OCHA

Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Philippines Latin America and the Caribbean is an extremely disaster-prone region. Frequently recurring floods, hurricanes and earthquakes erode the resilience of affected communities. The incidence of natural disasters in the region is expected to rise, partly due to the changing climate and environmental degradation linked to rapid urbanization. Despite its growing prosperity, the region has profound inequalities and some countries struggle with widespread poverty, social unrest and conflict.

In 2012, ROLAC will continue to work closely with humanitarian and government partners to strengthen disaster preparedness and response in the region. It will maintain its ability to rapidly deploy staff to provide coordination support to the region’s disasters. Greater engagement with the region’s emerging leaders in disaster relief—including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil—is a priority in 2012.

CONTEXT ANALYSIS

The Latin America and Caribbean region has made notable political and economic progress in the last decade, with 45 peaceful changes of government and the emergence of several middle-income countries. A number of countries—notably Brazil, Argentina and Mexico—are now providers of international assistance, and every country in the region provided bilateral assistance in response to the Haiti earthquake of 2010.

Aside from this growing prosperity, there is profound inequality: an estimated 180 million people live in poverty. This has been compounded by rapid urbanization and millions of people living in improvized shelters in urban slums, often located in areas prone to natural hazards. It is projected that 84 per cent of the region’s population will live in cities by 2025.

The region is highly prone to natural disasters, particularly seasonal hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean, frequent flooding and major earthquakes. An estimated 10 million people were affected by over 100 natural disasters in 2008. The incidence of these natural events seems to be increasing due to climate change. Often underreported in the media, these recurring disasters exact a cumulative toll, eroding the resilience and coping strategies of affected communities and their governments. The economic impact of the 2005 hurricane season, which affected 6 million people in the region, was comparable to the cost of the Indian Ocean tsunami that affected 1.6 million people. Despite steady improvements in national capacity throughout the region, more frequent and unpredictable disasters continue to challenge the countries.

Some countries are beset by ongoing violence, which has displaced an estimated 5.4 million people. There is also a troubling trend of increased violence in Central America stemming from drug trafficking, youth gangs, access to small arms and weak judiciaries. The recent World Bank report on violence in Central America (World Bank 2011 Crime and Violence in Central America: A Development Challenge) noted that the region’s homicide rates were 40 times higher than those of Spain.

STRATEGY

Current Focus

Based in Panama, ROLAC covers 42 countries and territories, and supports OCHA offices in Colombia and Haiti. The office aims to strengthen disaster preparedness and response in the region, working closely with its humanitarian partners and disaster management counterparts. The increased frequency of requests and surge requirements has taxed the capacity of OCHA and other humanitarian organizations to provide adequate response support.

A network of National Disaster-Response Advisers (NDRAs) and Information Management (IM) assistants working in 12 countries supports ROLAC outside of Panama (Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Dominican Republic). The NDRAs support UN and international partners in their work with national authorities. With their help, and under the guidance of the Regional Disaster Response Advisors (RDRA), ROLAC provides in-country training and advice on disaster response and preparedness to national authorities. The IM assistants are part of a disaster information network called Redhum, which also covers 11 countries in LAC

ROLAC has established partnerships with several inter-governmental institutions in the region. OCHA supports the activities of the Working Group on Risk Emergency and Disasters for Latin America and the Caribbean (REDLAC), which comprises UN agencies, NGOs, the Red Cross Movement and donors. REDLAC helps to coordinate inter-agency preparedness and response at regional and country levels.

ROLAC also interacts with a range of institutions that are involved in preparedness and response, including the Coordination Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America CEPREDENAC (part of the Central America Integration System, SICA), Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, CDEMA (part of CARICOM), Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Response CAPRADE (part of the Andean Community of Nations, CAN) and the Specialized Meeting in Disaster risk Reduction and Humanitarian Assistance REHU (part of MERCOSUR) Other institutions are also vying to play a more significant role in humanitarian and disaster management in the region.

Emergency Response

In the past six years, ROLAC teams have been mobilized to more than 30 emergencies to support humanitarian coordination. National governments with limited resources are placing increasing demands on OCHA. Since 2007, there have been approximately 12 requests per year for international assistance.

ROLAC trains its staff to ensure they are deployable for emergencies. Key functions of the office include:

Support for disaster response coordination with the deployment of well-trained and experienced ROLAC staff during the initial phase of emergencies.

Communicating and raising the international community’s awareness of the humanitarian needs arising from small-scale disasters that can often be devastating for the affected community.

Responding to major emergencies, such as the Haiti earthquake, where seven staff members were deployed to support coordination in Port-au-Prince and the Dominican Republic during the first 24 hours.

Disaster Preparedness and Risk ReductionAt the country level, the office systematically engages in preparedness activities with national authorities, Resident Coordinators, United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs), NGOs and the Red Cross. The frequent turnover of government staff means that new working relationships and coordination arrangements need to be re-established to maintain a good level of disaster preparedness. The NDRAs have been key to establishing twenty UN Emergency Technical Teams (UNETTs) and 8 Humanitarian Country Teams in support of preparedness and response measures in the region’s most disaster-prone countries.
ROLAC also facilitates workshops and training for UN, NGO and government staff to improve their understanding of disaster response and preparedness tools. The office has led or supported six UNDAC preparedness missions in the last five years.

Regional Information Management Networks
In 2007, ROLAC established Redhum to strengthen the exchange of humanitarian and disaster information within the region. Distributed through Redhum’s public website, the information supports analysis and decision-making. With two staff based in Panama and 11 in the region, Redhum serves as an information resource for national institutions, HCTs and IM working groups.

Support to Regional Networks
Partnerships have become an important focus for the office, partly due to the rising number of intergovernmental entities wishing to play a role in disaster management. ROLAC has also facilitated regional meetings to enhance regional collaboration in partnership with the governments of Mexico (2008), Brazil (2009), Argentina (2010) and Ecuador (2011).

ROLAC relies on its network of 18 (NDRA and Redhum) staff based in the region to maintain good working relations with government and partner-agency counterparts.

Forward strategy

In 2012-13, ROLAC aims to maintain its emergency response and deploy teams in support of disaster response coordination. It will play a greater role in UNDAC training and aim to better support INSARAG networks in the region.

ROLAC will also focus on strengthening preparedness at the country-level—as outlined in the OCHA Minimum Preparedness Package—to ensure that key humanitarian teams are better equipped to lead emergency responses. No major changes are foreseen during the next two years regarding the nature of support to national authorities.

The high turnover of national authorities and humanitarian partners, coupled with an increase in disaster events and vulnerabilities, means disaster preparedness will remain a priority for OCHA in the foreseeable future. ROLAC will continue to strengthen UNETTs, develop HCTs, and increase awareness on international mechanisms and structures. It will also continue to facilitate regional inter-agency coordination (REDLAC) and participate in the regional UN Development Group. ROLAC will consider reinforcing its liaison capacity over the next two years.

Greater engagement with the region’s emerging donors and potential leaders in disaster relief is also planned. In particular, fostering greater ties with Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, will be important for the region.

Good information management and analysis will remain a priority. Through the Redhum network, ROLAC will make improvements to Spanish language information gathering and exchange, and strengthen its internal analysis capabilities through its partnership with the Latin American Universities Network.

Redhum will continue to support national institutions and HCTs by applying best practices on IM. It will also set up and support working groups to discuss a range of technical issues, including the standardization of monitoring tools and crisis reporting. Redhum staff members are an important part of the office’s emergency surge capacity and will continue to provide specialized support, such as mobilizing MapAction teams for crisis response.

PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK

Result 1: Humanitarian coordination leaders (RC, HCTs, cluster leads) enabled to respond to emergencies in a timely and coordinated fashion
Preparedness
Indicator 1a. Number and percentage of priority countries with minimum preparedness package delivered.
BASELINE 2011	73 per cent: ROLAC currently has identified nine (9) countries (Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Peru, Chile and Ecuador), all of which already have all or most of the minimum preparedness measures in place.
TARGET 2012-13	ROLAC intends to submit minimum preparedness packages to 15 priority countries (100 per cent) by the end of 2013.
Indicator 1b. Number of person days deployed for delivery of minimum preparedness package.
BASELINE 2011	Most preparedness activities take place within the first part of the year. Based on a calculation of 16 staff equivalencies and an approximate average of working five days per month on preparedness activities related to MPA ROLAC will deploy 900 person days.
TARGET 2012-13	1,000 person days
Indicator 1c. Number of priority countries with complete common operational datasets (available and maintained).
BASELINE 2011	CODs are at present contained in the PIRE (Interagency response plans). These are updated on a biannual basis. It should be noted that they are regionally specific, containing some regional or national variations on the IASC COD matrix. 13 Country offices with Redhum and NDRA informed about the COD-IASC and uploading datasets on the online database.
TARGET 2012-13	2012: 13 Country offices with Redhum and NDRA (and UNETT) updating the datasets on the online database once a year. 10 Country offices with UNETT (but no Redhum or NDRA) aware about the online database. 2013: 13 Country offices with Redhum and NDRA and UNETT updating the datasets on the online database at twice a year. Five (5) new country offices with UNETT (but no Redhum or NDRA) updating the online database once a year. By the end of 2013 18 countries will maintain complete CODs.
Indicator 1d. Number of common agreements with key regional stakeholders (IASC) for collective response.
BASELINE 2011	OCHA works continuously within REDLAC on various issues to ensure on going improvements in preparedness and response capacity (e.g. guide for government, joint needs methodology, SOPs for REDLAC procedures in case of emergencies). These actions are embodied in the REDLAC annual work plan and the work plans of the working groups. REDLAC prepares a yearly plan which members commit to in general and specifically through participation in the working groups tasked with the various results and activities. Other ad hoc agreements are frequently reached around specific tasks as raised by the members. At the beginning of 2011 there were three (3) regional cluster and three (3) strategic working groups. By end of 2011 there will be four (4) active regional cluster groups and 4 strategic working groups.
TARGET 2012-13	For 2012 the strategic groups will remain the same with five (5) cluster working groups. Within REDLAC ROLAC will seek specific commitments focused on the preparedness package in two (2) priority countries and supported regional heads of organizations. Pending the review of progress through 2012 and consultation with partners we anticipate the consolidation of all working groups, renewal of priority country specific commitments and expansion of cluster working groups.
Indicator 1e. Percentage of client satisfaction for RCs and UNCT/HCTs training.
BASELINE 2011	Not applicable – survey under development by HQ. Estimated baseline 75 per cent.
TARGET 2012-13	90 per cent

Response
Indicator 1f. Percentage of appeals and needs assessments for which common operational datasets are used.
BASELINE 2011	Note that for all FA and CERF prepared in the region CODs in the form of the information contained in PIRE are used and all agencies have access to it.
TARGET 2012-13	2012: 60 per cent 2013: 70 per cent
Indicator 1g. Percentage of humanitarian strategy documents (FA, Contingency Plans) using sex and age disaggregated data.
BASELINE 2011	By end of 2011 50 per cent of FAs and CERF applications will use age and sex disaggregated data for some or all of the sectors.
TARGET 2012-13	By 2012 75 per cent and by 2013 90 per cent of FAs and CERF applications will use age and sex disaggregated data for some or all of the sectors.
Indicator 1h. Percentage of RCs activating government agreed HCT-like coordination structures within 24 hours from the onset of a crisis.
BASELINE 2011	In LAC, RCs are present in 25 countries and should activate established HCT-like structures or conduct necessary consultation and communication with relevant partners. It should be noted that while ROLAC along with REDLAC partners will continue to build awareness and capacity these are at times in competition with leadership changes that bring challenges in maintaining gains that have been achieved. Currently at 60 per cent.
TARGET 2012-13	70 per cent in 2012. Activation (information consultation and coordination with relevant partners) will increase as the number of formalized HCT-like structures increases and as RCs become increasingly aware of and competent in these responsibilities and as experience is strengthened in relation to requirements for various. ROLAC targets 80 per cent in 2013. Awareness and capacity building among country teams will continue but may also be negatively affected by turnover within humanitarian leadership.
Indicator 1i. Percentage of FAs or Humanitarian Action Plans drafted within 96 hours of request from RC or HCT.
BASELINE 2011	In 2010 and 2011 there have been insufficient Appeals (none in 2011), but historically FA have been prepared by the field in this time from RC HCT decision.
TARGET 2012-13	Efficiency and timeliness of FA will increase to 80 per cent with consolidation of HCT-like structures; however it should be noted that while timeliness is an important indicator, in many of the slower onset crisis such as gradual flooding, drought, cold waves that are experienced in the region it may not be the most important.
Indicator 1j. Percentage of CERF applications submitted within 72 hours of request from RC or HCT.
BASELINE 2011	In 2010 and 2011 there have been insufficient Appeals (none in 2011), but historically CERF applications have been prepared by the field in 60 per cent within this time frame from RC HCT decision.
TARGET 2012-13	Gradually improve percentage to 80 per cent in 2012 and 90 per cent in 2013.

Result 2: Regional Office equipped to rapidly support emergency response capacity in crisis-affected countries
Indicator 2a. Percentage of RO staff with required skills to deliver OCHA tools and services in accordance with minimum training package.
BASELINE 2011	The staff is expected to provide support in their job-related area of responsibility and expertise be it humanitarian coordination, assessment or administration. As such the minimum training is related to and conducted within normal working responsibilities. It is not anticipated that all staff will be capable in all areas and in particular those of coordination or FA and CERF preparation since there are many things to do during emergency response besides preparing FA and CERF applications. Staff are expected to be skilled in their job responsibilities and be able to apply these to support in emergencies where required.
TARGET 2012-13	100 per cent
Indicator 2b. Average number of hours for RO to respond to surge request for a new or deteriorating crisis.
BASELINE 2011	ROLAC is able to deploy from Panama or NDRA countries in less than 24 hours after receiving request from UNRC.
TARGET 2012-13	Maintain less than 24 hours. Improvement needed in the timeliness of the request.
Indicator 2c. Number of person days deployed to respond to surge request for a new or deteriorating crisis.
BASELINE 2011	More than 550 person days. This target is highly dependent on crises. It should be noted that seven (7) staff are “pre-deployed” in priority countries and participated as surge in all emergencies. A rough estimate of preparedness and emergency response missions would suggest an average of four (4) ROLAC staff on mission at all times.
TARGET 2012-13	The number is to increase slightly to 600 person days by 2013 but targets are dependent on the occurrence of disaster.
Indicator 2d. RO Business Continuity Plan tested once per year and deficiencies addressed.
BASELINE 2011	Identified weaknesses in IT and logistic capacity will be addressed through 2011 and 2012. Backup servers will be placed in secondary location.
TARGET 2012-13	BCP is tested yearly.

Result 3: Reliable and timely information is used to support vulnerability analysis for better preparedness and response
Indicator 3a. Frequency of update of vulnerability data.
BASELINE 2011	ROLAC uses the GFM, EWEA and partner assessments in developing vulnerability assessment resulting in a tiered prioritization for action. Vulnerability data is updated on a biannual basis for priority countries in conjunction with revision of PIRE whenever possible.
TARGET 2012-13	Bi-annual
Indicator 3b. Percentage of contingency plans containing agreed vulnerability indicators.
BASELINE 2011	80 per cent. Vulnerability data is basis for revised PIRE in priority countries following ROLAC preparedness matrix and on the basis of 15 priority countries or groups. Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Peru, Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Ecuador and Chile.
TARGET 2012-13	2012: two more territories notably Barbados “group”, Trinidad and Tobago “group” 2013: 100 per cent
Indicator 3c. Number of development frameworks incorporating vulnerability/risk analysis.
BASELINE 2011	Currently 8 UNDAFs in the region.
TARGET 2012-13	In 2012 ROLAC will monitor the UNDAF in Cuba and Paraguay. Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, and Paraguay will roll-out their UNDAF in 2012. Twelve UNDAFs will be informed by sound analysis at the end of 2013 including Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Guatemala. ROLAC will monitor Chile and Guatemala.

Result 4: Regional bodies and national governments willing and better able to access and utilize international humanitarian response services and tools before, during and after crises
Indicator 4a. Number of agreements concluded with regional organizations on cooperation in preparedness and response.
BASELINE 2011	OCHA has agreements with CDEMA (Caribbean - SOPs) and CEPREDENAC (Central America - framework). In addition ROLAC will establish agreements with REHU (Merco Sur) flowing from the Regional Strengthening Humanitarian Partnerships (MIAH) Quito Declaration.
TARGET 2012-13	During 2012 agreements with CAPRADE based on the V MIAH meeting (Enhancing Humanitarian Partnership Meeting). For 2013 the working agreements will be sought with a wider range of regional political actors around coordination mandates flowing from the MIAH, ROLAC analysis of regional organizations (initiated). This work will be largely dependent on the successful establishment of a distinct Liaison Function within ROLAC for 2012.
Indicator 4b. Number of regional organizations taking account of international tools in regional contingency planning.
BASELINE 2011	Two (2) CEPREDENAC and CDEMA
TARGET 2012-13	2012: CAPRADE 2013: REHU
Indicator 4c. Number of countries taking account of international tools in national contingency planning.
BASELINE 2011	Eleven (11) countries. Given that not all countries have standing contingency plans, but instead many prefer to have response plan ROLAC will work to help countries take account of international tools in their disaster response or contingency plans.
TARGET 2012-13	2012: one (1) additional countries 2013: three (3) additional countries
Indicator 4d. Number of national simulation exercises that take into account international tools.
BASELINE 2011	Five countries include international tools in their national simulation exercises.
TARGET 2012-13	In 2012: Mexico, Ecuador, Paraguay In 2013: three (3) additional countries
Indicator 4e. Percentage of RC/HC countries in which National Disaster Management Adviser and local responders are trained on international tools and services.
BASELINE 2011	Considering training as of 2010 and 2011 the 8 countries where ROLAC has NDRAs plus Peru, Chile, and Argentina (80 per cent).
TARGET 2012-13	95 per cent. The process of training local responders is reiterative in that there is high turn-over after elections but also on an ongoing basis. ROLAC considers a 2-3 year cycle in which a refresher is necessary at some level. In this regard one of the areas that ROLAC has begun and will continue to explore in 2012 and 2013 is the transfer of training capacity to National Authorities so that they can ensure that within their normal training program a degree of attention is given to the use of international tools. The Guide for Governments developed in 2011 is a step in this direction.
Indicator 4f. Number and percentage of crisis-affected countries triggering international tools and services.
BASELINE 2011	100 per cent
TARGET 2012-13	ROLAC will ensure that all crisis-affected countries (Gov and UNS) are aware of international tools at their disposal, but cannot control that these are always used. With rare exceptions the necessary international tools are activated in the region. The target for 2013 therefore is 90%.

Result 5: Resources and support available from a wider group of Member States, private-sector organizations and civil society for emergency response and preparedness
Indicator 5a. Number of Member States in region providing resources to international humanitarian response.
BASELINE 2011	Eight (8) out of 32 countries contribute to CERF since 2010. Twenty-five (25) countries contributed to the humanitarian response in 2010.
TARGET 2012-13	Increase number of contributing Member States to CERF by two.
Indicator 5b. Total amount of Consolidated and Flash Appeal requirements worldwide funded by countries in the region.
BASELINE 2011	Since 2007, the average amount of funding from LAC to global FAs and CAPs/year was US$ 18 M, but only $7 million when excluding the response to the Haiti earthquake. For 2011 ROLAC expects US$ 22 M.
TARGET 2012-13	2012: US$ 8 M 2013: US$ 10 M
Indicator 5c. Number of countries within your region participating in UNDAC/ INSARAG/ SBPP.
BASELINE 2011	UNDAC: at present, 25 countries provide UNDAC members but only two countries fund the deployments of their national UNDAC members. There are five national UNDAC Focal Points. SBBP: none. INSARAG: three active members and 16 focal points. ROLAC aims at increasing the number of UNDAC-self-funding countries from currently two to three by 2013; and the number of national UNDAC focal points from currently five to 10 by 2013.
TARGET 2012-13	2012: Increase by one country that is self-sufficient. 2013: 25 (three UNDAC-self-financing countries; 10 national UNDAC FPs)
Indicator 5d. Communication strategy updated annually.
BASELINE 2011	Regional activities being communicated through the REDLAC information sub-group. OCHA communication strategy developed to provide more visibility to activities developed.
TARGET 2012-13	2012: OCHA ROLAC Information portfolio developed to attend regional donor community. 2013: Common Information product produced by Regional UN Agencies Public Information Officers group.

PLANNED STAFFING AND TOTAL COSTS

Total Staff	Professional		National		General Service		GTA		UNV	Total
Total Staff	XBPB	XBAB	XBPB	XBAB	XBPB	XBAB	XBPB	XBAB	UNV	Total
Total Staff 2012	6	1	8	0	0	0	16	3	0	34
Total Staff 2013	7	1	9	0	0	0	16	3	0	36

XBPB: Extrabudgetary Programme Budget | XBAB: Extrabudgetary Administrative Budget | GTA = General Temporary Assistance | UNV: United Nations Volunteers

Total Costs (US$)	Programme Costs	Administrative Costs	Total

Total Costs 2012	3,746,045	257,796	4,003,841
Total Funds Requested 2012			3,746,045
Total Costs 2013	4,005,612	257,796	4,263,408
Total Funds Requested 2013			4,005,612