ReliefWeb

Introduction

Most countries in the Africa region are regularly facing simultaneous or cascading disasters such as floods, desert locust invasion, communal violence and conflicts, drought, food insecurity, cholera, Ebola and other epidemics, leading to compounding and exacerbated impact on affected communities. The Covid-19 pandemic has added up to those hazards and presented an operational challenge for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Aware of the tendencies to work in silo through a non-comprehensive approach of humanitarian needs, the push to work in a multi-hazard approach has intensified.

The following report aims to provide major insights and recommendations for the implementation of a multi-hazard humanitarian approach drawing from the different experiences of staff members of the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement working in Africa. This report is the result of a consultation process of 35 staff members, including branch and HQ NS staff, PNSs and IFRC representatives, from various departments, carried out between September and October of 2020. This consultation followed a preliminary survey carried out in August 2020 and was initiated by the “multi-hazard approach” sub-group of the ADMAG (Africa Disaster Management Advisory Group). For more information on the participants’ interviews and the methodology, please take a look at Annex 1.

The consultation had a threefold purpose:

I. Understand to what extent the National Societies are willing to implement such a multi-hazard approach when facing compounding disasters II. Identify what the National Societies need to implement such an approach (if the will exists)

III. Identify learning opportunities and establish concrete recommendations for the ADMAG to support the National Societies in the implementation of a multi-hazard response approach

Upon finalising the interview stage, the analysis of the findings focused on mainstreaming the responses per each relevant sector: Hazards, risks and needs analysis; Response planning; Resources Mobilisation; Coordination; Support services (finance, logistics, HR and planning, monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting). After drafting a summary of the interviews, a driver’s analysis together with a SWOT analysis informed the recommendations set as main part of the report.