Attachments
In Brief
Appeal No. 01.66/2004;
Appeal target: CHF 4,816,294 (USD 3,835,920 or EUR 3,114,797);
Appeal coverage: 88.1%.
Operational context
During 2004, the Southeast Asia region saw a number of changes and emergencies, challenging both the Federation and the national societies in implementing the planned programmes. Nevertheless, significant achievements were made during the year in line with the Strategy 2010 in strengthening the national societies through provision of technical support and coordination, and developing regional networking and knowledge sharing.
There has been a more active role played by the national societies around the region in decision making and planning, furthering the development of a regional cooperation framework in various programme areas. In addition, working towards strengthening the capacities of the national societies, there has also been active partnership, links and coordination with the ICRC and the external entities, governments, UN and other agencies to share knowledge and expertise.
In the aspect of health, the emergence of the avian flu tested once more the public health care and social welfare system in the region. Learning from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis in 2003, the national societies have been working, with the support of the Federation, to improve internal and external systems to deal with future public health emergencies. An annual regional health team meeting was introduced, as a major step to improve coordination, facilitating communication and ensuring broad participation among the national societies in the region.
Furthermore, national societies have increased knowledge, recognition and use of the Federation's disaster response tools. Standard operation procedures for the use of regional response tools were developed to ensure synergy between and among the regional and global response templates. During 2004, the Federation's regional delegation supported more than 20 disaster response operations implemented by national societies, including the Myanmar typhoon in mid-May (the country's first international appeal in over a decade), the Nabire and Alor earthquakes in Indonesia, the Philippines typhoon, and the tsunami disaster across Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.
Through ongoing organizational development support and exchange activities, several member societies have recognized the importance of organizational development and have made significant progress in their organizational development/capacity building initiatives. For example, the Malaysian Red Crescent has drafted its first strategic plan; the Thai Red Cross has restructured its youth bureau and achieved gender balance among the youth volunteers; and all chapters of the Philippine National Red Cross have generated 50 per cent more funds than in 2003.
In addition to increased ownership from the national societies, the achievements of regional programmes were a result of better coordination and integration achieved through regular coordination meetings introduced in the latter part of the year within the regional delegation and with its counterparts at country level.
The regional delegation has also established good media relations in Bangkok and facilitated the national societies in establishing relations with their national media. Increased Federation's representation at international and regional events and interaction with the governments, UN and the diplomatic community resulted in an enhanced profile of the Movement in the region in general and created opportunities to explore common areas for collaboration.
In late November, a high-level team, comprising the Federation's secretary-general, head of Asia Pacific department, head of Southeast Asia regional delegation and the head of the DRMU met with the president, vice-presidents and senior managers of the Asia Development Bank. This meeting is expected to herald a step forward in the development of this important partnership.
While the Federation's country support has been strengthened in Vietnam and Cambodia, resources at the regional delegation have been overstretched to support other member societies in the region that have the Federation's in-country presence. This not only highlights the need for additional capacity at the regional delegation but calls for better integration, unity and coordination. During 2004, there were already a number of human resource changes in the regional delegation, including a new head of regional delegation, an information delegate, a water and sanitation delegate and a reporting delegate. This capacity will be reinforced in 2005 to tackle new challenges identified during the course of implementing 2004 programmes as well as to bring forward the recovery programmes in response to the tsunami of 26 December. The regional delegation will manage the expanded regional programmes and the tsunami operations in Thailand and Malaysia while providing technical support for Indonesia and Myanmar.
For further information specifically related to this Annual Appeal please contact:
In Bangkok: Bekele Geleta, Head of Regional Delegation, email: ifrcth23@ifrc.org; Phone: +66.2.640.8211, Fax: +66.2.640.8220
In Geneva: Charles Evans or Sabine Feuglet, Southeast Asia Desk Officer, Asia Pacific Department; email: charles.evans@ifrc.org or sabine.feuglet@ifrc.org; Phone: +41.22.730.4349/4456; Fax +41.22.733.0395
This Annual Report reflects activities implemented over a one-year period; they form part of, and are based on, longer-term, multi-year planning. This annual report also covers the operational period from 1 November to 31 December 2004 not covered by the last programme update . All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org.
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