Disaster Response andResponse Preparedness inAsia and the Pacific

HAFIZ AMIRROL • Head, Building Resilient Communities, MERCY Malaysia
Kobe University UNESCO Chair Summer Program on Gender and Vulnerability in Disaster Risk Reduction Support
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
13 September 2018

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BACKGROUNDUNESCO Chair Summer Program

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Disaster trends by continents

Source: EM-DAT database: www.emdat.be/advanced-searchUNESCO Chair Summer Program

Disaster risk index

Source: The Natural Disaster Risk Index (NDRI), Maplecroft, 2016

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Challenges in Asia
• Asia is the most disaster prone continent• 90% of all natural disasters occurs in Asia-Pacific• 50% of all major disasters occurs in Asia
• Affects economies, lives, fabric of human society• Sheer scale and complexity of natural disasters inrecent times• Many countries struggling to recover because oflack of capacity

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Asian Civil Society Organizations• Total number uncertain• Different definitions/classifications• Local vs. International actors• Capacities vary and not profiled• What is certain is the number is increasing and theroles are more evident

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DISASTER RESPONSE

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Coordination in disaster response
Coordination is a critical success factor
for organizing adequate disaster response
and recovery as well as successful
disaster risk reduction.

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Coordination in disaster response
WHO?
WHAT?
WHERE?
WHEN?
HOW?

PREPAREDNESSRECOVERYRESPONSE

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In the absence of coordination•Gaps and duplications•Lack of accurate information•

Delay of delivering assistance•

Inappropriate assistance•Inefficient use of resources•

Lack of clear definition of roles of responsibilities•

Frustration of providers, officials, survivors

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Effective coordination process• Participatory• Impartial• Transparent• UsefulUNESCO Chair Summer ProgramRESPONSE PLAN

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What is the Cluster Approach?
•To improve predictability, timeliness,and effectiveness of response tohumanitarian crises.

•Primary mechanism for inter-agency
coordination of humanitarian assistance tosupport national governments.

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What is the Cluster Approach?
The cluster approach is applied during
emergency response to both natural andman-made disasters:•

Better linkages with Government/national authorities•

More strategic responses•

Better prioritization ofavailable resources•

Responsibility to include all humanitarian partners

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THE HUMANITARIAN CHARTERUNESCO Chair Summer Program

The Humanitarian Charter
The Humanitarian Charter expresses
commitment to humanitarian principles
and to achieving the minimum standards inresponses and delivering aid. The commitment
is based on ethical obligations, and reflects therights and duties enshrined in international law
in respect of which states and other parties
have established obligations.

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Minimum standards

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The Sphere Project• The Sphere Handbook sets clear
benchmarks for what actions can beconsidered as humanitarian.
• Define humanitarian response as one whichis concerned with the basic rights ofpopulations affected by disasters andconflicts.

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Its grounding principles• The right to life with dignity• The right to receive humanitarian assistance• The right to protection and security

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Its grounding principles• The right to life with dignity• The right to receive humanitarian assistance• The right to protection and security
In short, according to Sphere: "People in disasters have rights;
and we have a moral obligation to deliver those rights in themost professional and effective way possible"

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Components (core principles)UNESCO Chair Summer Program

Components (core principles)

CorePrinciple #1
Water Supply,Sanitation andHygiene Promotion

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Components (core principles)• Food security and nutrition assessment
CorePrinciple #2
Food Security,Nutrition and Food
Aid• Infant and young child feeding• Management of acute malnutrition andmicronutrient deficiencies• Food security

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Components (core principles)
Shelter and settlement

Non-food items

Standard 1
Strategic planning

CorePrinciple #3

Standard 1
Individual, generalhousehold and shelter
support items

Standard 2
Settlement planningStandard 2
Clothing and bedding

Shelter, Settlement
and Non-FoodItems

Standard 3
Covered living spaceStandard 3
Cooking andeating utensils

Standard 4
Construction

Standard 4
Stoves, fuel and lightingStandard 5
Environmental impact

Standard 5
Tools and ﬁxings

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Components (core principles)
Essential
healthservices

Healthsystems
Standard 1
Prioritising
healthservices

Standard 1
Health service
deliveryCore
Principle #4
Health Action

Control ofcommunicablediseasesChild healthSexual andreproductive
healthStandard 2
HumanresourcesStandard 1
Communicablediseaseprevention

Standard 1
Prevention of
vaccinepreventablediseasesStandard 1
Reproductive
healthStandard 3
Drugs andmedicalsupplies

Standard 2
Communicablediseases
diagnosis
and casemanagement

Standard 2
Managementof newborn
and childhood
illness

Standard 2
HIV and AIDS

Standard 4
HealthStandard 3
Outbreakdetection andresponseStandard 5
Healthinformation
management
Standard 6
Leadership
andcoordination

InjuryMentalhealthStandard 1
Injury careStandard 1
Mental health

NoncommunicablediseasesStandard 1
Noncommunicablediseases

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Who uses Sphere?

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When is it used?

UNESCO Chair Summer ProgramRESPONSE PREPAREDNESSUNESCO Chair Summer ProgramRESPONSE
PREPAREDNESSUNESCO Chair Summer ProgramRESPONSEPREPAREDNESSUNESCO Chair Summer ProgramRESPONSE
PREPAREDNESSUNESCO Chair Summer Program

Developing disaster response
preparedness plan
Step 1 Institutional disaster planning
Step 2 Hazard, vulnerability, capacity and risk analyses
Step 3 Resource identification and mobilization
Step 4 Early-warning, alert systems and triggers
Step 5 Linkages and communications
Step 6 Sectoral responsibilities

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SUMMARYUNESCO Chair Summer Program• The world is at a tipping point and the challenges before us are vast.
Risks as perceived by communities are complex and inter-linked.
• At the end of 2014, there were over 59.5 million people who wereinternally displaced or living as refugees, the greatest number
since World War II1.
• The average length of displacement is 17 years - a generation2.
• While disaster death tolls are slowly declining (on the whole), thenumbers of affected people, destroyed livelihoods and economic
losses are growing.
• Together, well coordinated response plan and response
preparedness plan cover a spectrum of risks issues towards
communities and places to achieve resilience.
Source: (1)UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced displacement in 2014. (2) IDMC, Global Overview 2014: People internally displaced by conflict and violence

UNESCO Chair Summer ProgramNo single
humanitarianagency cancover all
humanitarian
needs

Collaboration/
cooperation is not
an option, it is anecessity

Thank you
Unit 19-8
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T: +6 03 7733 5920
F: +6 03 7733 4920
brc@mercy.org.my
mercy.org.my