ReliefWeb

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 185 countries.
In Brief

Final Report; Period covered: May 2003 to December 2005; Final appeal coverage: 104.2%.

Appeal history:

Launched on 22 May 2003 for CHF 1,958,000 (USD 1,512,000 or EUR 1,293,000) for 3 months to assist 10,000-20,000 beneficiaries.

Appeal revised on 27 June 2003 for CHF 4,798,000 for 40, 000 beneficiaries, including an extension of the operation until May, 2004. A second extension on the emergency appeal was granted until May 2005 and a third one until December 2005. The remaining funds of CHF 507,869 are expected to be transferred in three months time to the Regional Office programmes, with an earmarking for activities in Algeria, provided that no donor will request the return of their contribution unused in this operation.

Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 200,000 (USD 161,390 or EUR 127,395).

This amount was subsequently reimbursed. This operation is aligned with the International Federation's Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

Background and Summary

On the 21st of May 2003, the most powerful earthquake to have affected North Africa since 1980 struck northern Algeria. This tragic disaster led to the death of more than 2,200 people, injured more than 10,000 and left at least 180,000 homeless. Within a few hours of the earthquake, the staff and volunteers of the Algerian Red Crescent Society (ARCS) were mobilised; and the disaster response mechanism of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the Secretariat and other Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies) activated to support the immediate response activities. During this period, the Algerian Red Crescent received substantial national support from various sources, including the private sector. The National Society was also part of the team appointed by the Inter ior Ministry to manage the camps for the persons who were displaced.

The Algerian authorities housed the displaced population in chalets used as temporary housing and erected on various sites. In early 2004, the Algerian authorities started to relocate fam ilies located in the temporary housing to the newly built, permanent, houses. The liberated chalets were then allocated to other needy families, for use as permanent accommodation.

At the end of the emergency phase, the Algerian Red Crescent, in collaboration with the International Federation and sister National Societies, turned its attention to long er term programmes which were aimed at increasing its capacity in several areas of disaster management and psychological assistance at headquarters and wilaya (branch) levels. This phase lasted for some two years (until May 2005). During this period, the French Red Cross and the Tunis Regional Office spearheaded the carrying out of an initial evaluation of the operation in February 2004, in the presence of loc al and some international partners. This evaluation provided useful insights into the way the operation was implemented from the extreme emergency phase to the first 21 days; and recommendations were made regarding the steps to be taken, to ensure greater efficiency in the future. A separate report of this activity is available.

Due to the various processes of change which the National Society experienced during the implementation of the operation (among these the changes in the leadership, originally due to the death of the President after a protracted period of illness; and subsequently two other changes which were spearheaded by the authorities , one of which is still in progress - in line with the National Society's statutes), there were disruptions in the normal functioning of the National Society. These disruptions resulted in the delay in the implementation of some of the activities which were planned. In spite of this situation, significant progress was registered in the implementation of the plan of action, and will be detailed below. The remaining funds for the operation will be transferred to a separate project account, to be managed by the regional office, and allowing for the completion of planned activities.

Coordination

As was the case during the emergency phase, the operation was carried out in close coordination with the various donor National Societies which either had a physical presence in Algeria, or who financed different parts of the plan of action. The operation was also closely coordinated with the representation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which had been supporting the National Society in other areas of their work prior to the earthquake. In addition, the Algerian Red Crescent closely coordinated its activities with the various department and agencies of the government, the non-governmental sector (including universities and research institutes), and the private sector.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Algeria: Algerian Red Crescent, Dr. Baroudi El Fachouch, Activities Director, email: info@cra-dz.org; phone: +213 61 69 59 75; fax: +213 21 633 690

In Tunisia: North Africa Regional Office, ms. Anne E. LeClerc, Head of Office, email: ae.leclerc@ifrc.org, phone: +216 71 86 24 85, fax: +216 71 86 29 71

In Geneva: MENA Regional Department, Evgeni Parfenov, Senior Regional Officer, email: evgeni.parfenov@ifrc.org, phone: +41 22 730 4325, fax: +41 22 733 0395

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org For longer-term programmes, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal.

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