Governments in crisis-affected countries
Find out more about the host governments' forum on humanitarian response taking place on the 4 March at the ALNAP meeting on evidence and knowledge. Downlod the flyer.
Mapping NDMAs and government disaster authorities
View National Disaster Management Authorities in a larger map
The governments of states experiencing humanitarian emergencies, and their partners at a local level, are a fundamental part of international, regional and national response. Despite this, their vital role has long gone unrecognised by the international system. As disasters increase in scale and frequency, and states become more assertive and capacity, the role of national governments must be incorporated into thinking about emergency response, and overall performance of the international humanitarian system.
Building on two successful annual meetings (one looking at the role of governments in disasters and the other more recently at urban disasters) that involved National Disaster Management Authorities (NDMAs), the Secretariat is engaged with the efforts of a range of ALNAP Members to promote better links with governments. Examples include the International Dialogue on Strengthening Partnership in Disaster Response convened by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). In the future ALNAP’s work will be harmonised with the IFRC initiative and others, particularly relating to learning and evaluation.
Help us map NDMA activity
We currently have a relatively weak understanding of the steps taken by NDMAs to learn from their experiences and to share learning. We would be interested in hearing from you if you know of any government agency in crisis-affected states that is carrying out (or has previously carried out) any learning activity, such as after action reviews, training, simulations or research. Please email our Research Officer Kim at k.scriven@alnap.org.
Recommendations for the way forward for governments in disaster response
These recommendations come from the 26th annual meeting, with input form representatives from NGOs, UN staff, donors, governments, academics and the Red Cross/Crescent. They shape the thinking behind ALNAP's current efforts in this area.
Evaluation
- Explore the potential role of national governments in evaluations to ensure greater accountability of international humanitarian actors (without compromising objectivity and independence).
- The need for a further demand driven research and evaluation agenda.
Dialogue and coordination
- Create guiding principles and local/national networks for collaboration between governments and international humanitarian actors.
- More coordinated and comprehensive identification of capacities – including those of governments, militaries and other actors such as the corporate sector.
- Better and more collective advocacy aligned around the International Disaster Response Law (IDRL) guidelines.
- Greater involvement of governments in the cluster system.
- Use the UN’s convening role to create fora for national governments to talk to each other.
- Improving donor coordination – between donors within country and cooperation strategies to manage development – humanitarian tensions.
Disaster risk reduction and preparedness
- Build strategies to connect risk management, emergency actions, post-disaster phases and sustainable development.
- Support to government capacity for disaster management (response and preparedness).
Resources
- Establish national institutions/funds in governments to focus on humanitarian issues.
- Develop and promote donor-government guidelines for humanitarian response.
- Play a part in smoothing resources flows - for example, looking at internal structures and how NGOs share information to justify more investment in disaster risk reduction and preparedness.
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