ARTICLE - PLANNING FOR DISASTER RELIEF

PLANNING FOR DISASTER RELIEF STARTS BEFORE ANY EMERGENCY
(Guardian.co.uk) - By Vinod Thomas

Catastrophic floods in 2010 affected more people than at any other time. The lesson learned is that well-trained staff should respond within hours, or the opportunity could be lost

In the past year, humanity faced global disasters of unprecedented magnitude and impact. With earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and floods in Pakistan and west Africa, all in only one year, countries and international aid organisations are dealing with enormous human suffering. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently stated that, compared with previous years, 2010 had seen the largest number of people affected and dying from flooding.

And over the past month we have seen massive floods in Australia, Sri Lanka and Brazil, with tens of thousands left homeless.

Given the rise of natural disasters, it is important to look into lessons learned from different types of natural calamities to help provide more effective responses. The World Bank Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) prepared evaluative notes that reflect on relevant experience applicable to the specific situations of Haiti, Pakistan and West Africa. The notes were prepared with the hope that teams working on disaster relief and reconstruction in the World Bank Group and other development institutions will learn from previous lessons in addressing current and future disasters.

Through evaluative research we know that providing early response during an emergency period is critical. This includes orderly distribution of emergency supplies, involving local leadership and helping to enhance social cohesion. If not, the opportunity cost can be huge. For instance, the reconstruction of Haiti following last year's earthquake was complicated by the haphazard nature of relief distribution in the first weeks and months. The ability to make relief and emergency decisions and communicate them speedily to the involved parties is important to prevent rumours and forestall mob action.

There is also the tendency for people to band together in the face of a natural disaster. The effectiveness of reconstruction efforts is largely dependent on the mutual trust of individuals in the affected society and outside aid organisations. The manner in which relief distributions are managed either enhances community involvement in reconstruction or constrains it, fostering dependency and other undesirable consequences. It is much harder to quell the use of force, looting, rioting and the firing of weapons after the fact than it is to prevent such violence in the first place.

IEG's recommendation to enhance the capacity of local government and organisations to handle disaster relief efforts is in line with the Hyogo Framework, the UN's 10-year initiative for disaster reduction, adopted in 2005, which among other issues calls for strengthening a community's ability to reduce disaster risk at the local level. During last summer's floods, Pakistan did not have an elected local government. The local government system of elected "nazims" and counsellors had been disbanded. Given the vacuum in local elected government, it was all the more important to have clear criteria to share responsibilities among the various groups above and below the local government level to assess local needs, and monitor interventions.

Strengthening local capacity can also include providing local people the means to support themselves and to restore their livelihoods. After the devastating 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, many feared more people would starve or freeze to death as winter hit the remote, mountainous region, but that did not happen. The Pakistani government, supported by the UN and donor countries, was able to get relief and emergency shelter to the people who needed it. Cash transfers proved especially helpful. People who lost homes and livelihoods received "livelihood support" in the form of cash payments and assistance rebuilding homes that were more earthquake resistant.

Another key factor is the ability to deploy experienced relief staff as early as possible. Quite a few countries have put together disaster agencies and trained their staff, only to close them down after several years without disasters. This happens because no government or institution can sustain a large number of trained staff at all times. Experts refer to it as "what do the firemen do when they are not fighting fires". Then, of course, when disasters strike governments do not have clear procedures and the right staff to lead such operations. One solution can be that staff of emergency relief institutions are assigned crucial responsibilities during periods when there is no disaster.

To be more effective in facing global natural disasters, international institutions and governments need to have plans for early emergency relief, build the capacity of local governments and communities to cope with such disasters, and have a cadre of well-trained staff that can be deployed within hours of an emergency. We need to learn constantly from previous disasters to become better in managing aid and relief work.

• Vinod Thomas is director general and senior vice-president of the Independent Evaluation Group at the World Bank Group