to a variety
of emerging challenges in order to effectively protect
and assist vulnerable populations.
• No set path (but many opportunities!) for becoming
involved in humanitarian assistance and int.
development.
Questions?
Comments
Discussion
Bryan Schaaf
schaafbj@state.gov
(202) 453-9220