Coordination and Response Division

Emergency Response Project

Throughout 2005 and 2006, OCHA was called to respond to large emergencies resulting from the crises in Darfur, Lebanon, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the South Asia Earthquake. Evaluations of these responses have highlighted the need for OCHA to further strengthen its ability to rapidly deploy to a new crisis with appropriately trained staff and essential operational support equipment, and also to have the ability to backstop escalating emergencies. In 2007, OCHA's Regional Offices will be expanded to further improve surge capacity and become depots for critical emergency kits and equipment that can be used by all OCHA Field Offices and in situations where an immediate presence is required.

The Coordination and Response Division (CRD) has three major responsibilities: 1) to provide direct support to the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) in the role of principal adviser on humanitarian issues to the Secretary-General and coordinator of the international humanitarian response; 2) to provide support and guidance to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators in the field on complex emergency and natural disaster matters; and 3) to provide support to the field, including through the management of OCHA's Field Offices (including Regional Offices) and other supporting mechanisms, such as the support to the Humanitarian Reform, including the cluster approach and CERF grants.

CRD is also responsible for coordinating all country level humanitarian strategies both in natural disasters and complex emergencies, and to be the working level interface with partner humanitarian organizations and donors on country-related issues. CRD is the main OCHA interface with partner agencies involved in natural disasters preparedness as well as those involved in early recovery and reconstruction.

The role of CRD, and the functions of CRD-New York and Geneva are evolving to meet current challenges related to humanitarian reform and OCHA's coordination role worldwide. This continues the process begun in 2005 when the former Humanitarian Emergency and Response Coordination Branches merged. In its current form, CRD-NY will provide timely operational decision-making in the field. CRD-GVA, working within the Emergency Preparedness Section, will provide daily support to governments and UN Resident Coordinators in countries where OCHA lacks a presence in the field of early warning and preparedness, both for natural disasters and complex emergencies. CRD will also continue to spearhead OCHA's efforts in planning and coordinating Avian and Human Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness in the field.

Key challenges

In 2007, CRD will strive to structurally improve the day-to-day work of the Division within the overall context of the strategic goals of OCHA. CRD's key challenges will include effectively absorbing additional responsibilities related to the Humanitarian Reform agenda, particularly supporting the CERF, clusters, Humanitarian Coordinators and partnerships; re-defining the analytical and operational desk functions and coordinating those with regional and field office responsibilities, re-balancing them between New York and Geneva, and harmonizing this with the overall UN system.

Another challenge will be to enhance OCHA's inter-agency role in enabling and supporting multi-sectoral assessment and analysis and preparedness planning activities. CRD will strive to strengthen its focus on linking disaster response and preparedness with both Disaster Risk Reduction, working with ISDR and partner agencies, as well as Transition to Early Recovery, working with UNDP and the Agencies in the UNDG.

CRD will take the lead role in determining OCHA's operational planning parameters for all emergency response, and ensuring that an improved internal Information Management system is fully aligned with OCHA's corporate approach. Additionally, CRD will work to systematically link early warning to early action and to mitigate the ongoing challenge of ensuring field security in an increasingly risky environment.

Consolidated humanitarian reform:

CRD will continue to work together with other parts of OCHA in strengthening the humanitarian system by working towards the more effective implementation of three pillars of the humanitarian reform.

In support of the CERF, CRD will provide improved analysis and recommendations on the use of the CERF and assist RC/HCs and country teams to ensure that inputs and project proposals fall in line with the CERF guidelines. CRD will also play an active role in strengthening the role of the HC, both through participation in trainings and courses at the HQ-level, and by guiding the field offices in their support of the HC on the ground.

CRD will work together with HRSU in assisting HCs, Field Offices and newly established Humanitarian Partnership Teams (HPTs) in implementing and strengthening the cluster approach and providing advice on inter-cluster coordination.

Recognized humanitarian leadership in humanitarian advocacy and policy:

Within OCHA HQ, CRD takes a lead role in consolidating and shaping both OCHA and inter-agency positions on country/emergency specific issues. In 2007, CRD aims to improve the way it does this by enhancing analysis of global and country humanitarian trends, working closely with OCHA Regional and Field Offices and IASC humanitarian partners, and using the field and regional offices to reach out to new countries, regional organizations, inter-governmental bodies as well as the private sector to get the best possible information. In addition, CRD will make a specific effort to bridge the gap between risk reduction and preparedness (particularly in the context of the ISDR process as well as working with UNDP's CADRI), and the coordination of disaster response. Conversely, CRD will put special emphasis this year on working most effectively with UNDP and UNDG on transitioning emergencies into the early recovery and reconstruction phases.

CRD will, in collaboration with relevant partners both in OCHA, CRD the IASC and DPKO, improve analysis of country humanitarian trends, issues, and level of response, driving the process of producing timely and decision-oriented information for OCHA's Senior Management. CRD will encourage the regional offices to take a greater role in facilitating and guiding information exchange, analysis and dissemination supporting regional and country coordination, preparedness, and response initiatives as well as management of regional and country specific information resources.

Through the Emergency Preparedness Section in Geneva, CRD will promote a greater incorporation of risk reduction into humanitarian strategies together with ISDR, UNDP-BCPR and all field and regional offices. CRD shall provide substantive guidance to the efforts undertaken regional and field offices to strengthen disaster response preparedness in vulnerable regions/ countries and support to regional actors and HPTs.

In 2007, CRD will strengthen its collaboration with UNDP and with UNDGO to better coordinate transition strategies from humanitarian emergency to the early recovery phase. A CRD Officer will be embedded in a Joint UNDP/UNDGO/ OCHA Unit on Early Recovery specifically to look at the practical and normative aspects of this.

Through its Early Warning and Contingency Planning Section, CRD will also be more active in forecasting crises, identification of turning points and the consequences and response to humanitarian emergencies, and in consequent recommendations for actions. Placing early warning functions within CRD will greatly enhance OCHA's ability to transform early warning into early action. CRD's efforts in this regard will be multi-­sectoral and coordinated between humanitarian, developmental, human rights and political entities within and outside the UN system. CRD will represent OCHA in two early warning bodies - the Framework Team in NY and the IASC WG on Early Warning.

In 2007, CRD will play a crucial role in supporting the multi-sectoral Needs Assessment Framework (NAF) and strategic monitoring efforts to ensure high-quality data collection and analysis. It will also work with PDSB to improve the approach to multi-sectoral analysis and needs assessment.

CRD will take a lead role within OCHA in engaging with Security Council Member States on issues and countries of concern to the humanitarian community. CRD will also continue to engage with donor countries and assist the Donor and External Relations Section in fundraising for emergencies.

As OCHA's primary interface with Secretariat Departments, CRD will intensify its participation in the planning of DPKO and DPA missions, including extended assignment of CRD staff during the crucial start-up, mid-term and end of mission assessments.

A more efficient and effective organization:

The realignment of OCHA HQs will also affect CRD, with CRD-NY taking over the responsibility for operational decision making for all emergencies and all field and regional offices. This consolidation will allow for more timely, better planned and more consistent support to humanitarian operations.

CRD will aim to improve its performance in carrying out the Performance Appraisal System (PAS), strategic planning process, and developing a Gender Action Plan. Additional emphasis will be placed on strengthening transparency and coordination between CRD and other key branches, particularly those involved in disaster response in Geneva. In 2007, CRD will start approaching planning through an Enterprise Risk Management framework looking at the internal and external risks that could affect the achievement of OCHA's objectives, particularly focusing on OCHA's high staff turnover, irregular and limited funding, and multiple and simultaneous new crises that exceed capacity.

Due to the realignment and the 2005 humanitarian reform, the work of the CRD desk officer has been evolving. A review has already started of the work undertaken by desk officers with a view to prioritizing core tasks and re-partitioning non-core tasks to other branches/units, field offices and regional offices where appropriate. CRD is also spearheading the effort to strengthen regional offices as part of an effective infrastructure for preparedness and improved humanitarian response. At the same time, regional offices will bolster their capacity to provide support to field offices in their respective regions as functional extensions of headquarters to reduce response time.

On the human resource planning and management side, CRD will promote measures to ensure that all posts are filled in CRD and staff are professionally equipped through training in various areas of competence. Proactive action will be undertaken to ensure that RCs/HCs and IASC Country teams are adequately provided with the surge capacity and backstopping support from within and outside OCHA as required.

Security of OCHA staff, and humanitarian workers in general, will continue to be a focus area for CRD. Work with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) will intensify to try to ensure a more concerted and dedicated support to OCHA and the humanitarian community. The OCHA Security Focal Point will also work closely with field offices to ensure MOSS/MORSS compliance in field offices with security phases. CRD will also work closer with NGOs in coordinating with them on security issues.

early warning and contingency planning unit

At the end of 2006, OCHA's Early Warning Unit and Contingency Planning functions in New York were merged to form an Early Warning and Contingency Planning Section (EWCP) within the Coordination and Response Division (CRD). By combining these two functions, and placing them in the response side of the organisation, OCHA will be better able to respond with more targeted and timely preparedness actions, both internally and through its partners.

In 2007, EWCP will aim to mainstream an Early Warning – Early Action (EW-EA) culture within OCHA. This will be achieved by identifying best practices and the improved sharing of EW-EA practices, tools, and systems, and by developing a system that better links Information Management with Early Warning and Emergency Preparedness.

Particular emphasis will be placed on sensitising the Regional Offices and CRD desk officers to the latest developments in EW-EA. This will be done through the provision of training and support through workshops, training sessions and other exercises both in headquarters and in the field.

The existing EW–EA methodology, which provides guidance to OCHA field and HQ colleagues on how to use humanitarian early warning indicators to assess risks, evaluate trends and write early warning analyses, will be enhanced to produce a multi-sectoral and multi-hazard methodology that measures human vulnerability to potential crises.

To ensure that early warning drives early action at senior levels within OCHA, the Section will play an important role advising OCHA management on potential emergency scenarios and preparedness actions that can be pursued at a strategic level. The Section will also work closely with the Emergency Preparedness Section in Geneva (EPS) and the Regional Offices (ROs) to develop a common approach to vulnerability assessment, risk analysis, emergency preparedness, contingency planning and training.

The Section will also coordinate its work closely with other partners both inside and outside the UN system to identify ways in which the UN can mitigate risks and threats in order to prevent crises and enhance system-wide humanitarian preparedness. Although the concept of early warning and emergency preparedness has become increasingly mainstreamed among Member States, it remains a sensitive political issue which sometimes makes it difficult for HC/RCs and IASC Country teams to fully engage in and support programmes related to early warning, crisis prevention and emergency preparedness.

The Section is also challenged by the lack of standard operating procedures that clarify roles and responsibilities in the EW-EA process, including an uninhibited flow of early warning and preparedness-related information to and from OCHA field/regional offices and other HQ entities.

Against this background, EWCP's key objectives for 2007 will be as follows:

Strengthened in-country coordination: EWCP will work with Regional Offices, Country Offices and EPS to ensure better and more consistent policy and procedures on early warning, contingency planning and emergency preparedness. It will sensitise OCHA and other UN staff at regional and country level to key emergency preparedness tools, such as the Inter-agency Contingency Planning guidelines, and other analytical tools. The Section will organise an EW-EA workshop with relevant HQ sections and regional offices as a follow-up to the workshop held in Nairobi in June 2006.

Improved tools and services (to adapt to humanitarian reform outcomes): EWCP will review existing tools and systems in the field of early warning, preparedness and contingency planning which have been developed at country, regional and HQ level. It will liaise with external and internal partners, including the EPS, to develop a variety of tools and services including: a Multi-sectoral/ hazard Early Warning-Early Action Information Management system to improve the timeliness and design of humanitarian interventions, and the allocation of resources; an updated and relevant EW intranet site to be ultimately integrated into the EW-EA Information Management system that is accessible and used by OCHA staff; a multi-sectoral and multi-hazard methodology which will reflect the most recent thinking on humanitarian reform and can be used as a tool to facilitate analysis of the causes of human vulnerability among populations at risk.

Improved, and publicly profiled, analysis of global and country humanitarian trends and issues: EWCP will liaise with partners both inside and outside the UN system to identify future global trends and issues that may have an impact on the future global humanitarian environment. The Section will work closely with OCHA's Regional and Country offices, as well as EPS, to develop and refine existing early warning and emergency preparedness products and systems.

Increased and strengthened partnerships for humanitarian action: In collaboration with EPS, the Section will work with the IASC SWG on Preparedness and Contingency Planning to revise existing normative guidance on early warning, contingency planning and emergency preparedness to reflect the most recent developments in the humanitarian reform process. EWCP will continue to work closely with its agency partners to develop Hewsweb as a single web-based resource for accessing and exchanging high quality, timely, and actionable information and tools related to global multi-hazard Early Warning and Emergency Preparedness. The Section will continue to review at risk countries with the Inter-Departmental Framework for Coordination on Early Warning and Preventive Action (Framework Team) to ensure the humanitarian perspective is reflected in system-wide strategies to mitigate and prevent conflict. In its capacity as OCHA's focal point for the Integrated Mission Planning Process (IMMP), the Section will work with DPKO on overall policy, planning and lessons learned related to integrated missions and will ensure that humanitarian concerns are fully reflected in the mission planning process. EWCP will develop a strengthened network with key partners in the UN Secretariat, including DSS, DPA, DPKO, as well as with UNDP.

Key indicators for 2007

• Percentage of emergencies that were flagged up to four months in advance of their occurrence
• Frequency with which inter-agency contingency plans are updated in countries/regions covered by an OCHA office
• Number of times the preventive impact of humanitarian action is highlighted in inter-agency preventive strategies developed by the Framework Team
• Completion of the multi-sectoral/multi-hazard Early Warning – Early Action Information Management system by end 2007

pandemic influenza contingency support team

Experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) believe the world to be closer to an influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last pandemic occurred. Experience with the HIV/AIDS and SARS pandemics demonstrate that robust multi-sector support is needed to reduce vulnerability and humanitarian consequences. To support pandemic preparedness, OCHA will need to implement activities at all levels, including bringing together key partners, acting as secretariat for task forces, managing information products, and reporting where necessary. Standard coordination challenges will need to be addressed to ensure gaps are filled and duplication is avoided.

The Pandemic Influenza Contingency Support Team is responsible for ensuring OCHA's contribution to UN system preparedness in the event of a pandemic; it works with the UN System Influenza Coordinator (UNSIC) to ensure the UN system functions to best effect in support of national, regional, and global efforts to address threats posed by avian influenza (AI) and to prepare for a possible pandemic. The Team manages and coordinates OCHA internal communications on avian influenza and pandemic threat, staff safety and security measures, and business continuity plans, ensuring all are relevant and up-to-date. The Team provides support to OCHA Regional and Field Offices in the implementation of the UN Pandemic Planning and Preparedness Guidelines to: 1) plan and prepare for a pandemic; 2) maintain and sustain operational capacity; and 3) support national preparedness and response.

In 2007, OCHA will help to create a Pandemic Influenza Contingency Support (PICS) Team, comprised of Regional Planning Officers in OCHA Regional Offices (RO) and an inter-agency team based in Geneva. Under the UN Avian and Human Influenza Consolidated Action Plan, OCHA is the lead responsible for maintaining continuity under pandemic conditions, ensuring that pandemic plans and strategies build upon existing mechanisms for disaster management, and that the contingency plans are tested, reviewed, and revised periodically.

Regional platforms have been established in Bangkok, Nairobi, Dakar, and Johannesburg, with additions to follow in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the Americas. Together with the Support Team, they will ensure that: UN Agencies at the country level have the capacity to support national preparedness efforts through access to guidance, templates and exercises; technical support is mobilized from within agencies in response to identified needs; gaps are identified and filled in national plans, and overlaps are reduced; and systems for intra-governmental and inter-agency communication and action during a pandemic are put in place and tested.

While the focus is on pandemic threat, these activities will help strengthen emergency preparedness and coordination overall. They will have an impact on the coherence of the UN system and the response capacity of national authorities, representing an investment towards OCHA's mission to promote preparedness.

Against this background, the Team's key objectives for 2007 are as follows:

Strengthened in-country coordination through regional platforms: The Team will strengthen regional pandemic preparedness platforms in all six OCHA regional offices through the placement of Regional Planning focal points. These platforms will identify the most at-risk countries in their regions and support coordination of preparedness activities including contingency planning, joint procurement, training, and simulations.

Greater incorporation of risk reduction objectives: The team will work to strengthen UN Disaster Management Teams as well as national disaster management authorities. Simulation and testing of UNCT pandemic contingency plans will be conducted in at least one priority country within each region. Gaps and constraints in preparedness will be identified and addressed by appropriate agencies.

Improved management practices: The team will ensure compliance with UN Pandemic Preparedness Guidelines. All OCHA offices will have the necessary personal protection equipment, medical supplies, and will fully participate in the UNCT Pandemic Contingency plans.

Key indicators for 2007

• Number of regional pandemic preparedness platforms created and new partners participating
• Number of simulations organised/supported at regional/country level
• Number of pandemic contingency plans reviewed and updated; number and percent of OCHA offices in compliance with UN Pandemic Preparedness Guidelines