Before departure: analyse, assess risks, prepare

1From terms of reference to mission plan

A field mission starts at the office. The terms of reference (ToR) say why you are going: needs assessment, activity monitoring, team supervision, project launch, audit, emergency response. Before accepting, check five points:

• The objective and deliverables: what must be in hand on return (report, data, decision, plan), and for whom?
• The scope: which locations, which activities, which counterparts; what is not requested.
• The real duration: actual working days, once travel, permits and public holidays are deducted.
• The resources: vehicles, interpreters, budget, access to data, support from the local office.
• The responsibilities: who supervises you on site, who makes security decisions, whom you report to.

The mission plan turns the ToR into a day-by-day schedule, with meetings, movements, overnight stays, contact points and a margin for the unexpected. A simple rule: allow at least 20% buffer time in hard-to-reach areas, because a roadblock, rain or a delayed permit is enough to lose a day.

Vague ToR produce long missions and useless reports. If the objective takes more than two sentences, have it reworded before you leave.

2Analysing the context and the actors

Before leaving, build a clear picture of the area. Public sources are often enough to start with: OCHA situation reports and maps, ReliefWeb, cluster bulletins, NGO forum analyses, local press, annual reports of the organisations present. Complete this with the country office briefing and colleagues returning from the area.

The analysis answers a few questions:

• Situation: what has happened over the last six months (displacement, fighting, epidemics, disasters) and what is changing right now?
• Actors: formal and customary authorities, security forces, armed groups, community leaders, other organisations; who can facilitate or block your work, and how is your organisation perceived?
• Access: passable roads, season, required permits, checkpoints, curfew.
• Security trends: types of recent incidents, locations, times, targets; an isolated incident and a series do not call for the same response.

This analysis is not an academic exercise: it is used to decide on the route, the team profile, the messages to convey and the security measures.

3Assessing risks: the probability × impact matrix

Humanitarian security management rests on a simple approach: identify the threats, estimate the team's vulnerability to each one, deduce the risk, then choose measures. Each threat is often scored on two scales from 1 to 5:

• Probability: 1 very unlikely, 2 unlikely, 3 possible, 4 likely, 5 almost certain.
• Impact: 1 negligible, 2 minor, 3 moderate, 4 severe, 5 critical (death, kidnapping, programme suspension).

Risk = probability × impact, from 1 to 25. A common grid: 1 to 5 low, 6 to 12 medium, 15 to 25 high.

For each medium or high risk, plan measures that reduce the probability (no driving at night, rested driver, seatbelt, speed limit) or the impact (first aid kit, MEDEVAC plan). Then estimate the residual risk: if seatbelts and the ban on night driving bring the probability of an accident down to 2, the risk becomes 2 × 4 = 8, medium.

The final question is always the same: is the residual risk acceptable given the importance of the programme for people? This is the principle of "acceptable risk". If the answer is no, you change the plan, postpone or withdraw: this is a normal decision, not a failure.

4Health, documents and duty of care

The duty of care requires the employer to take all reasonable measures against foreseeable risks. It also requires staff members to follow the rules and share relevant information. Before departure:

• Health: up-to-date vaccinations (yellow fever with an international certificate if the country requires it), malaria prophylaxis and a mosquito net, personal medication for the whole duration plus a margin, a personal first aid kit, blood group noted.
• Insurance and MEDEVAC: medical and repatriation cover valid for the country and the activities, assistance number saved in your phone and written on paper.
• Documents: passport valid for at least six months, visa, mission order, organisation ID card, travel permits; paper and digital copies kept separately from the originals.
• Personal security information: emergency contacts and a "proof of life" form (questions only you can answer) handed to HR or security according to the procedure.
• Security briefing: country security plan, procedures, alert phases, movement rules; it must be completed before departure or on arrival, never "later".

Your personal profile also matters: nationality, gender, origin, religion or sexual orientation may expose you to different risks depending on the context. Discuss this confidentially with the security manager to adapt the measures, never to exclude.

5Logistics, communications and mission budget

Mission logistics are prepared with the local office:

• Route: main and alternative roads, distances, realistic travel times for the season, overnight locations, refuelling points.
• Vehicles: condition checked (tyres, spare wheel, brakes, lights), first aid kit and fire extinguisher, driver experienced in the area, fuel with a reserve.
• Communications: at least two independent means (mobile phone and satellite phone or radio), charged batteries, contact list, agreed check-in call times.
• Accommodation: chosen for its security (access, guarding, exits), not just for its price.

The mission budget brings together per diems, transport, fuel, accommodation, interpreters, permit fees and a contingency margin, usually 10%. Example. Team of 3 people, 5 days, per diem of 40 USD per day per person: 3 × 5 × 40 = 600 USD. A vehicle rented at 100 USD per day: 500 USD. Fuel: 500 km at 15 litres per 100 km = 75 litres at 1.20 USD = 90 USD. Subtotal: 1,190 USD; with 10% contingency: 1,309 USD.

Keep your supporting documents: a mission advance must be accounted for on return, down to the last cent.