PHAP: Learning sessions and webinars

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Access and Humanitarian Protection: Restricted operational contexts and COVID-19 Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

Humanitarian protection is often the most needed in the very conflict zones where access is also the most restricted. Whether in areas controlled by armed groups or government forces, in situations when civilians have their basic rights and physical safety threatened, humanitarians carrying out protection work and advocacy are likely to face actors trying to restrict their access and ability to operate, or simply keep them out.
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to sudden changes in how protection actors can access populations of concern, with additional restrictions on how they are able to operate in the short and medium term. What can we learn from the experience of protection actors operating in hard-to-reach areas that we can apply to the new challenges of the current operational environment?
On 22 April, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), PHAP, and the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) organized the first of a series of webinars on access and humanitarian protection. The event provided an overview of the key terms, concepts, interlinkages, and dilemmas of protection and access in armed conflict, disaster, and health emergencies. What are the main protection concerns particular to hard-to-reach areas? What challenges do protection actors face in terms of access? Are maintaining access and protection priorities at cross purposes or can they help reinforce each other? This introduction was followed by a discussion with protection experts, exploring the ways in which existing lessons from protection programming in hard-to-reach areas can be applied to protection operations in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Read more about the event and acces related resources at https://phap.org/22apr2020

Operationalizing standards: Sphere and the COVID-19 response in camp settings Apr 03, 2020

Show notes

As the novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, continues to spread globally, the risk it presents to populations living in camps and camp-like settings is growing. Camp managers are working quickly to adjust their programs to accommodate social distancing while continuing to communicate with communities and working with partners to improve communal sanitation.
Sphere recently released guidance for how the Sphere Handbook can help guide humanitarian staff in the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. But how should camp managers apply those standards and strengthen the prevention measures recommended by technical sectors?
During our webinar on 2 April, organized by the CCCM Cluster and PHAP, we learned about COVID-19 prevention measures critical to the work of Camp Managers and others working in displacement settings. We heard from WASH specialists, as well as experienced Camp program staff who have recently been involved in setting up special measures to prevent the spread of disease and develop key messages for populations living in temporary settlements. A representative from Sphere also provided guidance for how the Sphere Handbook can be a useful tool for practitioners in this situation.
Read more about the event on https://phap.org/2apr2020

Participation in Practice: Examples of inclusive action for a “Participation Revolution” Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

Through the Grand Bargain, humanitarian organizations and donors have committed to change the way humanitarian action is carried out and create a “Participation Revolution.” But how does including the people and communities affected by humanitarian crises look in practice? How are organizations ensuring that the voices of the most vulnerable groups considering gender, age, ethnicity, language, and special needs are heard and acted upon? How are they designing program activities and budgets to support the changes that affected people demand?
In this webinar, organized on 26 March 2020 by PHAP and the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, we took stock of the progress to date on workstream six of the Grand Bargain and heard success stories from the field that can help agencies achieve a sustained change in how they design and deliver their programs.
Read more about the event on https://phap.org/26mar2020

What Next? (Session 3 - ICVA's Virtual Annual Conference 2020) Mar 21, 2020

Show notes

In the first sessions of the conference, we had heard from NGOs and other humanitarian actors on the challenges and risks related to principled humanitarian action faced in their work. In the third and final session, we looked at relevant initiatives for mobilizing collaborative and collective action among NGOs, UN agencies and Member States, donors, and affected people.
Read more about the session at https://phap.org/ICVA2020-Session3
This session was part of ICVA's Virtual Annual Conference 2020. Read more about the conference on the event page https://phap.org/ICVA2020

What Risks? (Session 2 - ICVA's Virtual Annual Conference 2020) Mar 21, 2020

Show notes

With challenges to principled humanitarian action, NGOs are facing increased risks in their work. While NGOs accept risk as part of their work, many organizations are taking on more risk than they may be aware of and have the capacity to manage. In the second session of the Annual Conference, we explored the types of risks faced by NGOs linked to the humanitarian principles, how they can be managed, and how the gap between risk appetite and risk tolerance can be addressed in the sector.
Read more about the session at https://phap.org/ICVA2020-Session2
This session was part of ICVA's Virtual Annual Conference 2020. Read more about the conference on the event page https://phap.org/ICVA2020

Principles at Risk (Session 1 – ICVA Virtual Annual Conference 2020) Mar 21, 2020

Show notes

Principled humanitarian action may be more important than ever for humanitarian actors managing risk in highly political and volatile operational contexts. However, humanitarian principles are being challenged on multiple fronts. This first session helped frame the discussions of the Annual Conference and explored the importance of protecting and promoting principled humanitarian action.
Read more about the session at https://phap.org/ICVA2020-Session1
This session was part of ICVA's Virtual Annual Conference 2020. Read more about the conference on the event page https://phap.org/ICVA2020

Persons with disabilities in humanitarian response: New guidelines for more inclusive humanitarian action Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

The IASC recently endorsed guidelines for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action. How can these guidelines help make humanitarian action more inclusive? On 26 February 2020, ICVA and PHAP organized a webinar together with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) secretariat and the Reference Group on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which introduced the guidelines and discuss how they can be implemented in practice. The three interim co-chairs of the Reference Group, as well as one of the NGOs that has been implementing the IASC Guidelines in their organization, spoke about the guidelines, their development, structure, and how they can be used in practice.
For more information about the event, please visit https://phap.org/26feb2020
Persons with disabilities are among the most marginalized people in crisis-affected communities and disproportionately affected by conflict and disasters. In some contexts, their mortality rate is two to four times higher than that of persons without disabilities and persons with disabilities face substantial barriers to accessing assistance. A recent study found that 92% of humanitarian actors think that persons with disabilities are not properly taken into account in humanitarian response and are often considered only as recipients of aid and not as actors in the response.
That is also why delivering better for persons with disabilities was part of the discussions of the World Humanitarian Summit and its follow-up commitments, including through the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action (2016). In 2016, the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Working Group agreed to the establishment of a Task Team on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, which drafted the Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. The IASC Guidelines were drafted through a large number of consultations with member States, organizations of persons with disabilities, civil society organizations working with persons with disabilities and/or in humanitarian action, and UN agencies. They were endorsed by the IASC Principals in October 2019 and launched in New York in November 2019 and in Geneva in February 2020. At the same time, a Reference Group was established to continue to bring together key stakeholders for coordinated efforts on the implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities and provide support, among others, their dissemination and to develop supporting tools and resources.
As one of the few global initiatives where the persons concerned have been directly involved in the drafting of a tool serving intervention at their benefit, these Guidelines are a crucial step forward to achieve disability-inclusive humanitarian action. They serve the following four objectives:
1. To provide practical guidance on including persons with disabilities in humanitarian programming and coordination;
2. To increase capacity among humanitarian stakeholders to develop and implement quality programs that are inclusive of persons with disabilities;
3. To describe the roles and responsibilities of humanitarian stakeholders to include persons with disabilities in humanitarian action; and
4. To increase and improve the participation of persons with disabilities and organization of persons with disabilities in preparedness, response and recovery.
However, what will make the real difference for persons with disabilities is how these guidelines are implemented in practice. Humanitarian actors need to translate the IASC Guidelines into concrete improvements in their daily activities, continuing to work closely with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations.

Coordination and Collaboration with the GPC Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

Coordination and collaboration are critical for humanitarian protection – just as it is for an effective overall humanitarian response. Recent crises have highlighted that there remains a need to reinforce protection programming with clear leadership and further articulation of roles and responsibilities. Research has shown that effective coordination during disaster response has been lacking to the extent that it has become the expected norm. How can the GPC ensure it leads on coordination and overcomes identified problems in its work over the next five years?
On Tuesday, 26 November, PHAP organized a webinar in partnership with the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) on coordination and collaboration for humanitarian protection. We discussed current weaknesses in protection coordination and what role the GPC may have in ensuring protection programming is well-coordinated – avoiding gaps and duplication – and that responding to the needs of marginalized communities does not fall between different actors. Issues discussed included how global protection coordination fits in with local realities, contextualization of protection coordination, and supporting local coordination mechanisms; the impact of regionalization on protection roles and responsibilities; and how to ensure a bottom-up approach to protection coordination.
More information available at https://phap.org/26nov2019?k

Risky Business: Reframing the fundamentals of risk management for humanitarians Nov 25, 2019

Show notes

The discipline of risk management is not new, and there has already been a significant amount of work to translate risk management practice and tools for use in humanitarian operations. Despite this, humanitarian organizations continue to struggle with applying risk management in their decision-making process.
On 21 November, ICVA and PHAP organized the first webinar in a series aimed at exploring the current state of risk management in the humanitarian sector. This webinar provided an introduction to the concept of risk management and an overview of the particular challenges to apply this in humanitarian work. As part of framing how these challenges can be overcome, we heard from Jeremy Rempel, Head of Humanitarian Financing at ICVA, and Patroba Otieno, Risk and Financial Specialist at World Vision Somalia.
Participants in the webinar learned about the need to balance management of the risks inherent to the work with the desire to reach people in need in the most difficult contexts. They also learned about the importance of developing an organizational culture that understands risk management as a discipline that cuts across all levels of an organization.

Climate preparedness and community based protection Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

The effects of a warming climate will likely be far-reaching and profound. In addition to warming and changed weather patterns, climate change will increasingly spark extremes in weather – a greater frequency and intensity of storms, heat, and cold. Critically, the effects of climate change exacerbate the scarcity of key resources, and hence contribute to armed conflict and impoverishment. To respond to these effects, humanitarian action needs to focus more on climate preparedness and response to slow-onset disasters – but how does humanitarian protection work fit into this shift?
On 19 November, PHAP and the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) organized a webinar organized on climate change preparedness and community-based protection. The discussion focused on how protection concerns can be better included in preparedness work and in slow-onset disasters to avoid protection gaps and include marginalized communities. What is the role of the Protection Cluster in this? Are structural changes for coordination and communication called for, especially as Protection Clusters are normally not activated for preparedness work?
Read more about the event at https://phap.org/19nov2019

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