AFGHANISTAN – North-Eastern Region Baghlan Humanitarian Team Meeting 16 May 2012 at UNAMA Puli Khumri office Draft Minutes Participants: ACTED, AKF-A, FOCUS, Global Partners, Hungarian Embassy, IOM, NRC, OCHA (Chair), UNAMA, USAID, WFP, apologies: IOM (assessment) Agenda: Welcome and introduction Flood emergencies: assessments, response coordination, concerns, gaps Conflict displacement Cluster coordination and resource mobilization Way forward 1. Welcome and introduction OCHA welcomed participants. Participants introduced themselves and informed about type of work they are doing in the province. Global Partners: community development, WASH (septic systems), retaining walls, education, implementing partner of WFP for cash and voucher in Samangan province. ACTED: works in Burka district. AKF-A: works in several districts. Focus: works in Dushi and other districts 2. Flood emergencies On 10 May 2012, a new flood has affected 9 areas of Baghlan province. A Provincial Disaster Management Committee (PDMC) was held in Puli Khumri on 11 May. It has assigned assessment teams. As of early 16 May, assessment results are available for two districts: Burka district (232 affected families) and Dahana-i-Ghuri (68 affected families). Assessment and distribution procedures: ANDMA, the Afghan National Disaster Management Committee, is the designated body within the Government to address natural disasters. In this capacity, ANDMA Baghlan provides secretarial support to the Provincial Disaster Management Committee (PDMC). The PDMC assigns joint assessment teams and approves assessment reports. Based on it ANDMA prepares an official government relief request which is then forwarded to UN agencies and NGOs for assistance. The relief request should include beneficiary lists. Normally, beneficiary lists are drawn up during assessments. ANDMA establishes also distribution committees and in cooperation with relief partners nominates a distribution point. In areas where access to remote locations is hampered by security and blocked roads, distributions take place at the District Center. Distribution committees include government, relief organization, CDC, shura, religious leaders, and elders. WFP procedures require the signing of a distribution agreement between WFP and the distributing body (CDC, NGO). Good practice is to distribute from the back of a truck to avoid off-loading, storage and re-loading. All can have possible implication with regard to security and costs. Distributions should be short (within a day) to avoid security and other concerns. A distribution off the back of a truck is normally done with the help of community members (community contribution). Transport of relief goods from distribution site to village: This is the responsibility of the beneficiary. NGOs remarked that in certain instances transportation costs outweigh the value of received relief goods. Considering the mountainous terrain, damaged roads and remoteness of many affected villages, onward transportation is a problem for many beneficiary families. Relief operations in Baghlan province are hampered by off-loading problems and lack of storage capacity. ANDMA needs to address this when planning the forthcoming food and NFI distribution to 10 May beneficiaries. Need for road rehabilitation: Floods have blocked roads in several locations. MRRD and Baghlan Dept. of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (RRD) are asked to take action to unblock the roads. This applies in particular to Jilga district. Distribution of relief items: • Due to remoteness it can take beneficiaries up to three days to reach the distribution site. District authorities are advised to inform beneficiaries in advance so they arrive on time for the distribution. Otherwise distributions teams have to stay for several days in the field. As mentioned, this has security and cost implications (increases truck rental costs). As a rule of thumb, district authorities need to inform beneficiaries in remote locations three days in advance about date and place of distribution. • Secondly, district authorities are responsible to provide security for distribution goods, teams and site. • District authorities are further responsible to establish a distribution committee and ensure that volunteers are ready to help with the distribution off the back of trucks. Distribution plan for food and NFIs in Baghlan province for beneficiaries of 10 May floods Source: 1. Meeting of ANDMA Baghlan, OCHA Mazar/Kunduz, WFP Faizabad and Baghlan Provincial Council in Puli Khumri on 16 May 2012. 2. Meeting of ARCS Baghlan and OCHA Mazar/Kunduz in Puli Khumri on 16 May 2012. 3. Meeting of Baghlan Humanitarian Team in Puli Khumri on 16 May 2012. District Affected families Organization Remark providing assistance Puli Khumri 23 families ARCS: food and Needs covered NFIs Dushi Total: 76 families Food: WFP Focal Point: NGO FOCUS 52 houses NFI: IOM NRC transport assistance needed partially for IOM NFIs damaged, 24 houses totally damaged Nahrin Total: 155 Food: WFP Focal Point: NGO ACTED families NFI: IOM NRC transport assistance needed 87 houses for IOM NFIs partially damaged, 68 houses totally damaged Dahana-i-Ghuri 26 families ARCS: food and Needs covered NFIs Burka 232 families ARCS: food and Needs covered NFIs Jilga 20 families Food: WFP Focal point: ANDMA NFI: IOM NRC transport assistance needed for IOM NFIs Road from Nahrin District Center to Jilga District Center blocked. Baghlan government requested to do emergency road opening Distributions: Hungarian Embassy informed that the Hungarian PRT has provided cash, food and NFI assistance in the cause of the ongoing flood emergency in Baghlan province. The assistance is based on a Baghlan government request. The Hungarian PRT does not see itself as a first responder and has done so to address gaps caused by the absence of UN / NGO relief assistance. The Hungarian PRT welcomes the establishment of a Baghlan Civil Military Coordination Group in order to coordinate relief assistance. 3. Conflict displacement in Baghlan province: 34 conflict affected families are reported. Protection and humanitarian assistance is pending. There is a need to address the issue at the next North-eastern Protection Cluster meeting. 4. Coordination and resource mobilization • Baghlan province has no relief stocks. WFP brings in food from warehouses in Kabul or Faizabad. With the exception of ARCS, the province has no NFI stocks. • WFP food assistance is pending in Baghlan province. OCHA to follow up with WFP on pending drought and flood assistance. In the past, Baghlan was administered by WFP Mazar office and food assistance was timely provided. With Baghlan being now administered by WFP Faizabad it is felt that response is seriously lacking behind and response is pending. OCHA is asked to follow up with WFP Faizabad on pending food deliveries and advocate for Baghlan to be returned to WFP Mazar administration. This also in light of shorted supply routes. It is easier to truck WFP food in from Kabul and Mazar rather than on a 7-9 hours way from remote Faizabad. • There is a need to address food insecurity in Baghlan and the North-Eastern Region at a more strategic level. OCHA to advocate for the establishment of a NER Food Security and Agriculture Cluster. • IOM NFI assistance is pending in Baghlan province. OCHA to follow up with IOM a regional level. • There is a need for food-for-work projects following the floods. OCHA to follow up with WFP. • There is further a need to address health, nutrition, and WASH issues in the province. This should be addressed at the next Baghlan Humanitarian Team meeting. NR and NER Clusters should attend the Baghlan meeting. • Government Line Departments lack awareness about humanitarian needs. There is a great need to advocate and inform about humanitarian needs, procedures and response actions. • OCHA is asked to conduct a workshop on the Emergency Response Fund (ERF) in summer. • Humanitarian Response Information: OCHA informed about the newly established humanitarian response website for Afghanistan. The website informs about clusters, humanitarian situation, needs, response, funds and maps. The website has section about the North-Eastern region. Organizations can upload documents through national Cluster Coordinators. http://afg.humanitarianresponse.info 5. Action points and way forward • OCHA to convey outcome of meeting to ARCS and ANDMA so to have a shared understanding of distribution modalities for 10 May flood caseload. • OCHA to follow up with WFP, NRC and IOM on pending distributions. • OCHA to conduct a workshop for Emergency Response Fund in July. • OCHA to conduct a Civil Military Coordination Group meeting in July. • Next Baghlan Humanitarian Team meeting: July 2012. .