The humanitarian system and quality standards

1The actors

• Affected States: primarily responsible for assisting their population.
• Communities and local organisations: the first to respond; “localisation” aims to give them a greater role and more funding.
• The United Nations: OCHA (coordination), UNHCR (refugees), UNICEF (children), WFP (food, logistics), WHO (health), FAO, IOM, UNFPA, UNDP…
• The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: the ICRC, the International Federation and National Societies.
• International and national NGOs, donors (States, the European Union, foundations) and the private sector.

2Coordination and the programme cycle

In a country in crisis, the Humanitarian Coordinator leads the Humanitarian Country Team (UN agencies, NGOs, the Red Cross as an observer). OCHA supports coordination.

Since the 2005 reform, the cluster approach has organised the response by sector: health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, protection, food security, education, logistics, emergency telecommunications, camp coordination and early recovery. Each cluster has a lead agency.

The humanitarian programme cycle: needs assessment (Humanitarian Needs Overview), planning (Humanitarian Response Plan), resource mobilisation, implementation and monitoring, review.

3Funding

• Bilateral funding from donors to organisations.
• CERF: the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, for sudden-onset emergencies and underfunded crises (disbursed to UN agencies and IOM).
• Country-based pooled funds (CBPF) managed by OCHA, open to national and international NGOs.
• Funding flows are tracked on OCHA's Financial Tracking Service (FTS).

4The standards: Sphere and the CHS

The Sphere Handbook brings together the Humanitarian Charter, the Protection Principles, the Core Humanitarian Standard and minimum standards in four sectors: water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion; food security and nutrition; shelter and settlement; health. A frequently cited example: a minimum of 15 litres of water per person per day for drinking, cooking and hygiene.

The Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) sets out nine commitments on quality and accountability to affected people: a response that is appropriate, timely, strengthens local capacities, is based on communication and participation, has a complaints mechanism, is coordinated, learns, relies on competent and well-managed staff, and uses resources responsibly.

The standards are benchmarks, not mechanical quotas: they are adapted to the context while keeping their objective.