public sector

Trends in Humanitarian Financing: do resources meet the needs?

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UntitledHumanitarian crises and needs in 2013 was extraordinary, the level of international humanitarian response rose to a record high of US$22 billion. As crises developed or emerged over the year, the numbers of affected people fluctuated. In light of that, financial resources are increasingly stretched. At the United Nations panellists gathered to discuss and identify how resources can more effectively channelled in order to meet the needs of affected civilians.

H.E. Ambassador Nusseibeh commenced the meeting by highlighting 2012 as a year of “recurring disasters” during which there was a stark change in the number of high-level humanitarian crises in 2013. Millions of people were affected by various crises, which stretched international response and funding. In particular adversity in South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen affected hundreds of thousands of people and called for significant international humanitarian response.

Ms. Swithern emphasised that South Sudan and Syria now appear at the top of the list of nations in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. This is due to the ongoing conflict driven crises in these respective countries. The United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Turkey and Japan were the largest government donors in 2013. He stressed that even though the international humanitarian response has increased significantly, it is still not enough to fully meet the ever-growing global needs.

Mr. Strohmeyer briefly explained the importance of looking at various funding mechanisms and developing multi-year strategies as funding moves through chains of transaction in varying lengths and complexity. He also stated that in order to improve the effectiveness of resources, it is necessary to provide independent, transparent and accessible information.

It is clear that national and local NGOs form an essential part of the humanitarian response. Ms. Genel introduced a Turkey-based NGO ‘Support to Life’, which works internationally on humanitarian principles. Despite NGO assistance Ms. Genel emphasised that domestic government resources are substantial and should continue to be the key driver of long-term development.

Meeting Title: Trends in humanitarian financing: do resources meet the needs?
Speakers: Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations; Ms. Sophia Swithern, Programme Leader, Global Humanitarian Programme of Development Initiatives; Mr. Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, Chief, Policy Development and Studies Branch (OCHA); Ms. Sema Genel, Director, Support to Life (Turkey)
Location: Conference Room C, United Nations HQ, New York
Date: 24 June 2014
Written By WIT representative: Samantha Kong
Edited By WIT Representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark 

Lessons Learned from Typhoon Haiyan

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H.E. Mr Libran Cabactulan stated that the Typhoon Haiyan has taught significant lessons to the Philippines and other member states. All partners and shareholders, shared the cost and capacity to make response more effective. Ms Kang highlighted that the 2004 Indian Tsunami reflected the need for a fundamental reorientation in humanitarian response and the Typhoon Haiyan response gave us an opportunity to assess the same.

Following, Ms Nanette Salvador-Antequisa stated that ‘Ecosystem Work for Essential Benefits’ with their respective partner organisations have provided relief to 10,000 families. The challenges they faced were in areas such as storage, distribution, funding for the transportation of the goods and retaining their staff because of lack of resources (technical and financial). Further critically addressing the Cluster, she stated that they should be based on more practical issues and should give platform for local groups to have a greater voice.

Mr Andy Featherstone highlighted the key findings and recommendations of a high-end study, ‘Missed Again: making space for partnership in the Typhoon Haiyan response.’ First, the partnership of National and International NGOs strengthened the relevance, effectiveness and coverage of humanitarian assistance, through utilizing their respective resources: proximity to and knowledge of communities and their technical and financial resources. Second the humanitarian leadership and coordination mechanisms had an international look and feel. Third, the recommendations were as follows: (i) create an enabling environment for partnership; (ii) the need to ‘localise’ surge responses; (iii) an obligation to prioritise preparedness.

Next, Mr Butch Meily spoke on the role of the private sector in the Typhoon Haiyan response, where they plugged the gaps in government sector response. A case in point: the Department of Education needed emergency food aid, so instead of using the government process of bidding, the private sector, provided food aid for 27,000 students for one month. Lastly Mr Randolph Kent, questioned the sustainable impact of private sector within the humanitarian sector. He importantly highlighted that we must identify the core business interest of the companies in engaging with humanitarian assistance i.e. economic incentives and interests, and not just limit their involvement to philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. 

Meeting Title: The role of partnerships in humanitarian response: lessons learned from Typhoon Haiyan
Speakers: Chair- H.E. Mr Libran N. Cabactulan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Philippines to the UN; Moderator- Ms Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; Panellists- Ms Nanette Salvador-Antequisa, Executive Director, Ecosystem Work for Essential Benefits; Mr Butch Meily, President, Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation; Mr Andy Featherstone, Co-author of new research commissioned by ActionAid, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, and Tearfund documenting the application of partnership approaches with national and local actors during the response to Typhoon Haiyan; Mr Randolph Kent, Co-author of a recent series of studies commissioned by UN OCHA, ODI, HPG, and Vantage Partners, and supported by DFID, on business community ad public-sector partnerships in disaster response.
Location: Conference Room 7, NLB, United Nations, New York.
Date: 24 June 2014
Written by WIT Representative: Aslesha Kaur Dhillon
Edited by WIT Representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark 

Private and Public Sector Collaboration for Renewable Energy Solutions

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During the Sustainable Energy For All Forum a side event was held on forming partnerships between the private and public sector in order to find renewable energy solutions. Beginning the discussion, Ms. Eibs-Singer spoke about opportunities for the public and private sector to collaborate using public sector instruments at the policy level and private sector investment at the market level in order to invest in renewable energy.

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A more direct integration of the public and private sector is necessary for successful renewable energy projects to take off. However, Ms. Eibs-Singer pointed out that a potential problem in working together is how much slower progress can occur in the public sphere than in the private , and that the two need to reconcile this problem in order to effectively work together.

Mr. Ford, the Managing Director of Accenture (one of the world’s largest consulting and technology companies), then spoke about Accenture’s nexus with civil society, corporations, and donors, and how these partnerships can be used to find renewable energy solutions. Mr. Ford also mentioned Accenture’s work in renewable energy, and how this relates to education, health, and capacity building for development.

The Rockefeller Foundation gave a statement about the need to build resilience for disadvantaged communities and cities, and to make economies more inclusive; allowing more opportunities for participation. The key to this, he said, is energy access from renewable sources. Access to energy is necessary for withstanding climate change, health pandemics, and for having access to information, and is also fundamental for participation in the modern economy. Government capacity, the skills of the private sector, as well as money from funders is needed to find renewable energy solutions.

Mr. Fast then followed up this statement with an example of Accenture’s project in Northern Uganda, which helps local villagers use solar energy more efficiently. Accenture created this project with the help of local schools and businesses. To close, Mr. Rubin a professor at University of Pennsylvania, talked about his project in Zimbabwe, which, with the help from universities, private sector donations, and public sector infrastructure, produced an innovative solution to efficiently refrigerate vaccines for children by using the electric infrastructure from already existing cell phone towers to power the refrigerators.

Meeting: Energy Access for Development Impact: How Can the Private and Public Sector Collaborate on Renewable Energy Solutions?
Speakers: Ms. Christine Eibs-Singer; Senior Advisor, SE4ALL; Mr. Roger Ford, Managing Director, Accenture Development Partnerships; Mr. Zia Khan, Vice President for Initiatives and Strategy, The Rockefeller Foundation; Mr. Scott Fast, Executive Director, Accenture Foundation; Mr. Harvey Rubin, Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and Director, Energize the Chain
Location: United Nations HQ, New York, Conference Room A
Date: 4 June 2014
Written By WIT representative: Marli Kasdan