From Rwanda to the Philippines - How much have we really changed the way we engage with affected populations?

Panel Chair: Vivien Walden, Oxfam 
 

1. A brief history of the Humanitarian Accountability movement
   
   Presenter: Monica Blagescu, Independent
   
   The 1997 multi-donor evaluation of the response to the Rwanda genocide was the seminal report which identified lack of accountability to affected people (AAP) as a key failing of the aid system. Numerous quality and accountability initiatives were created soon after. Ten years later, the multi-donor evaluation of the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami cited many similar AAP issues. Seven years since that tsunami response, accountability to affected populations is now firmly part of the humanitarian landscape, but how much is rhetoric and how much difference have we really made to the way we work. What are the hot issues?
    

2. From the Typhoon in Tacloban to the bullets of Bangui; a systems approach to engaging with communities on the road to constructing a culture of accountability in humanitarian response

   Presenter: Barb Wigley, WFP

   The AAP/PSEA Task Team aims to create a system-wide “culture of accountability” through the institutionalisation of accountability to affected populations (AAP), including prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), within each humanitarian organisation alongside system level cohesion, coordination, and learning. A systems approach to AAP aims to scale up the impact of individual agency efforts, offer resource efficiencies and present a more coherent service to the people the system seeks to assist. The declaration of a Level 3 emergency in the Philippines presented an opportunity to test this theory out in practice from the very early stages of a response with an unprecedented level of support. With another L3 declared and a subsequent deployment to the Central African Republic soon after, the panellist had the opportunity to explore engagement with communities in two very different settings, and will discuss reflections on these along with an analysis of some learnings so far on a systems approach to AAP and PSEA.
    

3. Accountability to Typhoon survivors - a national perspective of the international humanitarian response

   Presenter: Loreine dela Cruz, Centre for Disaster Preparedness (CDP)

   The Executive Director of CDP presented recently collected perspectives from typhoon survivors and the national groups and agencies in the Philippines who responded to Typhoon Yolanda. The presentation shows their assessment of the performance of national and international agencies, in terms of accountability commitments. Did they fulfill them, could they have operated differently, and how can we all work better next time?

4. Q&A