Period covered by this operations update: 13 June - 31 July 2010
Appeal target (current): CHF 4,466,332 (USD 3.9 million or EUR 3.22 million);
Appeal coverage: To date, this appeal is 103 per cent covered.
Appeal history:
- A second revised emergency appeal was launched on 12 June 2010 for CHF 4,466,630 (USD 3.9 million or EUR 3.23 million) to assist 60,000 families (approximately 270,000 people) for 12 months.
- The initial revised emergency appeal was launched on 19 October 2009 for CHF 5,571,176 (USD 5.47 million or EUR 3.67 million) to assist 60,000 families (approximately 270,000 people) for 12 months.
- This emergency appeal was initially launched on a preliminary basis on 2 October 2009 for CHF 4,939,626 (USD 4.75 million or EUR 3.25 million) to assist 50,000 families (approximately 210,000 people) for 12 months.
- Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF): CHF 314,064 (USD 324,167 or EUR 214,633) was allocated from IFRC's DREF to support the national society in its initial emergency response.
Summary:
Now in its 11th month, the operation has made significant advances in the recovery phase of its plan as well as undergone an evaluation of the overall relief distribution prior to recovery. The evaluation scrutinized the extent to which the operation's goals, objectives and expected results were achieved in this respect; its findings also highlighted good practices, lessons learnt, and the areas for improvement. These outcomes will provide a base for concrete application following a pre-typhoon season meeting held on 5-6 August 2010.
In shelter, considerable strides have been taken forward in terms of actual construction beginning in the second half of July in seven of the selected provinces; and technical training sessions for Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC) chapter staff and people's committee representatives at province, district and commune levels as well as local builders. Working with VNRC, the programme's technical partner under this operation conducted field surveys, with special attention to ethnic minority communities in the Kon Tum and Gia Lai provinces. House designs which take into consideration the various cultural norms, geographical locations and common hazards of each community were also presented to and selected by beneficiaries themselves. These designs also conform to Vietnamese national and local government standards.
Under livelihoods, this reporting period saw strategies, mechanisms and processes being developed at VNRC headquarters and chapter levels with technical assistance from IFRC. Communities in the provinces of Quang Nam, Gia Lai and Binh Dinh will meet with VNRC in August for selection of beneficiaries according to specified criteria. This endeavour also sees the participation and assistance from the government department of agriculture and rural development (DARD) through veterinarians who will assist in the technical certification of livestock.
Steps forward in disaster risk reduction are seen through the further establishment of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the national disaster response team (NDRT). IFRC and VNRC jointly drafted the first version of the NDRT's standard operating procedure at a two-day meeting held on 8-9 July 2010.
The pre-typhoon season meeting on 5-6 August also contributes towards efforts at enhancing disaster risk reduction wherein discussions will focus action to be taken before, during and following a disaster. Outcomes of this meeting are expected to include: better coordination mechanisms; clearer priority areas of action; and the identification of available resources, in the event of disaster.
Logistics also received a boost with the arrival of a Federation logistics delegate in mid-June 2010. With the technical assistance now available, VNRC and IFRC will be better able to work on seamlessly linking logistics with disaster preparedness activities to further enhance the national society's disaster response plan.
The timeframe of this appeal will be extended until 30 November 2010 in order to ensure the completion of activities under certain programme components. No change is being made to the appeal budget at this time. This extension is also being made, taking into consideration the onset of the annual typhoon season which normally begins in mid-September when this operation was originally scheduled to end.
To date, support to this appeal has been received from American Red Cross, Australian Red Cross/Australian government, Austrian Red Cross, Belgian Red Cross/Belgian government, British Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross/Canadian government, Finnish Red Cross, Hong Kong branch of Red Cross Society of China, Japanese Red Cross, Republic of Korea Red Cross, Monaco Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross/Netherlands government, New Zealand Red Cross/New Zealand government, Norwegian Red Cross/Norwegian government, Singapore Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross/Swedish government, and United Arab Emirates Red Crescent. Contributions to this appeal have also been received from the Italian government, South African government and USAID. Bilateral support and contributions have been received from American Red Cross,
French Red Cross, German Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross, Singapore Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross, and Swiss Red Cross.
On behalf of Viet Nam Red Cross, IFRC would like to thank all partners and donors for their timely and generous response to this appeal.