Bolivia: Floods Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) update DREF Operation n° MDRBO009

Summary of revisions made to the emergency plan of action:
331,399 Swiss francs were allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Bolivian Red Cross National Society in delivering immediate assistance to about 5,000 beneficiaries in Beni Department in Bolivia with livelihoods recovery, health and hygiene promotion, and water and sanitation actions.

In response to the heavy rains affecting the entire country since November of 2013, the Bolivian Red Cross is contributing with educational promotion to reduce health risk in the affected population, while also implementing a mixed Cash Transfer programme (CTP), with unconditional cash and conditional vouchers. The CTP programme, that aims at ensuring food security in the affected areas, has been revised to increase from 900 families to 1,000 families. This was possible after the detailed assessment of agricultural practices revealed the use of organic methods that made redundant the planned purchase of fertilizers and pesticides; the remaining funds were therefore destined for 100 additional families. However, the National Society requested a one-month extension of the implementation time frame in order to complete the operation, which has suffered significant challenges on several fronts:

1. The rain continued in Beni Department, including the area of intervention (Rurrenabaque, Reyes, and San Buenaventura), and water took as much as three months to recede in some areas. This significantly limited access for detailed assessments, trainings, awareness talks, and distributions.

2. Since this is the first time the Bolivian Red Cross implements CTP, there were some delays in the selection of best procedures and stores.

3. There were some challenges, now solved, in the transfer of funds to the National Society that delayed implementation

This operation is now expected to conclude on 19 June 2014, with a final report published three months after closure of the operation, on 19 September 2014. The IFRC, on behalf of the National Society, would like to extend thanks to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) for their generous contributions to replenish the allocation made to this operation. The major donors and partners of DREF include the Australian, American and Belgian governments, the Austrian Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross and government, Danish Red Cross and government, ECHO, the Irish and the Italian governments, the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Luxembourg government, the Monaco Red Cross and government, the Netherlands Red Cross and government, the Norwegian Red Cross and government, the Spanish government, the Swedish Red Cross and government, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic and Z Zurich foundations, and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the National Society, would like to extend thanks to all for their generous contributions. The Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO) has replenished the DREF up to 50 per cent for the allocation made to this operation. http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/responding/disaster-response-system/financial-instruments/disaster-relief-emergency-fund-dref/