Norwegian humanitarian response to natural disasters - Case of Haiti Earthquake January 2010

Description

The catastrophe in Haiti has by many experienced emergency workers been described as the worst for decades in terms of magnitude, complexity and impact on people in all sectors of society.

Prior to the earthquake, Norway was among the five largest donors, having contributed to political dialogue, humanitarian assistance and civil society as part of an initiative to support peace building in Haiti and between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Following the earthquake, 200 million NOK was quickly disbursed to the UN and a handful of Norwegian NGOs and at a later stage, 800 million NOK (including the NOK 200 mill.) was pledged for a four year period.

About a month after the earthquake had taken place in Haiti, Norad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commissioned this review to: document the first phase response of Ministry to the earthquake disaster in Haiti and to assess the response in light of previous Norwegian experiences with response to large natural disasters as documented in reviews and evaluations. The review is mainly based on assessments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is focused on the process of decision making in the Ministry and did not include field work or assessment of results of the Norwegian support.

Findings

The first 200 million NOK was effectively allocated within two weeks of the earthquake. The process of deciding on allocations of funds took only a few days. The organisations involved were given feedback by phone about the allocation so that they could immediately start the work. There was broad agreement in the Ministry to channel the support through the UN and a limited number of Norwegian NGOs that had established a presence in Haiti.

During the first weeks after the earthquake various units with the Ministry also followed up on a number of initiatives that came from other ministries, from Norwegian NGOs, from private sector and from individuals. Despite high media attention and some critique, it was relatively easy to agree on recommendations due to close dialogue with political leadership, previous experience with similar catastrophes, good teamwork and clear direction in the Humanitarian Policy.

An experience is that the process can benefit from improved guidelines and mandates which can be adapted to different scenarios. Issues to be included in such guidelines and mandates are discussed in the report.

The mode of operation has changed over the years, as has the international humanitarian response capacity. Preparedness has improved through a number of frame agreements and fast response mechanisms and the early experience in Haiti showed that these mechanisms worked well.