Attachments
Appeal history:
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This Emergency Appeal was initially launched on 14 October 2014 for 1,227,172 Swiss francs months to assist 3,500 families affected by drought.
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On March 2015, the Emergency appeal was revised to 553,005 Swiss francs due to limited funding and reprioritization of activities.
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On 1 July a 6 month operation update was published to reflect an operational timeframe extension, the progress achieved and a revised budget to 500,543 Swiss francs.
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In this Operations Update, features a timeframe extension to 13 months (ending on 14 November 2015) to complete the final distributions thanks to a recent contribution to the Appeal and to report on the latest completed activities. This extension will permit to do an additional food distribution with budget savings and to carry out an external evaluation. This Appeal is open to receive additional support from donors since reports forecast an increase in food insecurity in Honduras. Thousands of families have lost their livelihoods and do not have access to food. The outlook for the next months is critical and the Honduran Red Cross hopes to continue providing support to the affected families. Water harvesting has been an option, but it has not been possible due to limited funds received and other internal factors in the country like improper use of the land, poor farming practices and extreme poverty in the communities.
Summary:
Within the framework of the drought operation’s plan of action, 3,500 families (17,500 people) living in the municipalities of San Marcos de la Sierra (661) and Camasca (1089) in the department of Intibucá and the municipalities of Alauca (692), Oropolí (637) and Teupasenti (421) in the department of El Paraíso were defined as the target population. They were selected according to previously defined vulnerability criteria and prioritized based on the degree of involvement in terms of livelihoods, food insecurity, poverty and development level, coverage by the National Society and in accordance with the emergency declared by the government of Honduras on 28 July 2014. It was determined that the intervention would involve the following areas: food, nutrition, livelihoods, and water and sanitation.
The Honduran Red Cross conducted rapid assessment in the departments of El Paraíso and Intibucá, and beneficiary families were identified and registered based on this analysis (further details in the needs assessment section).
To date, the operation has procured and distributed food parcels to 3,500 families in the municipalities of San Marcos de La Sierra and Camasca, in the department of Intibucá, Alauca, Oropoli, Teupasenti in the department of El Paraiso. Each kit meets the food needs of a 5-person family for one month. A second distribution was made consisting of 692 food parcels for the municipality of Alauca, El Paraiso, and a second one consisting of 660 food parcels is scheduled for the municipality of San Marcos de la Sierra, Intibucá, and 250 food parcels for the municipality of Camasca, Intibucá.
With bilateral support from the Swiss Red Cross, the Honduran Red distributed food parcels to 2,000 beneficiary families in the municipalities of San Jose and Perspire in the department of Choluteca and Aramecina in the department of Valle.
To address the issue of livelihoods, the Honduran Red Cross delivered 250 agricultural packages containing 25 pounds of improved maize seeds (for 1 manzana) and 25 pounds of improved bean seeds (for 1/2 manzana). The package was supplemented with 100 pounds of urea 46% and 200 pounds of formula NPK (12-24-16 or fertimaiz). Despite adverse weather conditions, some corn is being harvested. Technical assistance and provision of drought-resistant seed by the Honduran Red Cross has been extremely helpful, thus supporting the reactivation of the agricultural livelihoods of 250 families.
Summary of Changes to this operation update: In view of the new State of Emergency declared by the government and savings obtained in the budget, additional food parcels can be distributed to the affected families. The following changes are proposed:
Operational timeframe: Taking into account the activities still to be conducted, such as the final distribution of food parcels and the closing of the operation, a timeframe extension is needed, therefore ending on 14 November 2015. Initially this operation had a timeframe of 11 months, and with this operations update the timeframe would be increased to 13 months.
Areas in common: In view of the activities still pending and the operation's closure, the work contracts of administrative and operational staff will need to be extended up until 14 November 2015.
Food, Nutrition and Livelihoods: Considering the current food insecurity in areas targeted by the Emergency Appeal and that the second delivery of food parcels is underway in the municipalities of Alauca, San Marcos de la Sierra and Camasca, a second delivery consisting of 637 food parcels to the municipality of Oropolí, El Paraíso will be conducted. Due to the continuing food insecurity, there are more people affected, but with limited funds it is difficult to reach more families.
The Partner National Societies that have contributed to this Appeal are: American Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross Society, Finnish Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross Society, Monaco Red Cross and Norwegian Red Cross. The IFRC on behalf of the Honduran Red Cross thank all for these contributions. Additionally, the Swiss Red Cross has made a bilateral contribution to the Honduran Red Cross in order to assist 2,000 families in the municipalities of San Jose and Pespire in the department of Choluteca and Aramecina in the department of Valle.