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This Programme Update is intended for reporting on Annual Appeals.
Period covered: 1 January - 30 June 2001

Appeal Target CHF 3,380,971

Operational Developments:

There has been a mixture of news from the region over the past six months. Indonesia continues to lurch from crisis to crisis; the Philippines has had another hostage drama as well as a major volcanic eruption; Thailand witnessed a reasonably smooth general election; and Myanmar has shown signs of courting a better international image.

The regional delegation has been at full complement but has had to accommodate the additional workload of servicing the Laos and Indonesia delegations which have been without international staff as well as providing support to the East Timor delegation. In addition, the work of developing consensus around the new directions under the action research project (see next page), has been worthwhile but has taken time from already programmed work..However, despite this extra workload, there has been considerable progress across the region, particularly in terms of the new disaster preparedness programme and the new initiatives in planning, reporting and funding. Units in organizational development, health and information have also had success.

Disaster Preparedness:

The disaster preparedneess/disaster response (DP/DR) work of the regional delegation is in transition. Before the arrival of the new DP delegate at the end of year 2000, the regional DP post had been vacant for almost two years. Basically, there was no programme or ongoing activities to take over. Although three general objectives and activities were outlined in the regional DP appeal for 2001-2002 (see below), they did not reflect the need for a more comprehensive, strategic approach to disaster management (DM) in the region. In fact, the appeal states that "the programme will require revision during 2001".

Given this situation, and under the influence of the secretariat’s action research, it was recognised that initiating a process for the development of a comprehensive regional disaster management programme was the priority of the new DP delegate and the new regional disaster management unit (RDMU). This process has been a major part of the unit’s work during the first six months of 2001 and will continue to be so. The new DM programme ’s objectives and activities are still being formed.

The regional programme process has involved three stages: mapping relevant technical DM tasks; identifying new ways of working; and programme and budget elaboration. At the end of June, the programme elaboration was almost complete. The next stage will primarily involve obtaining sufficient funding and staff for implementation. Provided such resources are secured, it is assumed that the regional DM unit will be fully operational by the end of the year.

For 2001-2002, the new DM programme will consist of the following eight components:

1. National Society DP support;

2. field assessment coordination team (FACT) and emergency response unit (ERU) capacities, and disaster response;

3. logistics capacities;

4. disaster management information and knowledge sharing;

5. coordination and services in disasters;

6. regional capacity and institution building;

7. regional programme cooperation and coordination; and

8. programme management, coordination and evaluations.

Given the Federation’s timeframe for producing its Annual Appeal 2001-2002, planning will take place in August-September. However, a more bottom-up-oriented process, eventually leading to a regional programme strategy, will be initiated in late November/December.

The overall approach of the regional DM programme strongly reflects the focus of Strategy 2010 - particularly of "working together effectively as a Federation" - and is in line with the action research initiative. The concept has been developed after discussions between National Societies (NS), delegates and other stakeholders. The programme ’s main characteristics are:

• promotion of stronger National Society ownership and a sense of shared responsibility towards the DM affairs of the region
• building more on National Society capacities and on partnerships with DM institutes and the like in the region, to improve the regions’ capability in disaster preparedness and response
• a more holistic, cohesive and development-oriented regional programme approach, with the unit head acting more as a programme manager than as a traditional DP delegate "doer"
• making more effective use of the secretariat/delegation resources through, among other things, regional teamwork approaches, strengthened programme cooperation and coordination (with the other core programme s) and through improved and better coordinated planning.
• development of an institutionalised, sustainable organisational framework for regional DM activities, through the establishment of a "regional cooperation body" comprising representatives of all NSs (their disaster managers) and parts of the DM Team (the delegates) of the region.

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