By Paul GolBackground
From post Rwanda genocide through to tsunami there has been an increasing demand and interest on the need for the humanitarian sector to be accountable to beneficiaries and to improve on the quality of services delivered. Various accountability initiatives have come up all with the aim to support and improve quality, accountability and learning in the context of emergencies. In 2003 the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership International (HAP-I) was launched to promote accountability to disaster survivors and to acknowledge those agencies that comply with the HAP Principles and Standards of Humanitarian Accountability.
Lessons from various recent humanitarian emergencies have also highlighted the need to build individual and organisational awareness and capacity to implement humanitarian programmes that include people affected by the disaster as key participants in the design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes, share intervention information to enhance transparency and to provide the beneficiaries with an opportunity to give feedback to the agencies. In Afghanistan, the need for such an approach to programme management will continue to increase, and humanitarian actors will benefit from adopting this approach.
Lessons from various recent humanitarian emergencies have also highlighted the need to build individual and organisational awareness and capacity to implement humanitarian programmes that include people affected by the disaster as key participants in the design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes, share intervention information to enhance transparency and to provide the beneficiaries with an opportunity to give feedback to the agencies. In Afghanistan, the need for such an approach to programme management will continue to increase, and humanitarian actors will benefit from adopting this approach.
Tearfund and Accountability
Tearfund UK Disaster Management Team (DMT) is a certified member of HAP International and is therefore committed to implementing Humanitarian Accountability Principles, HAP[1] 2007 Standards and Quality Management across all its emergency programmes. This commitment seeks to;
1. Improve the way Tearfund engages with the local communities in decisions that affect them by striving to enhance participation of affected populations in order to seek informed consent.
2. Share information with beneficiaries in order to promote and improve transparency through information provision.
3. Provide beneficiaries with channels through which concerns can be raised. There is an ethical commitment to listen, monitor and respond to beneficiary concerns.
4. Ensure that members of staff are provided with a thorough understanding of Humanitarian Accountability Principles and standards.
Tearfund in Afghanistan
Tearfund in Afghanistan
Tearfund UK established a Disaster Management Team (DMT) for Afghanistan and the border areas of Pakistan in 2001 in response to drought and conflict. This initial response focused mainly on Water and Sanitation in camps for refugees and Internally Displaced People and work with resettling communities. From 2006 the programme has expanded to Kapisa and Jawzjan provinces.
The current sectors in the Afghanistan DMT are water, sanitation and health promotion in Kandahar, Disaster Risk Reduction and sanitation in Kapisa, and Food Security and livelihoods in northern Jawzjan Province.
In 2008 the Afghanistan DMT recruited an Accountability Officer for its programme to implement Beneficiary Accountability Action Plan in the field by ensuring beneficiaries’ active participation in programme cycle management and provide opportunities to present critical appraisal of Tearfund’s performance during the project period.
Lessons from Tearfund’s interventions in Pakistan, Northern Kenya, Liberia and elsewhere have highlighted the need to build individual and organisational awareness and capacity to implement humanitarian programmes that include people affected by the disaster.
On 17th – 18th December 2008 the Afghanistan DMT organised a two day training for its field staff at the Kabul Programme office on Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management. This Training of Trainers workshop was a culmination of a series of staff awareness training earlier held in Aqcha field office North of Afghanistan and Kapisa to the North East.
The current sectors in the Afghanistan DMT are water, sanitation and health promotion in Kandahar, Disaster Risk Reduction and sanitation in Kapisa, and Food Security and livelihoods in northern Jawzjan Province.
In 2008 the Afghanistan DMT recruited an Accountability Officer for its programme to implement Beneficiary Accountability Action Plan in the field by ensuring beneficiaries’ active participation in programme cycle management and provide opportunities to present critical appraisal of Tearfund’s performance during the project period.
Lessons from Tearfund’s interventions in Pakistan, Northern Kenya, Liberia and elsewhere have highlighted the need to build individual and organisational awareness and capacity to implement humanitarian programmes that include people affected by the disaster.
On 17th – 18th December 2008 the Afghanistan DMT organised a two day training for its field staff at the Kabul Programme office on Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management. This Training of Trainers workshop was a culmination of a series of staff awareness training earlier held in Aqcha field office North of Afghanistan and Kapisa to the North East.
The training aimed at building staff capacity and sharpening skills for maximum response on Beneficiary Accountability. This included; Definitions of Accountability; various Accountability Initiatives; tips on programme information sharing in the terrorist environment of Afghanistan; beneficiary involvement at all stages and its benefits and; how to develop a Feedback Handling and Response Mechanism.
Resolution
The training resolved to push forward beneficiary accountability in all the field locations in Afghanistan where Tearfund has a presence, establish Beneficiary Reference Groups as a way of giving the beneficiaries direct benefits of involvement in programme decision making on maters that affect them.
The team also resolved to train others and to further create awareness among the various stakeholders in the field and to work with structures at the community level and government.
It was also resolved that key accountability and project documents would be translated into Dari, Pashto, Turkmani to enable a wide section of the local communities to access and understand.
Examples were shared on various aspects the team felt the programme had done well and where improvement was necessary. These included but not limited to verbal information sharing and wide consultation with stakeholders. However the programme needed to urgently strategise on greater and meaningful involvement of women, set up formal information sharing systems and formal feedback handling and response mechanism. Documentation of consultative processes and feedback would be encouraged and Accountability good practice.
Challenges and Way foward
The team also resolved to train others and to further create awareness among the various stakeholders in the field and to work with structures at the community level and government.
It was also resolved that key accountability and project documents would be translated into Dari, Pashto, Turkmani to enable a wide section of the local communities to access and understand.
Examples were shared on various aspects the team felt the programme had done well and where improvement was necessary. These included but not limited to verbal information sharing and wide consultation with stakeholders. However the programme needed to urgently strategise on greater and meaningful involvement of women, set up formal information sharing systems and formal feedback handling and response mechanism. Documentation of consultative processes and feedback would be encouraged and Accountability good practice.
Challenges and Way foward
Insecurity, illiteracy and cultural practices that bar women from full participation in community processes were cited as major impediments to the effective implementation of projects and beneficiary accountability.
At the end of the training, follow up meetings were scheduled for the Kapisa, Kandahar and Jawzjan field location in 2009.
For Further Information Contact;
Paul Gol,At the end of the training, follow up meetings were scheduled for the Kapisa, Kandahar and Jawzjan field location in 2009.
For Further Information Contact;
E-mail:dmt-afghan-ao@tearfund.org
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