The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 185 countries.
In Brief
Period covered by this Final Report: 29 August to 30 November 2005. History of this Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)-funded operation:
- CHF 100,000 was allocated to the from the Federation's DREF on 29 August 2005 to respond to the needs of this operation (Refer to the DREF Bulletin for more information).
- An Interim Final Report was issued on 30 December 2005.
This operation was aligned with the International Federation's Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".
Global Agenda Goals:
- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.
- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.
- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.
- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.
Background
On 7 August 2005, heavy rains that lasted for eight hours caused flooding with unusual heavy currents in Jalingo, the state capital of Taraba (north-east of Nigeria). A bridge collapsed when the Jalingo river burst its banks as a result of the heavy downpour. 50,000 people were displaced from their homes and over 100 people died as a result of the floods. The flooding was said to be unprecedented in the last 40 years. It cleared away major bridges and road networks linking the city with other parts of the country.
In response, CHF 100,000 was allocated to the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS(1)) from the Federation's DREF to assist 500 families (2,700 beneficiaries with food and non-food items. Red Cross volunteers were mobilized to distribute relief items as well as to conduct hygiene and sanitation campaigns among the floods-affected populations.
Coordination
The governor of Taraba State inspected the four most affected areas and set up a technical committee that improvised a road linkage through an old bridge, following the collapse of the bridge on Jalingo river. A relief committee was also set up to verify the number of displaced people and the extent of damage caused by the flooding. The relief committee also assisted in setting up three camps (Magami, Mafindi and Lamorde) and provided basic relief items to the affected people.
The World Heath Organization (WHO) conducted vaccination campaigns in the camps and distributed oral rehydration salts (ORS). The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) distributed drugs to children and adults in the camps. The British Red Cross supported the mobilization of NRCS volunteers.
Analysis of the operation - objectives, achievements and impact
Goal: To provide immediate non-food and dry food relief assistance to 500 vulnerable families affected by the floods disaster in Jalingo, Taraba state of Nigeria.
Progress
Over 50 Red Cross volunteers were mobilized before and during the relief distribution exercise. The volunteers assisted in distributing food (rice, beans, gari, vegetable oil, salt, and sugar) and non-food items to the floodsaffected populations in Jalingo. They also conducted hygiene and sanitation campaigns in the three camps. The British Red Cross supported the mobilization of volunteers towards relief distribution as well the assessment of the floods disaster.
During the last week of the floods-operation, the Taraba State government proposed that all the people in the three camps should be given NGN 10,000 (CHF 95) to pay for accomodation anywhere in Taraba State, pending allocation of land for rehabilitation and resettlement. The reason was that the schools, where the camps were set up, were about to resume normal academic sessions.
The volunteers were motivated through the payment of per diems. They received commendations from the Secretary General, the President, Taraba Governor and his deputy, the people of Taraba State, beneficiaries as well as UNICEF and WHO for their efforts.
Impact
The image of the national society has improved due to the prompt response of Red Cross staff and volunteers to the floods disaster in Jalingo. As a result, more members registered themselves as volunteers because of the motivation they saw among the existing volunteers. Stakeholders in the floods operation identified the Nigerian Red Cross Society as a reliable partner in mitigation of Disasters.
Coordination between UNICEF, WHO, the Taraba State Emergency and Relief Committee, the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders enhanced the disaster Management capacities of the national society. The European First Aid (EFA) training increased the value of the national society as Red Cross staff and volunteers demonstrated excellent first aid skills during the floods response.
Constraints
Delays were experienced during the food distributions exercise. This was due to failure of releasing the relief items from government stores for distribution alongside other relief items. At times, the relief committee got names of beneficiaries from government holders instead of getting them from the national society. This led to inequitable distribution of the relief items as some of vulnerable families in the camps received less food than the floodsaffected populations outside the camps.
In addition, only one vehicle was available to transport staff and volunteers to the floods-affected areas. This greatly hampered the coordination of activities because the same vehicle also served as an ambulance. There were delays in receiving and updating reports from the field due to transport and communication difficulties. As this was the first major operation for the Taraba Red Cross branch in disaster response activities (since its creation 14 years ago), there was lack of experience in the implementation of activities during disasters.
Lessons learned
For effective implementation of emergency response activities, it is important for the government to understand and respect the code of conduct of humanitarian organizations. In addition, sharing of Information with other stakeholders involved in emergency operations greatly contributes to the successful mitigation of disasters. Moreover, it is essential to carry out continuous registration of new V olunteers during any given disaster operation, and training needs to be conducted as the activities are being implemented. This strategy could increase the number of volunteers.
Recommendations
Before entering into any relief partnership with the government, a code of conduct needs to be drafted and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be signed by both parties. This will ensure that each party knows its responsibilities, limits and resources while responding to disasters.
First aid teams should be established and extended to more local government areas to serve as a first point of response in any emergency. For maximum efficiency and effectiveness in coordination, appropriate training in all the required fields such as disaster management, project management, leadership training and first aid services should be provided and extended to more staff and volunteers.
The Federation's Disaster Management Information System (DMIS) should be made available to Nigerian Red Cross Society to promptly share disaster reports and information with the Federation at all times. Vehicles and mobile high frequency (HF) radios need also to be provided for all the six zonal offices. This will enhance timely reporting as well as proper coordination and monitoring of all branches within each zone.
Pre-positioned stock in all the strategic warehouses needs to be recorded and adequately replenished to cater for the needs of affected populations in the event of any disaster.
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
In Nigeria: Abiodun Orebiyi, Secretary-General, Nigerian Red Cross Society, Ikoyi, Lagos; Email: nigerianredcross2003@yahoo.com; Phone: +234.12.69.15.99; Fax: 234.12.69.15.99.
In Nigeria: Stephen Omollo, Federation Head of Nigeria Sub-regional Office, Lagos; Email: stephen.omollo@ifrc.org; Phone +234.1.269.52.28; Fax +234.1.269.52.29
In Senegal: Alasan Senghore, Federation Head of West and Central Africa Regional Delegation, Dakar; Email: alasan.senghore@ifrc.org; Phone +221.869.36.41; Fax +221.860.20.02
In Geneva: Madeleine Lundberg, Federation Regional Officer for West Africa, Africa Dept; Email: madeleine.lundberg@ifrc.org; Phone +41.22.730.43.35; Fax +41.22.733.03.95.
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.
For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org
Note:
(1) Nigerian Red Cross Society - refer to http://www.ifrc.org/where/country/check.asp?countryid=128