Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance

1. Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance • Responsible for providing foreign disaster assistance and coordinating the USG response to disasters abroad. • Authority comes from the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. • OFDA mandate is to “Save lives, reduce suffering, and alleviate the economic impact of disasters.”

2. Disaster Assistance and Response Team (DART) • One of several response options for OFDA • Operational element within OFDA • Tested and codified organizational structure • Staffing, managing, training and equipping from existing resources • Experience from many previous deployments • Field Operations Guide

3. Disaster Assistance and Response Team (DART) • Operational ground presence to carry out sustained relief activities • Develops and implements OFDA’s humanitarian response strategy • Coordinates USG relief efforts with: • UN/IOs and NGOs • Donor nations • Military • Host Nation

4. Disaster Assistance and Response Team (DART) • Coordinates commodity shipments • Expeditiously funds relief organizations • Monitors and evaluates USG funded relief activities

5. DART Organization • Approximately 60 personnel • Unified management • Four operational components • Core DART plus three field offices • Multiple Offices – Multiple Agencies • OFDA, FFP, OTI, ANE, GH • State/PRM, CDC/PHS • Phased Deployment based on ability to access populations and implement programs

6. DART Admin • Phased Deployment: • Maximize number of operational days • Minimum required footprint • Pre-deploy selected individuals to Amman, Turkey, and Kuwait • Call forward of remainder of team • Rear operations under of direction of Plans Officer

7. DART Admin • Lodging and accommodations • Authorities: • Chief of Mission • US Central Command (CENTCOM) • Personal Equipment • Remote location kits and PPE pre-positioned in theater • Bring personal demand items as required

8. DART Admin • Travel Authorization/Orders handled by OFDA • Training: Extensive Training Package to support operations in a hostile and austere environment • Additional/refresher training conducted in the field • CBRNE, Communications, others as required

9. DART Training Courses • Orientation to OFDA • DART/RMT Training • Assessment • Intro to Field Communications • First Aid and Trauma Meds • CBRNE Tier II • Vehicle Safety and Security • Landmine Awareness • Hostage Survival • Working with the Media • Stress Management • Military 101 • International Humanitarian Law and Principles • Iraq Country Briefing • IDP Camp Management • Women and Children Protection • Food Distribution and Feeding Centers • Shelter Construction and Plastic Sheeting • Human Rights, Protection and Stability

10. DART Deployment Sites • Kuwait City • Amman • Diyarbakir • Deployment in-country dependent on security situation

11. DART In-country Deployment Sites • Kuwait City • Baghdad • Basrah • Erbil • Al Hillah

12. DART Roles • Coordinate and disseminate Humanitarian Information • Facilitate HA operations • UN/IO – NGO - Military • Conduct assessments of Humanitarian Situation • Expedite Commodities and funding for implementing organizations • Call forward expertise and commodities to address needs of vulnerable population

13. DART Roles • Facilitate and implement Transition Activities • Assist in Protection activities and prevention of civilian atrocities • Assist in provision and delivery of food commodities • Facilitate Development activities through coordination with MIW, GH, DG, and ANE staff • Assist in coordination of consequence management activities

14. DART Sectors • Health, Water/Sanitation, Nutrition • Food Distribution • IDPs and Refugees • Shelter • Protection and Prevention of Atrocities • Commodity and Grant Expedition • Transition Activities • Consequence Management Assistance • Reconstruction Coordination

15. Water and Sanitation • Most urgent sector • Assess damage to water supply and sanitation facilities • Determine wat/san needs in major urban centers, villages, rural zones, and camps • Develop an operational plan for minimally adequate levels of potable water, sanitary excreta disposal, and waste water removal

16. Water and Sanitation • Assist in developing strategic plans for rehabilitating and reconstructing wat/san facilities throughout Iraq • Primary partners: CARE, UNICEF, WHO, ICRC, OXFAM and other NGOs • Rapid assessments to identify sources of potable water • Call forward additional expertise and equipment

17. Health • Prevent excess morbidity and mortality through effective response in public health • Primary health care • Preventative health response • Assess local health infrastructure • Health facilities • Availability of medicines • Immunization status • Health care capacity

18. Health • Assess basic statistics, level of communicable diseases, severe trauma, etc • Assist in facilitating treatment for civilian casualties • Assess the environmental status with respect to vector control and wat/san • Develop linkages with Iraqi MOH, IOs, and NGOs in the region • Facilitate establishment of nutritional programs, where required • Primary partners: UNICEF, WHO, ICRC, NGOs

19. Food Distribution • Assist in provision and distribution of food commodities to meet the needs of the Iraqi population • Coordinate with and assist WFP • Focus on reestablishing the existing PDS • Assist in facilitating Port operations • Assess and respond to food needs for displaced populations

20. Shelter • Assess emergency shelter needs • Assess and respond to displaced populations’ needs • Develop an operational plan to distribute and monitor plastic sheeting • Facilitate procurement and distribution of tents for environmentally insecure populations, if required • Primary partners: NGOs, UN Habitat, UN Agencies

21. Logistics • Support humanitarian response through prepositioning of commodities and establishment of logistics system • Commodities to meet needs of 1 million • Warehouses located throughout region and worldwide • Delivery of commodities by most effective means • Air, sea, or overland

22. Logistics • Commodity Stockpiles • 10 liter water containers • 3,000 gallon water tanks • 10,000 and 11,500 liter water bladders • Hygiene kits • Plastic Sheeting • Blankets • WHO Emergency Health Kits • LMS Water Purification Units

23. Protection and Prevention of Atrocities • Protection Officer and Abuse Prevention Unit added to DART structure • DART not the primary implementation agent • DART will assist in development of prevention strategy • DART will assist in coordination of prevention programs • All field elements tasked with assessing potential atrocities • DART core (especially Info Officers) tasked with identification of potential problems

24. Transition Activities • Transition Activities led by OTI staff on DART • Core DART will facilitate access and implementation • Primary activities include (but not limited to): • Assisting media and information activities • Small grants to jump start activities • High impact/high visibility projects

25. Consequence Management • Primary DART function is protection of DART members from exposure/risk • All DART members required to have PPE within reach • DART role in larger CM effort not clarified • DART staffing and training can assist in call-forward and facilitation of CM teams from inter-agency arena

26. Military Liaison • Military Liaison Officers integral to overall effort • DART will coordinate with, but not subordinate to the HOC • HOC function is to facilitate civ-mil information and assist in access for humanitarian community • MLOs will be located in the Core DART, Field Teams, and at CENTCOM Forward • Primary effort will be with the Civil Affairs units • DART will assist CA units with HA assessment mission

27. Reconstruction Coordination • DART will coordinate and assist with larger reconstruction effort, when possible • DART ANE staff primarily responsible for passing information to/from MIW, GH, DG, and ANE staff • DART will coordinate activities with reconstruction effort in order to enable expansion of initial projects • Every effort will be made to avoid “stand-alone” activities

28. Security • Security is non-negotiable • Security Officer has the authority to speak for Team Leader • Security plan will be refined in country • Evacuation plans: All elements of the DART will have and understand the evac plan • Each field element/assessment team will have a situation specific evac plan prior to mission • Primary, secondary and tertiary

29. Relief Activities OBJECTIVE – Provide Emergency Humanitarian Assistance • Support to IDPs including registration, monitoring, food support through WFP, and support to IDPs and host communities in water/sanitation and primary health • 112 compact water treatment units and 7 plants completed to date; nearly 200 more ongoing or planned • 49 hospital/clinic rehabs completed; 131 more ongoing or planned • 7.5 kilometers of water networks completed, 216 more ongoing or planned • More than 2,000 health care professionals trained at health centers throughout Iraq Progress as of 9/16/03 More Information at www.usaid.gov/iraq

30. DCHA/OFDA Response Management Team • Chief purposes: • Support DART field operations • Report humanitarian information to global audience • Oversee Washington-based support • Single USAID point of contact for inter- and intragency coordination of relief/operational activities • Planning and strategy development • Allows for unity of effort and streamlined management structure

31. DCHA/OFDA Response Management Team • RMT provides necessary support to a deployed DART team • Manage USAID response activities • Coordinate interagency cooperation • Full-time, focused, and continuous attention • Flexible organization • Allows for management of entire Agency portfolio – Operational to Strategic

32. DCHA/OFDA Response Management Team • Five Core Functions to Support Operations: • Management – including press, interagency coordination, information, and financial • Planning • Logistics • Administration – Field and Washington based support • Communications and Records

33. DCHA/OFDA Response Management Team • Established structure • Policy and Procedures published and in place • Tested, trained and exercised • Proven success in large crises • Comprehensively addresses Agency and USG requirements • Augmented by non-DCHA staff and skill sets

34. USAID Senior Management DCHA ANE/Technical Bureaus PPC Other USG LPA USAID Sr Rep DART