This report covers the period 01/01/2008 to 30/06/2008.
In brief
Programmes purpose: The regional support plan 2008-2009, in line with the Global Agenda (GA) Goals of the International Federation, focuses on facilitating the development of the five National Societies in the North Africa region by building their capacities and providing technical support to the four core areas of disaster management, health and care, capacity development, and promotion of Fundamental Principles and Humanitarian Values.
Programmes summary: Political and social tensions in addition to violence have been present in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco forcing most of these countries to reinforce internal security systems. In addition, migration (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia) and avian influenza (Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia) have continued to be the emerging humanitarian challenges in the region.
During the reporting period, support was provided to the core programmes as per the plan. The health and care programme focused on HIV/AIDS, psycho-social support programme (PSP), first aid/community based first aid (FA/CBFA) and avian and human influenza whereas the disaster management programme aimed to respond to small scale emergencies in Egypt and Tunisia, disaster preparedness training, risk reduction programmes, and vulnerability and capacity assessments (VCA) in Morocco and Libya. The capacity development programme came into life as related to governance support in Algeria and regional cooperation for Tunisia-Libya was reinforced through the development of the twinning projects. Cross border risk reduction programme was prioritised as well.
Pan-African coordination team (PACT) meetings placed focus on food security and on the preparation of the coming Pan-African Conference to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in October 2008.
Financial situation: The total 2008 budget was revised from CHF 2,467,258 (USD 2,349,770 or EUR 1,509,026) to CHF 1,656,277 (USD 1,577,407 or EUR 1,013,013), of which 49 per cent covered. The target was revised based on implementation rates and donor response to the Appeal. Overall expenditure was CHF 406,847. The response to the Appeal remains low; however the regional representation accessed additional funds from United States Agency for International development (USAID) for human pandemic preparedness (H2P), the International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), and Avian Influenza Global Programme in order to meet the objectives outlined in the Appeal.
No. of people we help: It remains difficult to estimate the total number of beneficiaries supported through the programmes as beneficiaries can be National Society volunteers, staff, people receiving relief assistance during emergencies or large audiences reached through public awareness campaigns and disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities. The regional representation has not yet been in a position to set up an adequate system to gather these data from the North Africa National Societies and disparities in figures received are too high to provide a comprehensive outlook.
Our partners: The regional representation works closely with the National Societies in the region, their governments, and local communities. Few partner National Societies (PNSs) are operating bilaterally in the region like French and Spanish Red Cross, and Norwegian Red Cross and Department for International Development (DfID) are supporting the Annual Appeal multilaterally. Close coordination with other partners such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Arab General Secretariat is taking place and is a key element to support the work of the National Societies. Maintaining and building relations within the United Nations and European Union systems continue to be a priority, especially with partners such as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), World Bank, World Health Organisation/Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO/EMRO), United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), USAID, Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional (AECI)1 and the African Bank. Furthermore, the regional representation encourages the North African National Societies to build direct partnerships with the media and other local partners such as the diplomatic missions and the private sector to promote their work.