Aung Kyaw Moe / Task 3 - Humanitarian Aid and Supply Chain

Memo
To: From: Date: RE:

Francois Damba Aung Kyaw Moe

28 May 2013

TASK 3 HUMANITARIAN AID SUPPLY CHAIN

Humanitarian organizations cannot function without a reliable source of funding/aid. There are (3) different kinds of resources, viz., (1) Cash or Money (2) Materials/goods or In Kind donation and (3) human resources. These resources can be obtained from various sources such as governments, multi-national organizations, business organizations (Trans-national Corporations) and donation from the general public. These funding are mainly meant for (1) the continuation of the on-going community development programs and (2) for the response to the emergency situation (relief programs). Fund Raising Humanitarian organizations use different ways of fund raising but mostly applied are the following ways: (1) Selling goods (2) House-to-house collection from the general public (3) Utilizing a local fund raising event such as Christmas/New Year (4) Contact people from all walks of life via mail, email or telephone (5) Collecting membership fees from the members of organization Some major donors such as rich governments (USA or Japan) and Institutions (EU or DFID) are providing grants for humanitarian relief activities. Therefore, humanitarian organizations can apply grants from such kinds of donors.

In the time of disaster, an appeal can be submitted to these major donors through media or direct applications (proposals). Sometimes, joint appeal among various Humanitarian Organizations is possible to get a funding and some UN agencies can coordinate these donations on behalf of Humanitarian Organizations. Donors of SCILaid As a a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) SCILaid has focussed its activities on emergencies and implementing emergency relief projects in more than 20 countries around the world affected by natural or man-made disaster. In this regard, SCILaid does not specialise in one specific activity but playing as an excellent partner for relief distribution, although it is willing to be also recognised for its expertise in health and water and sanitation. In terms of funding resources, SCILaid funding base is a mixed portfolio of private, corporate and governmental donors. It is playing as a link agency between donors and beneficiaries. SCILaid 3 donors for this operation. They are the United Nations International Refugee Programme (UNIRP), the United Nations Food Aid (UNFA) and The Humanitarian Aid Agency (HHA). Here I would like to elaborate a little bit about our main donor organizations and their mandates because understanding and respecting their core values are the most important issues for SCILaid. UNIRP UNIRPs chief mandate is to lead and coordinate international action for the worldwide protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems. UNIRP tries to make sure that everyone has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, and to return ones home country voluntarily. UNIRP involved with the other groups of Humanitarian Organizations which is fully authorized by its Executive Committee and the UN General Assembly. IDPs (internally displaced persons) and the people who are stateless or whose nationality is disputed, are included in the program of relief aid by UNIRP. UNIRP encourages states and other institutions to reduce the forced displacement of the people, to create conditions which are conducive to the protection of human rights and to consolidate the reintegration of returning refugees in their country of origin. UNIRPs core value is Impartiality since it protects and assists to refugees and others in an impartial manner, on the basis of their need alone. It pays particular attention to the needs of children and promotes the equal rights of women and girls. UNIRP fully implies the principle of participation by helping refugees on decisions that affect their lives. UNIRP provides money and goods to SCILaid and SCILaid is implementing relief program in accordance with the principle of Impartiality and involvement of targeted beneficiaries.

UNFA Another international Humanitarian Organizations that is helping SCILaid is The United Nations Food Aid (UNFA) which is the food aid arm of the United Nations system. Eradicating hunger and poverty is the main objectives of UNFA. It seeks to help to improve the lives of the poorest people - people who, either permanently or during crisis periods, are unable to produce enough food or do not have the resources to otherwise obtain the food that they and their households require for active and healthy lives. In the light of the principle of Universality, UNFA will apply food aid to support economic and social development. Moreover, it seeks to response refugee and other emergency food needs and the associated logistics support The core policies and strategies that govern UNFA activities are to provide food aid:

To save lives in refugee and other emergency situations; To improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable people at critical times in their lives; and To help build assets and promote the self-reliance of poor people and communities, particularly through labour-intensive works programmes.

UNFAs view is that food aid is essential for all humanitarian relief activities. It is inherently linked up with the development activities. Therefore, the provision of relief food aid will be coordinated with the relief assistance provided by other humanitarian organisations. Another thing is that food aid is a fundamental investment in the development human resources. Food can be utilized to use poor labour in order to create employment and income and to build the infrastructure essential for sustainable development. UNFA mainly concentrate on utilizing the available resources what it is best suited to implement its mandates in a cost-effective way. UNFA also manages to avoid negative effects on local food production, consumption patterns and dependency on food aid. Not only food but transport and logistics expertise were provided by UNFA and assistance to ensure rapid and efficient delivery of humanitarian aid. UNFA is keeping the principle of Neutrality in aid assistance since it take advantage of its capability to operate almost everywhere in the developing world, regardless of the political orientations of governments, and to maintain a neutral stance for assistance in situations where many donor countries could not directly provide assistance. HAA

The only institutional donor that provides funding to SCILaid is The Humanitarian Aid Agency's (HAA). HAA is a donor organization that ensure goods and services including essential supplies, specific foodstuffs, medical equipment, medicines and fuel to get to crisis zones fast. Services may include medical teams, water purification teams and logistical support. Using the help of its partners, HAA is able to mobilize Goods and services to the disaster areas. More than 85 countries in the world received humanitarian aid funding from HAA. Its grants cover emergency aid, food aid and aid to refugees and displaced persons, worth a total of more than 500 million per year. HAA addresses the following issues more than just fund humanitarian aid:

Feasibility studies for its humanitarian operations. Monitoring humanitarian projects and setting up coordination arrangements. Coordinates disaster prevention measures by training specialists, strengthening institutions and running pilot micro-projects. Provision of technical assistance to the partners. Raising public awareness about humanitarian issues through actions carried out directly by HAA in order to promote the awareness of humanitarian aid. Provision of financial support for network and training study initiatives in the humanitarian field.

HAA demands the absolute transparency so it has strict procedures to ensure that public money is used with efficiency. The Humanitarian Organizations which receive HAA funding have to adhere strictly to these rules and are accountable for the resources allocated to them by HAA. SCILaid have had a 3 month contract with HAA, which is now being extended for another 6 months. So far, in term of operation, the donors are quite satisfied with the operational reply, but again, they are still waiting for the last report from Homeland. Procurement Procedures in SCILaid Apart from the requirements demanded by the donors, SCILaid has its own in-house rules and procedures for any kind of procurement and SCILaid is following these financial rules very strictly. I make a table of these procurement rules and procedures for hand on use as below.
Threshold Up to 1000 BD Approved by Country Office Procedure No special procedure 3 or more quotations Remarks Requisition is preferable If 3 quotations are not possible, a note for the record is needed for derogation of the rules. In this level, Country Office Committee on Contract designated by the head of

1000-20000 BD

Country Office

20000 to 50000 BD

Desk Officer (HQ)

Formal quotation request

office should meet for opening ceremony and Approval of the recommendation from the purchasing officer to be forwarded to the Head of Country for final approval Signature of Head of Logistics required before final approval and the country office is requested to send the following documents with a request for authorisation to the Head of Logistics Department: Local Logistics Requisition forms approved by Head of Country. Request for quotations and Newspaper advertisement if applicable. Minutes of Opening ceremony, signed by members. Copies of all offers The CBA (signed by Logistics Coordinator and Head of Country - copy to be sent separately by email). Minutes of the CoC, signed by members, explaining the procurement process and the choice made by the delegation. Draft of the contract. Same procedures as above and same documents to be forwarded to GVA Same procedures as above and same documents to be forwarded to GVA.

50000 to 200000 BD

Operation Director

International Tender

200000 to 400000 BD

Operation Director

International Tender

Above 400000 BD

General Director

International Tender

The purchase must be seen by the Head Office Committee on Contracts and approved by The General Director

Materials/Goods and In-Kind Donation Sometimes, SCILaid received in kind donation from governments and organizations. UNFA provides rice, bean, and oil but SCILaid buys salt and sugar to add for ration. SCILaid also receives 25 USD per tonne for ITSH (Internal Transportation, Storage and Handling) cost from UNFA. SCILaid received 4 trucks donated by Xrayland and they also received some charges for the running cost of these trucks. Epsilonland government is going to donate 2 generators and I learn that the government of Xrayland also want to donate Wheat Soya Blend (WSB) to SCILaid Betaland. Commercial Sourcing The commercial organizations are not only providing donations and funding to the Humanitarian Organizations but they are the main sources of materials and supplies needed for the humanitarian aid operations. To identify and select the appropriate suppliers and placing Purchase Orders to them are the most important things a Humanitarian Organization should do. A local contractor, Ralem Company based in Mugla, a sea port town, is the major supplier who is providing supplies to SCILaid in Betaland . The contract between Ralem and SCILaid is near to end and the process of re-tendering is on the way. SCILaid expect to have a new supplier with a cheaper price for food. Stock Piling Most of the humanitarian organisations are holding their own stocks in order for responding a given emergency situation as soon as possible. These stocks will have been donated or sourced from commercial sources. A clear-cut definition of stock piling strategy will have been put into place to determine what goods are to be held, where they will be held and what quantities will be held. SCILaid has 2 warehouses for storage of food: one is a big store of 2000 Sq. meter and situated at Mugla Port. In Chagong there is another warehouse which has space of 500 Sq. meters but it is sufficient to store food temporarily before sending them to the camps. SCILaid also intended to increase stock in Epsilonland for emergency use. One of its partner organization, UNIRP, is also building some stock piles in Betaland. Human Resources

Most humanitarian organisations usually have two types of employees, viz., full time employees and volunteers (reservists) that they can call on when needed. There can be not only international staff but there are also national staff recruited locally. Sourcing of human resources may be from various ways, something like by advertising the post in public media and newspapers or by requesting governments and international donor organization to provide the required technical experts. Following is a checklist for a Humanitarian Organization when responding to a disaster situation To identify the specific skills/knowledge/experience that is needed To identify the number of people required. To identify the place to find these human resources, local or international To put in place specific mechanisms to get access to trained experts. For example, to have an agreement with a hospital to release immediately already trained staff for a short period of time

SCILaid has a detail instruction for the procedure of recruitment, training and human resource management. Right now, I am still studying these documents since I am a newly recruited staff member of SCILaid Betaland. I will explain you more details later. Last but not least, I want to tell you that SCILaid is a Humanitarian Organization which is strictly following the principles of impartiality, universality, neutrality and humanity as per its donor organizations and it keeps the principle of transparency in terms of project implementation and supply/logistics and financial management. Best Regards, Aung Kyaw Moe