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Central Europe Appeal no. MAA66001 Programme Update no. 1

Pays
Bosnie-Herzégovine
+ 7
Sources
IFRC
Date de publication

The Federation's vision is to strive, through voluntary action, for a world of empowered communities, better able to address human suffering and crises with hope, respect for dignity and a concern for equity. Its 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

Period covered: 1 January to 31 May 2006

Appeal target: The appeal budget for 2006-2007 was revised from CHF 3,925,000 (USD 3,152,415 or EUR 2,498,000) to CHF 4,082,136 (USD 3,279,000 or EUR 2,598,000)

Appeal coverage: 36%

Related Emergency or Annual Appeals:

Central Europe Annual Appeal 2006/2007. For details, please go to the website at http://www.ifrc.org/cgi/pdf_appeals.pl?annual06/MAA66001.pdf*

Serbia and Montenegro/Kosovo Annual Appeal 2006/2007. For details, please go to the website at http://www.ifrc.org/cgi/pdf_appeals.pl?annual06/MAACS001.pdf*

Bosnia and Herzegovina Annual Appeal 2006/2007. For details, please go to the website at http://www.ifrc.org/cgi/pdf_appeals.pl?annual06/MAABA001.pdf*

Romania Floods Preliminary Emergency Appeal. For details, please go to the website at http://www.ifrc.org/cgi/pdf_appeals.pl?06/MDRRO001ap.pdf*

Annual Appeals 2006/2007 for Europe/Central Asia region. For details please see the website at http://www.ifrc.org/where/europe.asp

The programmes herein are aligned with the Federation's Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission:

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

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

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

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

Programme summary:

Programme implementation started well in 2006, with remaining funds from 2005, together with early confirmation of funding from SIDA via the Swedish RC enabling key activities to go ahead during the first quarter. By June 2006, the major funding expected for programmes in 2006 had been confirmed (Norwegian RC/Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Finnish RC). This has enabled a revision of the budgets and plans of action, prioritizing activities in line with received income. The main areas of revision are: Regional Health/Care Programme: budget revised from CHF 426,563 to CHF 249,037 to reflect the current and expected funding situation. Regional Organizational Development: budget revised from CHF 495,759 to CHF 656,012 to reflect outstanding balances remaining from 2005 for Albanian RC and for capacity building fund interventions. Regional Participatory Community Development: budget revised from CHF 627,139 to CHF 801,348, reflecting outstanding balances from 2005 and expected funding for the population movement programme. Regional Disaster Management: budget revised from CHF 451,299 to CHF 542,241. This includes balance of funds from Norwegian RC/Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2005, the implementation of which has been extended to 31 July 2006. Regional Promotion of Humanitarian Values revised from CHF 118,984 to CHF 102,513 to reflect funding situation and reducing the amount set aside to support national societies in developing activities to respond to human trafficking.

There are a number of key areas for which funding is still sought: principally in the humanitarian values programme, for a second issue of The Bridge magazine in autumn 2006; the regional health/care programme for promotional activities linked to blood, first aid, and health in emergencies; as well as the implementation and management section, for leadership development activities.

With its staff principally from regional sources, Regional Delegation (RD) relies on covering regional coordinator salaries from its programme funding. Despite the recognized added value of this approach to resourcing in the region, this funding structure is not easy to secure and is a constant source of concern for the RD.

Operational developments

The year to date has seen further use of DREF to support emergency situations in the region. The year started with a DREF allocation to support a winter assistance operation in Kosovo, followed shortly afterwards by flooding. Spring brought another wave of flooding in southern and eastern Romania, which again put back recovery after the successive waves of flooding in 2005. A joint Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT)/Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) and Romanian Red Cross team was deployed. Following assessments in the field, a preliminary emergency appeal to the value of CHF 2,427,200 was launched. Three delegates were deployed - administration, health assessment and water and sanitation and RDRT members with relief and water and sanitation profiles, as well as regional resources to support with finance and reporting duties. The relief operation has severely stretched the capacity of the National Society and again put back planned branch - headquarters workshop to look at improved cooperation and coordination in the field. Flooding in Serbia and Montenegro also resulted in a DREF allocation to support the National Society led operation. Bulgaria also faced severe flooding in the north of the country during the spring, although the National Society made no recourse to DREF and were able to respond with their own resources and capacity.

A referendum in Montenegro about the future of the republic in the state union of Serbia & Montenegro ended in a vote for independence. This decision has repercussions for the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, with the two republican bodies - Serbian Red Cross and Montenegrin Red Cross seeking admission to the Movement as independent National Societies. This development also necessitates a reassessment of the type of support these emerging National Societies will require from the Federation, and how the Regional Delegation can support this.

European Union accession continues to be a key issue for debate in the region. Bulgaria and Romania have clarified timeframes for accession. However this pre-accession status means that funding previously open to the countries and channeled through EU member governments has now dried up. Other mechanisms are now open to these countries nationally, but are in the process of development. National Societies are being encouraged to work closely with the relevant ministries and state representatives to access these new funding sources, and to lobby for recognition of the Red Cross as a leader in the humanitarian field. National Societies will need further support in lobbying nationally and in order to understand how these mechanisms can work. The experience of the last group of accession states to the EU is invaluable in this, as well as the 'older' EU members, who are now regularly accessing EU funding sources nationally or through the commission in Brussels.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Regional Delegation Budapest, Caroline Mawdsley, Acting Head of Office, caroline.mawdsley@ifrc.org; tel: + 36 1 248 3300, fax: +361 248 3322

In Geneva: Regional Department, Erja Reinikainen, Regionl Officer, Erja.Reinikainen@ifrc.org Phone + 41 22 730 4319; Fax + 41 22 733 03 95

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering quality and accountable assistance to the most vulnerable.

For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org

(pdf* format - 667 KB)