Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas

1. Meeting Humanitarian Challenges in Urban Areas Synthesis of thematic findings for the IASC strategic framework MHCUA TF Meeting/Workshop Rome, 07-09 September 2009

2. PreceptsIssuesRecommendations

3. - Precepts - Urbanisation Cities are increasingly susceptible to humanitarian crises; this propensity will intensify, the drivers are: rapid urbanisation – scale, patterns and processes accentuate vulnerability urban locus of forcibly displaced populations Distinctive characteristics of urban emergencies/disasters multidimensionality and complexity availability of institutional structures and resources – humanitarian challenges but also opportunities Mainstreaming responses - driving principle of report

4. - Issues - Institutional architecture, capacities and ways of working Knowledge and information base Approaches, interventions and capacity building Thematic/sectoral priorties Funding challenges of urban programmes

5. 1. Institutional architecture, capacities and ways of working Urban admin./local govt. have substantial capacity and play a key role in disaster and emergency preparedness and response IASC should request clusters and humanitarian actors to review their experience and develop guidelines for ways of working/partnership models with urban administrations and local government structures. Avoiding parallel structures is a core objective in programme design and delivery Humanitarian co-ordinators, cluster lead agencies (and humanitarian actors) should prioritise joint working and partnership in programme design and delivery. Particular attention should be paid to operational challenges: a) levels and structures of co-ordination – strategic level co-ordination is vital b) substantial variation within and between cities, small and medium sized towns - mapping capacities and gaps in assessment, service delivery, co-ordination, m&e c) setting and reconciling programme priorities where partners are strong and institutional structures are complex [different arms of local government]

6. 1. Institutional architecture, capacities and ways of working …operational challenges d) working with diverse socio-economic communities e) avoiding parallel structures e) do no harm – leave local authorities no worse off at the end of the emergency assistance programme

7. 1. Institutional architecture, capacities and ways of working Urban settings offer different configurations of civil society organisations and non-traditional actors involved in disaster preparedness and humanitarian and disaster assistance programmes compared to rural settings. IASC is recommended to request clustersand humanitarian actors to explore and develop tools and approaches to identify, dialogue andwork withnon-traditional actors, partners and interlocutors such as the private sector and urban community-based groups.

8. 1. Institutional architecture, capacities and ways of working In the aftermath of urban-based conflict, there may be a governance gap. IASC is recommended to request clusters to review how the governance gap impacts urban humanitarian assistance programmes and what strategies have been successfully adopted to remedy this.

9. 1. Institutional architecture, capacities and ways of working Linking humanitarian principles and principles good governance IASC is recommended to commission a review of how humanitarian principles and principles of good governance can be harmonized in order to enhance the design and delivery of humanitarian assistance. [Global Humanitarian Platform Principles]. Specific attention should be directed to the main principles of good governance which mediate humanitarian assistance: accountability, working with affected populations, equity (hosts and displaced), sustainability

10. 2. Knowledge and information base Enhancing the quality of urban risk analysis models/‘hotspot mapping’ IASC is recommended to develop: methodologies to collate, co-ordinate and share urban vulnerability data collected by humanitarian actors – time series, resolution levels ways of factoring in regional and national urbanization trends, urban quality indicators (poverty, informal settlements), IDP and refugee migration into other vulnerability data/maps capability for time series monitoring of regional and national level trends and patterns of vulnerability – ‘living document’ tools and techniques to enhance urban risk analysis, indicators and criteria to determine vulnerability thresholds, and building preparedness for humanitarian intervention

11. 2. Knowledge and information base IASC is recommended to commission research to enhance awareness and understanding of the typologies of urban crises, associated risks, transitions (chronic-crises-chronic), hidden emergencies – assisting an understanding of respective agencies’ entry and exit points natural disasters, earthquakes, health crises/epidemics, food security/nutrition crises, urban violence/civil disorder, displaced populations, climate change. [Urban violence and civil disorder are poorly understood crises - understanding and responding to the causes and consequences of these challenges requires specific focus]

12. 3. Approaches, interventions and capacity building IASC should promote the strengthening of urban expertise by requesting clusters and humanitarian actors to: conduct a systematic evaluation of current experience in urban disaster risk assessment and urban-based disaster/humanitarian assistance programmes, drawing out and mapping good (and bad) practice, lessons learned, identifying gaps in current practice – focus on extent to which local authorities and civil society organisations were involved - and assessing professional skills capacities, capabilities and gaps; and to develop tools, techniques and guidelines to fill gaps in current practice and in professional skills develop tools and techniques to enhance preparedness, risk and vulnerability analysis especially for small/medium sized towns and cities include an urban focus in country programme planning documents

13. 3. Approaches, interventions and capacity building IASC should promote the strengthening of urban expertise by requesting relevant clusters to develop training programmes for: Co-ordination of humanitarian and disaster assistance programmes in urban areas Contingency planning for humanitarian and disaster assistance in urban areas Developing guidelines for eg CHAPS and CAPs for urban programmes

14. 4. Thematic/sectoral priorities IASC is recommended to request relevant cluster leads to conduct urban-based reviews of: protection guidelines, tools and best practice for urban IDPs/refugees, urban populations at risk in urban disasters and emergencies, and humanitarian workers livelihoods and food security analysis land, shelter and property restitution issues in disaster and humanitarian emergencies IASC should encourage humanitarian actors to review thematic areas and gaps in capacity

15. Funding IASC and donors are recommended to review existing funding mechanisms and Good Humanitarian Donorship Principles to: better tailor funding strategies to urban contexts improve the allocation and timeliness of funds for humanitarian operations in urban areas. direct particular attention to modalities for ensuring co-ordinated funding of complex multi-sectoral and multi-agency programmes in urban areas table urban issues at the GHD platform

16. Funding The projected increase in urban-based humanitarian emergencies and disasters has profound funding implications The IASC and donors are recommended to conduct a review of how these implications will impact their overall funding strategies. The review should address inter alia: the increasing overall volume of demand for funding humanitarian and disaster relief programmes with the likely increase in countries and localities at risk in the urban context predictable year on year rise in costs some evidence that urban-based preparedness and assistance programmes are proportionately more costly than rural interventions the privileging of affected populations in cities and towns over rural populations in the distribution of funds the impact of changing funding strategies on humanitarian actors - efficiency, accountability, co-ordination, smarter ways of working the increasing role of private sector and corporate funding streams