and
in humanitarian response
Module 21
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Learning objectives
• Be familiar with basic principles of standards and
accountability
• Know some universal standards for
humanitarian response
• Be familiar with some inter-agency accountability
initiatives being implemented
• Be familiar with the difference between SPHERE
minimum standards, key actions, key indicators
and guidance notes
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Introduction
• Standards and Accountability are linked.
• Standards establish the thresholds or levels
required to achieve the necessary quality for
a particular good or service.
• Accountability* is about being responsible
to someone that certain standards have been
achieved.
Various standards
• Legal standards – laws/rights
• Principle-based, voluntary standards – codes
of conduct
• Technical standards – e.g. SPHERE
standards
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Various standards
• Legal standards – laws/rights
• Principle-based, voluntary standards –
codes of conduct
• Technical standards – e.g. SPHERE
standards
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Legal standards - some examples
• International Human Rights Law (IHRL)
international law that describes the rights of all persons
and the obligations (or duties) of States.
• Within this e.g.
– UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
– the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
– International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(includes ‘right to food’!)
• the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights of 1948:
for all peoples and all nations, Article 25.1 states
that
“…everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself
and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
and medical care and necessary social services,
and the right to security in the event of
unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood,
old age, or other lack of livelihood in
circumstances beyond his control.”
The right to food
• All human beings have the right to
adequate food and the right to be free from
hunger.
• Such right cannot be suspended even in
emergencies (emergencies are sometimes
used for justifying suspension of some rights)
• The right to food is not a right to be fed,
but primarily the right to feed oneself with
dignity.
Legal standards- Human rights law
The Right to Food requires States to provide an
enabling environment in which people can use
their full potential to produce or procure adequate
food for themselves and their families. However,
when people are not able to feed themselves with
their own means, for instance because of an armed
conflict, natural disaster or because they are in
detention, the State has a responsibility to provide
food directly.
National legislation
on foods and
supplements,
GMOs, labelling and
marketing of breast
milk substitutes are
all examples of
relevant national
legal standards that
can guide a nutritionfocused humanitarian
response.
Various standards
• Legal standards – laws/rights
• Principle-based, voluntary standards –
codes of conduct
• Technical standards – e.g. SPHERE
standards
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The Red Cross/NGO Code of Conduct
10 Principle Commitments of the Code of Conduct
•The humanitarian imperative comes first;
•Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the
recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities
are calculated on the basis of need alone;
•Aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious
standpoint;
•We shall endeavor not to be used as an instrument of government
foreign policy;
•We shall respect culture and custom;
•We shall attempt to build disaster response on local capacities;
•Ways shall be found to involve program beneficiaries in the management
of relief aid;
•Relief aid must strive to reduce vulnerabilities to future disaster
as well as meeting basic needs;
•We hold ourselves accountable to both those we seek to assist and those
from whom we accept resources;
•In our information, publicity and advertising activities, we shall
recognize disaster victims as dignified human beings, not hopeless
Nutrition
Global
objects.
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The humanitarian imperative
Everyone has the
right to receive
Humanitarian
Assistance in times
of disaster.
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Additionally the Code of Conduct
has values
• Humanity: to prevent and alleviate human
suffering wherever it may be found
• Impartiality: no discrimination – relieve
suffering guided by needs
• Independence: maintain autonomy to be
able to act in accordance with the principles
• Neutrality: not taking sides in hostilities
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Code of Conduct
In 2007, > 400 organizations
signed up to the Code of
Conduct but there is no
agency/body who can hold
signatories to account…
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The International Code of
Marketing of Breast-milk
Substitutes
The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes
The International Code = World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution (1981)
+ subsequent relevant World Health Assembly Resolutions
• Protection from commercial influences on infant feeding choices.
• It does not ban the use of infant formula or bottles.
• Controls how breast milk substitutes, bottles and teats are
produced, packaged, promoted and provided.
• The Code prohibits free/low cost supplies in any part of the health
care system.
• Governments encouraged to take legislative measures.
• Adoption and adherence to the Code is a minimum requirement
worldwide.
Upholding the Code is even more critical in emergencies.
Various standards
• Legal standards – laws/rights
• Principle-based, voluntary standards – codes of
conduct
• Technical standards – e.g. SPHERE standards
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The Sphere Project
• General concern with quality and
accountability has been ongoing
• Humanitarian practice from past no longer
sufficient
(complexity and number of disasters increasing, changing nature of
humanitarian community and increasing diversity, increasing number of
actors)
• Post-Rwanda 1994: Multi-donor evaluation
“Unnecessary deaths”
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The Sphere Project
• Aims to improve quality and accountability
• Launched in 1997 by group of NGOs and
Red Cross
• SPHERE project’s Handbook begins with a
Humanitarian Charter (mix of ethical/legal
rights/obligations/beliefs)
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The Sphere Handbook
• 2004 Sphere Handbook
• 2011 revised Sphere Handbook
Humanitarian Charter and
Minimum Standards in
Humanitarian Response
• The Humanitarian Charter - three principles:
– The right to life with dignity
– The right to protection and
security
– The right to receive humanitarian
assistance
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Sphere 2011
• The handbook is structured around six
minimum standards common to all sectors:
– Community-centered humanitarian response
– Coordination and partnership
– Assessment
– Analysis and design
– Performance, transparency and learning
– Aid worker performance
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Sphere 2011
• One chapter is dedicated to Food and Nutrition
Security
– Assessment and analysis
– Infant and young child feeding
– Food assistance
– Food security and livelihoods
– Treatment of acute malnutrition and
micronutrient deficiencies
• Other chapters on standards from other sectors (which are directly related
to the underlying causes of malnutrition): water, sanitation and hygiene
promotion; shelter/settlement, non-food items; and health services.
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Structure of 2011 Sphere handbook
Each section includes:
– Minimum standards: qualitative, specifying minimum
levels to be attained in the provision of food security,
nutrition and food assistance responses
– Key actions: activities needed to achieve standards
– Core indicators: signals that show whether a minimum
standard has been attained (quality/quantity)
– Guidance notes: specific points to consider, guidance on
tackling practical difficulties, advice on priority issues,
dilemmas, controversies, gaps in knowledge
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Appendix 1: Food security and livelihoods
assessment checklists
Appendix 2: Seed security assessment checklist
Appendix 3: Nutrition assessment checklist
Appendix 4: Measuring acute malnutrition
Appendix 5: Measures of the public health
significance of micronutrient
deficiencies
Appendix 6: Nutritional requirements
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Example
Management of Acute Malnutrition
standard 2:
Severe acute malnutrition is
addressed
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Example
Key Actions
• Include in-patient care, out-patient care, referral and
community mobilisation components interventions for
the management of SAM (see guidance note X)
• Provide nutritional and medical care according to
nationally and internationally recognised guidelines
for the management of SAM. (see guidance notes X
and Y).
• Investigate and act on causes of default and nonresponse or an increase in deaths (see guidance
notes X, Y and Z).
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Example
Core Indicators
• More than 90% of the target population is within <1
day’s return walk (including time for treatment) of
the programme site
• Coverage is >50% in rural areas, >70% in urban
areas and >90% in camp situations (see guidance
note X).
• The proportion of discharges from therapeutic care
who have died is <10%, recovered is >75% and
defaulted is <15% (see guidance note Y).
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Example
Guidance notes
• more details on what and how p.170 of
Handbook
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SPHERE Standards
• Focus on response phase but be alert to transition and
recovery: (Some standards will have some indicators which will
look at the longer term).
• Used for M&E of nutrition programmes as proposing minimum
standards for programme performance.
• Often used as a tool in evaluations of humanitarian response –
can highlight gaps
• To some extent universal, BUT indicators need adjustment on an
emergency-specific basis.
• Achieving the standards may also require long periods of time
• In what contexts standards and core indicators cannot be
met
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Constraining factors include
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Insecurity or denial of access
Displacement
Lack of staff
Cultural factors
Bureaucracy
Logistical constraints
Lack of finance
etc.
If core indicators are not met, identify and understand
the reasons why and consider alternative strategies
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Limitations
• No body or agency has overall responsibility for
technical standards in NiE response
• Application of minimum standards can create
differences in standards of living of emergencyaffected and surrounding populations
• Lack of funds restrict delivery of humanitarian
assistance
• Accountability to whom?
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Key messages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Standards may be: legal, based on principles and/or voluntary or technical.
Everyone has the right to adequate food and to be free from hunger.
Everyone also has the right to receive humanitarian assistance in times of disaster.
This is known as the humanitarian imperative.
The humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality
provide a principle-based foundation for nutrition in emergencies.
The Code of Conduct sets out ten principles to guide humanitarian action.
The Sphere project’s Humanitarian Charter reaffirms that all people affected by
disaster and conflict have a right to life with dignity; the right to receive humanitarian
assistance; and the right to protection and security. However, there is currently no
incentive, or obligation for humanitarian agencies to be accountable to affected
communities, other than a voluntary commitment to do so.
The Sphere standards specify the minimum acceptable levels to be attained in a
humanitarian response. The Food Security and Nutrition standards cover
assessment, infant and young child feeding, management of acute malnutrition and
food security (food transfers, cash transfers and livelihoods).
One of the main unresolved issues in relation to standards and accountability is that
there is no body with overall responsibility for technical standards in nutrition in
emergency response.
Any questions?
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