1. GUIDELINES ON DATA ISSUES IN HUMANITARIAN CRISIS SITUATIONS THE ACUTE PHASE OF EMERGENCIES LAMLENN SAMSON HRB/UNFPA, NEW YORK SUVA, SEPTEMBER 2011 Suva, September 2011

2. Main activities of the Acute Phase Preliminary appraisal of the nature and the extent of the crisis (Sitreps, Official/media reports, etc) Initial Rapid Assessments (general & Sector-specific) Emergency response interventions Sectoral Assessments and surveys M&E of interventions 2

3. Initial Rapid Assessment (qualitative & secondary quantitative) Adapted from: UNICEF, 2006. 3

4. Actions taken based on Preliminary Appraisal Estimates of the size and characteristics of the population in the affected areas; Implementation of response as per the contingency plan (if any) – evacuation, relocation, shelter, distribution of prepositioned supplies, etc. Resource mobilization(Flash appeals, deployments, emergency fund allocation, etc) Placement of order for emergency supplies (RH kits, food, medicines, logistics equipment, shelter, dignity kits, etc) Decision-making on emergency response coordination at local and regional level (Humanitarian Coordination, Cluster Approach, Logistics, Communications, Security, etc) 4

5. Initial Rapid Assessments (IRA) The Multisectoral IRA seeks to respond to the following key questions: What happened and where? To what extent has the population been affected and how many? Which groups are most vulnerable? What specific interventions are needed to avoid further harm, accidents or loss of life and what priority actions need to be taken? What are the persistent/likely threats that could worsen the emergency situation? What resources and capacity are available on the spot ? Who is doing what and where? What pertinent information and resources are lacking? 5

6. Data collection approaches during the Acute phase Methods of Data and Information Collection MethodsTypes of Operation SourcesDuration Inventory or documentary review Collection and analysis of secondary sources Canvassing, projections, surveys, sectoral data Hours - days Qualitative surveys Individual interviews (key informants) Decision-makers, service providers, etc. Hours - days Focus GroupAffected populationDays ObservationsAffected zoneDays Quantitative surveys Rapid countingAffected populationWeeks Aerial methodAffected zoneDays - weeks System of monitoring and evaluation of specific actions Quantitative and qualitative Populations targeted by the activity, Service delivery points, etc. Ongoing 6

7. Emergency response interventions Resource mobilization – review of Flash appeals, CERF, CAP and CHAP processes; Reception, warehousing and distribution of emergency supplies; Deployments, community mobilization and coordination; Cluster-specific programming and interventions. 7

8. Sector-specific Assessments and Surveys In most cases, more detailed assessments and surveys need to be designed to collect sector-specific data to guide interventions A similar array of methods used for the IRA are employed to obtain the required information However, the following precautions need to be taken: Need to organize a joint sector-specific rapid assessment using common composite tools and focus on few sites to enhance coordination and avoid ‘over-assessment’ of the affected population; Need to use common background data and information sources for study design and for estimation of needs. Need to integrate cross-cutting issues in most assessments and to ensure proper disaggregation of results and sharing of findings ** Outcomes of sector-specific assessments and surveys may trigger the need for placement of order for more specific emergency supplies and enhance focused programming of interventions for greater impact. 8

9. Monitoring and Evaluation of response Since disasters are characterized by rapid changes and a high degree of uncertainty and insecurity, humanitarian assistance programmes and interventions during the acute phase may be rather difficult to evaluate. However, the opportunity of the prioritization of interventions for resource mobilization and the allocation of funds should be employed to integrate baselines, benchmarks and other easily verifiable process indicators; Subsequent monitoring can be done through regular project and programme reports, field follow-up assessments, routine service-delivery data collection and other ad-hoc survey and information processes and even media reports. Examples of existing approaches include Real-time evaluations and the OECD-DAC criteria for evaluation of humanitarian action. 9

10. DISCUSSIONS Sharing of Experiences