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Bolivia: Floods Emergency Appeal No. MDRBO002 Final Report

Страны
Боливия
Источники
IFRC
Дата публикации

GLIDE No. FL-2007-000012-BOL

Period covered by this Final Report: 15 February - 15 August, 2007;

Appeal target (current): CHF 704,700 (USD 636,051, EUR 468,112);

Final Appeal coverage: 101%

Appeal history:

- This appeal was issued on 15 February 2007 for CHF 605,450 (USD 484,360 or EUR 373,735) for 6 months to reach 7,188 families (35,940 beneficiaries)

- Appeal revised on 5 March 2007 to CHF 904,100 (USD 741,065, EUR 561,552) to reach 10,000 families (50,000 beneficiaries)

- CHF 120,000 was initially allocated from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Bolivian Red Cross in responding by delivering assistance.

Summary: The 2007 rainy season in Bolivia proved to be one of the worst in 25 years, causing major floods, landslides and cold temperatures across the country. Thousands of families were affected by the floods, which destroyed homes and crops. In addition to the loss of thousands of hectares of crops, serious health problems emerged amongst affected communities.

From the onset of the emergency the Bolivian Red Cross (BRC), through its nine departmental branches across the country, responded immediately to affected families with first aid, collection of relief items, transportation of patients, and evacuation of families. The Federation activated response mechanisms and released DREF funds for immediate support to the National Society.

After assessments were carried out, the BRC developed a Plan of Action to assist 10,019 families in the departments of Beni, Cochabamba and Potosi and an international emergency appeal was launched. The main actions carried out within the operation included the distribution of food parcels, distribution of toolkits for agricultural rehabilitation, health promotion and prevention actions, development of the BRC's capacities in needs assessments and improvement of the BRC telecommunications system. The Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) and the Regional Representation in Lima provided ongoing support to the BRC throughout the operation.

The operation was carried out successfully, fulfilling all objectives laid out. The BRC operation responded to the most immediate needs of the families affected through the provision of food parcels and also contributed to the rehabilitation of agricultural activities, which constitutes the main income for most. The ongoing health needs of the affected communities were addressed through health promotion actions. BRC response capacities were strengthened and the BRC telecommunications system was improved.

At the close of the operation, an external evaluation was carried out highlighting lessons learned for future BRC operations. An important factor in the success of the operation was the effective coordination held by the BRC with actors involved in the response from government bodies to humanitarian agencies and importantly local community organisations. This enabled complementary actions to be carried out in a sector by sector basis and for the full implementation of each objective within the appeal.

Challenges included logistical difficulties reaching communities isolated by flood waters and receding flood waters. This meant that distributions in Beni, for example, took longer than expected but with effective coordination they took place through boat trips over a period of several days.

Contributions to the Appeal included those from American Red Cross, Canadian government through the Canadian Red Cross, Italian Government, Japanese Red Cross, Monaco Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation through Swiss Red Cross, Kraft Foods, other private donors from the United States and the initial contribution from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF).

The Netherlands Red Cross (NRC) kindly contributed € 40,000 (CHF 64,400) to reimburse DREF funds for the emergency operation in Bolivia from the NRC Silent Emergency Fund.

Bilateral contributions made directly to the BRC's Plan of Action include those from the Chinese Government, Colombian Red Cross Society, German Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross and The World Wildlife Fund (WWF). These direct contributions were pivotal for the completion of activities included in the Bolvian Red Cross' Plan of Action, and are not reflected in the overall budget presented in the attached financial report.

This final report replaces the document issued on 30 January 2008. The previously issued interim financial report reflected a remaining balance of CHF 41,266 (USD 36,274 or EUR 27,478) for this appeal. It was proposed in the document issued in January that these funds should be reallocated to the 2009 South America regional appeal. Following Federation procedures, after 90 days the funds were reallocated and will be designated for providing support to several branches of the Bolivian Red Cross with the aim of enhancing their preparedness in the event of emergencies, including social unrest. This will be carried out jointly with the ICRC and responds to a need expressed by the National Society to build capacity at branch levels given the country's sociopolitical situation.