BURMA CYCLONE: USAID/OFDA POST NARGIS JOINT ASSESSMENT

UNCLAS RANGOON 000528 AIDAC DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, PRM, DRL STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID AID/W FOR DCHA/FFP AND DCHA/OTI AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA KLUU, ACONVERY, RTHAYER BANGKOK FOR DCHA/OFDA WBERGER AND TROGERS KATHMANDU FOR DCHA/OFDA SMCINTYRE AND MROGERS USMISSION GENEVA FOR NKYLOH USMISSION USUN FOR FSHANKS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID SENV KSCA TBIO VM EAGR PREF SUBJECT: BURMA CYCLONE: USAID/OFDA POST NARGIS JOINT ASSESSMENT CABLE REF A): RANGOON 514, REF B) RANGOON 499 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. Following the May 25 International Pledging Conference, the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) coordinating body initiated the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) to produce a common assessment report that covers immediate humanitarian needs through the Village Tract Assessment (VTA) and reconstruction needs by means of the Damage and Loss Assessment (DALA). On June 24, the TCG released information on several important sectors from the VTA at a meeting with the international donor and response community. The preliminary report was based on only 60 percent of the household data and 50 percent of the key informant findings from the assessment. Some donors and humanitarian agencies are concerned that the lack of available baseline data may lead the survey to confuse acute emergency and transitional needs with chronic needs better addressed by long-term development programs. Most major donors agree with the USAID/OFDA team that there may be a protracted need for food assistance, but that issues such as food security and shelter are best addressed by helping disaster-affected people reestablish livelihoods. As the cyclone response in Burma shifts from the acute emergency phase to early recovery, USAID/OFDA is prioritizing livelihoods interventions to provide quick access to income and employment for affected populations. End Summary. -------------- OVERVIEW OF THE PONJA -------------- ¶2. The TCG was formed after the May 25 ASEAN-U.N. International Pledging Conference in Rangoon. The TCG's stated objective is to "facilitate trust, confidence, and cooperation between Myanmar and the international community" for the relief effort. The nine-member TCG includes three representatives each from the Government of Burma (GOB),the U.N., and ASEAN. ¶3. Following the May 25 conference, the TCG initiated the PONJA to produce a common assessment report that covers immediate humanitarian needs through the VTA and reconstruction needs by means of the DALA. The PONJA took place from June 10 to 20, involving 350 officials and volunteers from the GOB, ASEAN, and the U.N., and supported by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB),and local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). After a two-day training in data gathering methodologies, 245 VTA staff and 85 DALA staff were deployed for the assessments, supported by 20 staff in a coordination office in Rangoon. The PONJA report will be published in Rangoon and submitted to the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting July 20-21 in Singapore. The results will also inform the U.N.'s revised appeal to be issued July 10, 2008. ¶4. The VTA focuses on the relief and early recovery needs of the cyclone-affected population. The U.N. is the lead agency for the VTA, through the Humanitarian Coordinator's Office, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the Myanmar (Burma) Information Management Unit. More than 20 GOB personnel from 18 ministries were involved in the assessment process at the central Rangoon coordination office, hub coordination offices, and in the field. ¶5. The VTA was designed to assess five percent of total villages in the affected townships and provide results spatially. The survey covered 30 townships, with approximately 1,300 village tracts and 6,000 villages. Data was compiled from June 21 to 23, and preliminary findings were released on June 24 at a special meeting of the ASEAN roundtable. The final VTA input into the PONJA report is due on July 3. ¶6. The DALA focuses on estimating financial needs for longer-term reconstruction. The ASEAN Emergency Rapid Assessment Team is the lead for the DALA, with assistance from the World Bank, the ADB, and the World Bank-managed Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). The GFDRR's mission is to mainstream disaster risk reduction and assess disaster losses, in order to reduce vulnerabilities to natural hazards. ¶7. The DALA primarily used secondary data, much of which was obtained by the GOB. The methodology used was based on the U.N. Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)'s Manual for Estimating the Socio-Economic Effects of Natural Disasters. The ECLAC approach is designed to evaluate the impact of disasters in situations where little reliable quantitative information is available, to guide post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction processes. The approach has been in use for over 30 years. -------------- EVALUATION OF THE INITIAL PONJA DATA -------------- ¶8. Limited access to the cyclone-affected areas and the consequent inability to do early assessments engendered a desire within the U.N. system to validate response initiatives undertaken to date. The international community was also anxious to get information as quickly as possible from the first comprehensive assessment of the affected areas. Therefore, on June 24 ASEAN, the UN and the GOB released preliminary information on several important sectors from the VTA at a meeting with the international donor and response community. ¶9. At the June 24 meeting in Rangoon, the VTA assessors reported that 45 percent of households have received food through humanitarian assistance, while 56 percent have obtained food from the markets. Initial VTA data also indicated that 60 percent of households reported that access to clean water is inadequate, and 22 percent of households noted suffering from psychological stress. The cyclone severely damaged 59 percent of houses in affected areas, according to the initial data. Approximately 60 percent of village leaders stated that there were not enough seeds for the next planting season and 78 percent of households reported a lack of access to credit. The preliminary report, however, was based on only 60 percent of the household data and 50 percent of the key informant findings from the assessment. Some donors and humanitarian agencies are concerned that the lack of available baseline data may lead the survey to confuse acute emergency and transitional needs with chronic needs better addressed by long-term development programs. ¶10. In addition, due to the rapid assessment process, there was also little context or nuance to the questions asked in the VTA. The ambiguity in the information released so far has allowed different humanitarian organizations to infer both that the response phase has passed and that there is a need for a continuing and protracted relief effort. In addition, the sectoral cluster leads have not been able to develop definitive data on what has already been done, what is being done, or will be done in the near future that will address the needs and gaps identified in the survey. Donors want to avoid pressure to provide additional, unnecessary relief commodities that might divert funds from early recovery programs. -------------- USAID/OFDA TRANSITION STRATEGY -------------- ¶11. To date, findings from the PONJA assessments are consistent with USAID/OFDA assessments that rebuilding efforts are underway in the Irrawaddy Delta and markets are rebounding. The VTA identified only five villages that had not received any assistance, which was immediately rectified. In addition, the lack of prolonged displacement, establishment of an early warning health surveillance system, use of rainfall collection systems for drinking water, and quick interventions in shelter, health and water, sanitation and hygiene sectors so far appear to have prevented significant disease outbreaks above seasonal norms. The humanitarian community's priorities are to continue monitoring the situation, to provide targeted emergency interventions when and where needs are identified, and to support early recovery programs, such as providing inputs to restart agricultural and non-agricultural activities. ¶12. USAID/OFDA programs will continue to target the emergency needs of the most vulnerable population through September 2008. As the emergency phase winds down and the early recovery phase begins, however, the program focus will shift to livelihood activities that provide quick access to income and productive employment. USAID/OFDA intends to fund programs in the following areas: -Provision of agricultural inputs to households with the ability to plant during the planting season, which runs from mid-July to mid-August, in areas where planting during the current season is still viable. Inputs may include seeds, tools, tillers or draught animals, and cash to hire laborers. (Note: Most major donors agree with the PONJA assessment that there may be a protracted need for food assistance. The extent of such assistance will largely depend on the accomplishment of recovery activities and the degree of success farmers have during the upcoming planting season. End Note). -Support to landless laborers to include Cash-For-Work (CFW) programs and direct support programs such as backyard gardens and tree crops. -Support for non-agricultural livelihood activities, including fishing, salt panning, forestry, small trades, and manufacturing. Such activities will be designed to restore livelihood activities that existed prior to the cyclone and to avoid significant movement of labor into new activities. -CFW programs to support small-scale infrastructure repair projects and debris clearance. CFW activities will be designed to support and reinforce other early recovery objectives. ¶13. Once the full data from the VTA is released and analyzed, the USAID/OFDA team will review programming requirements and redirect activities to meet any identified gaps. Until then, the USAID/OFDA team's programming priority will be to meet the urgent requirement for seeds and tools to support the upcoming planting season. ¶14. The USAID/OFDA early recovery strategy and planned activities are consistent with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization assessment report, the U.N. Development Program guidelines for early recovery, the early recovery cluster strategy, the interagency cash working group, and assessment reports drafted by USAID and U.S. Embassy Rangoon officers. VILLAROSA