MAA50001plan.pdf

Asia Pacific Zone

Executive summary

The Asia Pacific region is home to
more than half of the world’s
population, the majority of whom
are poor and among the most
disadvantaged in the world. Some
600 million women, men and
children in the region live below the
USD 1 a day poverty line, while 1.8
billion survive on less than USD 2 a
day. Compounding the situation,
the region is also highly disaster-
prone. The diversity, scale and
frequency of natural disasters
across the region are daunting. Set
along numerous fault lines, many
countries in the region are often hit
by major earthquakes and by
seasonal typhoons and floods,
which kill thousands of people and
cause severe hardship to millions
of people each year. Public health
is also a major issue with the
continued prevalence of
tuberculosis, malaria, dengue fever,
cholera, HIV and by newer
emerging infectious diseases, such
as avian and human influenza. The effects of climate change are having a marked impact on the scale and
unpredictability of many of these disasters, and the whole situation is expected to worsen in the coming years.

It is within this context that the 37 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Asia Pacific work to help the
most vulnerable groups in their respective countries who are most affected by disasters and socio-economic and
health crises. With their widespread network of grassroots members and volunteers, they seek to address the
needs of the most vulnerable people in disaster and non-disaster situations.

The main tasks of the International Federation are to assist the national societies in the region to deliver timely
and effective services to the populations in most need and to coordinate international assistance to achieve this.
The Asia Pacific zone comprises the zone office in Kuala Lumpur, four regional offices and 15 country offices,
adopting a “best-positioned” strategy to support these tasks.

The International Federation’s work in Asia Pacific is guided by the International Federation’s newly adopted
Strategy 2020, and the priorities in the coming two years are to:

Build safer and more resilient communities through services to member national societies that
increase the reach and impact of their programmes;

Phlippines National Red Cross Society (PNRCS) volunteers share knowledge and
laughter at a health and care nutrition event in Laguna, Philippines. Photo credit:
International Federation/Rob Few

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Strengthen Red Cross Red Crescent networks to enhance collective performance and build capacity
and knowledge sharing;

Influence changes in humanitarian policies and practices through improved cooperation with
governments and key institutions;

Diversify financial and human resources for the benefit of programmes at the national level; and

Lead and coordinate planning, performance and accountability mechanisms to increase Red Cross
Red Crescent effectiveness and efficiency.

As part of the International Federation’s decentralised headquarters management structure, the Asia Pacific zone
office directs the work of the regional and country offices. This zone plan 2010-2011 includes programme and
membership services for the national societies of Asia Pacific, and seeks support for the programming part of
these activities, specifically in the areas of disaster management, health and care, organizational development,
principles and values and humanitarian diplomacy.

The total budget to cover this work is CHF 3,624,597 (USD 3.51 million or EUR 2.38 million) for 2010, and CHF
3,114,102 (USD 3.01 million or EUR 2.04 million) for 2011. The zone is supported by CHF 4.325 million from core
secretariat funds, which is sufficient to cover all core staff positions and the running costs of the zone office, as
well as part of the costs of the four regional offices.

Click to go directly to the attached budget summary of the plan

Zone Context

Socio-economic

The Asia Pacific region, home to more than half of the world’s population, is a region of great socio-economic
contrasts as well as cultural and political diversity. While parts of the region have witnessed significant
improvements in achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals, others have performed poorly. Some 600
million women, men and children in the region live below the USD 1 per day poverty line, while 1.8 billion survive
on less than USD 2 per day. This poverty is found not only in poorer under-developed countries, but also in
significant segments of the emerging middle-income countries.

All the South Asian countries are generally poor performers in the rankings of the UN Human Development Index.
The region suffers from some of the highest levels of poverty in the world, and of the 1.5 billion people in the
region, approximately 400 million live below the average poverty line

. About 15 per cent of the region’s

population does not survive beyond the age of 40.

In East and Southeast Asia, a wide disparity in economic wealth exists between and within countries. While Japan
and South Korea are listed among the OECD countries, the World Bank estimates that 552 million of the world’s
1.1 billion poor are living in East Asia. For China, a fast emerging economy with an economic growth rate of over
10 percent per year in the last decade, at least 16 percent of the population still live on less than USD 1 per day.
In Cambodia 34 percent of people are living on less than USD 1 per day, while in Mongolia the figure is 27
percent.

With the exception of Australia and New Zealand, the Pacific region is mostly made up of countries with poor
socio-economic development. Most efforts to raise standards of living and achieve balanced growth are
complicated by their isolation created by huge distances as a result of their location. These pose major challenges
for the island states of the Pacific to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

A number of countries in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in South Asia, are also faced with wide socio-political
tensions and armed insurgencies. In parts of the wider region, some groups still experience systematic
discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity, or religious beliefs, perpetuating their chronic poverty and
exclusion. In such situations, there is a need to implement programmes to promote tolerance, respect for diversity
and the reduction of discrimination.

Disasters

The Asia Pacific region is also the most disaster-prone region on earth, accounting for over 40 per cent of the
world’s disasters and 65 per cent of the people affected. The diversity, scale and frequency of natural disasters

1 World Bank:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/South_Asia_growth_June_2006.pdf

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

are daunting, including earthquakes and seasonal typhoons and floods, which kill thousands of people and cause
billions of dollars of damage and severe hardship to millions of people each year.

The Indian Ocean tsunami at the end of 2004 killed over 225,000 people across the region. In Southeast Asia,
Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in May 2008, killed more than 100,000 people, while more than 80,000
people perished in May 2008 in the Sichuan earthquake in China. The East Asia region accounted for more than
63 percent of Asia’s reported disaster casualties (mostly due to the massive floods in China) and 64 percent of
Asia’s disaster-related economic losses in 2007.

South Asia is highly prone to both seismic and hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods and cyclones. During
the last century, more than 100 million people in the region were killed by natural disasters alone

. Over the past

decade, the disasters in the region have included: the Orissa super-cyclone (India, 2005); earthquakes in Gujarat
(India, 2001), Nahrine (Afghanistan, 2002) and Pakistan in 2005; the floods across the region in 2004 and 2007;
and Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh in 2007.

The Pacific island countries are highly vulnerable to a range of hydrological and meteorological hazards including
tropical cyclones, flooding, drought, storm surges, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. In addition, the Pacific
has limited land resources and the region’s relatively small population of 8.5 million and its developing industries
are concentrated mainly in low-lying coastal regions

threatened by rising ocean temperatures and sea levels. The

latest findings from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirm that climate change is
one of the most important challenges to the social, economic and environmental well-being of Pacific Island
Countries (PICs)

. For many PICs, the impact of climate change upon the Pacific, recognized by the IPCC’s fourth

Assessment Report are already being felt and are expected to worsen in the coming decades.

Public health

Public health and social welfare in many parts of the Asia Pacific region remain major concerns despite rapid
progress towards many of the MDGs. A critical look at development and health indicators reveal that gains have
largely been around poverty reduction and are influenced by developed and evolving big economies. Many
developing countries are lagging behind, or even regressing in some cases

While there is reduction in incidence and prevalence of major diseases in the region, HIV/AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis remain major concerns. Though Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand show declines in HIV prevalence,
UNAIDS

noted that the epidemics in Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam are growing rapidly, and new HIV

infections are increasing steadily in Bangladesh, China and India. UNESCAP

also reported that 15% of the

people in many Pacific countries have malaria, while 1.9 million are infected in Indonesia, and 30,000 die each
year in India. A big proportion of the 10.3 million people with TB are in China, India and Indonesia.

Water and sanitation facilities are urgent concerns in many communities. Only 49% of the population in Pacific
countries have access to safe water, while 40% in Laos, 38% in Timor Leste and 35% in Cambodia. Access to
water among rural populations continue to be a major challenge in Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea, while
rapid urbanisation has overstretched services and have negatively affected access to water in urban areas of
Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal

Maternal and child mortality remains a serious problem in many developing countries in the region. Of the
250,000 women who die each year due to pregnancy or childbirth, a big proportion of these deaths occur in South
Asia where, in addition to poverty and lack of access to primary health services, the education level of women and
girls is very low, and women empowerment and gender disparity need to be urgently addressed. On the other
hand, while most countries have successfully halved child deaths, one in four children in Afghanistan die before
reaching the age of 5.

The rapid spread of the new pandemic influenza (H1N1) in 2009 in Asia Pacific and other parts of the globe, and
the continued existence of H5N1 and other influenza viruses, highlighted the need to intensify the ‘whole of
society’ preparedness and increase focus on communities which had been considered the weakest element in

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters:

http://www.emdat.be/Documents/Publications/Annual%20Disaster%20Statistical%20Review%202007.pdf

IPCC’s Forth Assessment Report (AR4), 2007. Small Islands Chapter.

MDG Partnership 2008. MDG in the Asia Pacific. Accessed via

http://www.mdgasiapacific.org/node/12

UNAIDS 2008. Report on the Global AIDS Pandemic. Accessed via

http://www.unaids.org/en/CountryResponses/Regions/Asia.asp

UNESCAP 2008. Statistical yearbook for Asia and the Pacific. Accessed via:

http://www.unescap.org/stat/data/syb2008/index.asp

Ibid.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

global preparedness

. This is particularly important in many developing countries in Asia Pacific which are

believed to contribute to 95% of deaths to pandemic influenza. While most of the human H5N1 cases in 2009
have been reported in Egypt, the region is still considered the epicentre of the avian influenza threat: it accounts
for 75% of human cases and 85%

of human deaths caused by the virus; which mixing with the new H1N1 virus

has concerned the public health community.

In addition, many countries have been impacted by the re-emergence and evolution of new infectious diseases:
dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, leptospirosis, Nipah virus and drug-resistant malaria are some of the
diseases that have become entrenched in the region

. Vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and

polio, still unnecessarily kill or maim children in a few countries in the region.

Some countries in Asia Pacific are experiencing demographic or epidemiological transitions which give rise to
other public health and social challenges. 21.3% of the population in Japan is above 65 years of age, while the
proportion is increasing in Hong Kong (China) and other high-income countries resulting in enormous implications
to society

. Many countries have also seen shifts of the cause of death from communicable to non-communicable

and lifestyle-related diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Injuries related to
workplace accidents, road accidents and violence are becoming one of the main causes of deaths. The public
health impact of climate change, natural disasters and urbanization will also require greater attention from already
over-stretched health systems.

Red Cross Red Crescent action

Within this context, the national societies in the region seek to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable
populations in their respective countries through their extensive networks of branches and volunteers. Through
partnerships within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and with various international organizations, societies
implement a growing number of community-based disaster management and health programmes that address
underlying causes and risk factors. At the same time, local communities are being increasingly empowered to
play an active role and take eventual ownership of these programmes in order to ensure a longer term and more
sustainable impact.

However, the majority of national societies in the region are not fully self-reliant, and still need support to help
them build on existing success and strengthen the overall impact of their work on the lives of vulnerable people.
The needs of these national societies are broadly similar, but they face different challenges based on local and
regional conditions. Measures to strengthen societies’ capacity to scale-up programme delivery include
modernizing organizational structures, revision of statutes and professionalising human resource development
and in-country fundraising. Similarly, continuous skill development is needed in the areas of programme
management, reporting, finance and communications to ensure that programmes achieve sustainable results and
the high level of performance and accountability sought by the international community. It is also important that
national societies have the capacity to incorporate fully the Movement’s Fundamental Principles and humanitarian
values in their programming.

The International Federation zone office guides and works with its regional and country offices, as well as
partners within and outside the Movement, to determine who is best positioned to assist Asia Pacific national
societies’ capacity to carry out effective programming. Support will also be provided to help societies form
partnerships with government agencies and other organizations to raise resources for their work.

Priorities and current work with partners

The work of the International Federation in Asia Pacific is guided by the strategic aims set out in Strategy 2020.
Support has been provided to national societies to address regional concerns highlighted in the 2006 Singapore
Declaration in relation to disaster management, health and care, as well as resource mobilisation and capacity
building. The next Asia Pacific regional conference will be held in October 2010 in Jordan, and this will be an
important opportunity to address progress made against the commitments contained in the Singapore Declaration
and to agree on regional priorities for implementing Strategy 2020 in the next four years.

OCHA/PIC 2009. Review of the state of global pandemic preparedness. Geneva.

WHO 2009. Cumulative number of confirmed human cases of avian influenza A/(H5N1) reported to WHO. Accessed via:

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2009_09_24/en/index.html

WHO/SEARO 2005. Information document: Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases. Accessed via:

http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section1430/Section1439/Section1638/Section1889/Section1940_10353.htm

HelpAge International. Growing old in Asia. Accessed

http://www.helpage.org/Worldwide/AsiaPacific/GrowingoldinAsia

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Promoting strategic cooperation with all partners in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is a high priority in
the Asia Pacific zone. The following partners currently work with and support the zone office and programmes:
American Red Cross, Australian Red Cross, British Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, Finnish
Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross, New Zealand Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross, and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). External partners include the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, (ADPC) and UN International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

Secretariat programmes in 2010-2011

The 2010-11 Asia Pacific zone office programme plans build on the outcomes of the 2009-10 plan and will work to
offer well coordinated and practical support to national societies to achieve their individual as well as collectively
agreed targets.

Disaster Management

a) The purpose and components of the programme

Programme purpose

Asia Pacific national societies will provide timely assistance, and build resilience amongst communities to
prepare for and recover from disasters.

The disaster management programme budget is CHF 1,258,235 for 2010 and CHF 1,002,086 for 2011.

The programme is guided by the International Federation’s Global Agenda Goal 1 (reduce the number of deaths,
injuries and impact from disasters), disaster management (DM) policies, and the Global Alliance on Disaster Risk
Reduction (DRR).With a resolve to adopt a continuous improvement model, the programme will focus on building
community safety and resilience across the Asia Pacific zone. It will also strive towards achieving the Asia Pacific
Disaster Management Strategy and its goal to ‘deliver quality disaster management programming to significantly
reduce the impact of disasters in the Asia Pacific region.’

The DM team is comprised of technical delegates located at country, regional and zone levels. At the zone office,
the disaster management unit (DMU) provides oversight, coherence, linkage to global processes and quality
control of the services provided to national societies through the regional DM teams as its extensions.
Furthermore, the DMU directly engages at national level during disaster response providing coherent, decisive
and responsive support to national societies and the coordination of international assistance.

At the national level DM delegates work closely with their national society counterparts assisting in the planning
and implementation of activities and importantly supporting their development towards a Well Prepared National
Society (WPNS). The four regional DM teams and the zone DMU work as a single team spread out across Asia
Pacific responding to the needs of national societies. As a zone wide DM team the regions act as extensions of
the DMU in Kuala Lumpur providing support to national societies and country offices where necessary as well as
facilitating exchange, knowledge sharing and harmonisation of systems, methodologies and practices.

The zone DM programme focuses on three strategic objectives which are aligned to the global focus of the
International Federation for the advancement of disaster management planning, organizational preparedness and
community preparedness. This is further supported by a key component of networking and exchange across the
37 Asia Pacific national societies and external partners, enhanced by key humanitarian advocacy actions targeted
at the greater substantiation of the auxiliary role of Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies within their
national environments.

The programme will actively engage in Asia Pacific regional humanitarian and governmental networks. It will
advocate for a greater recognition of the inputs and space for national societies to scale up their disaster
response and risk reduction work meeting the changing nature of communities and their needs. Furthermore the
programme will guide national societies in the implementation of Strategy 2020 as well as drawing upon the
commitment to the priorities outlined in the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Millennium Development Goals.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Programme component 1: Disaster Management Planning

Outcome: National society mechanisms for the analysis of disaster risk and delivery of disaster management
assistance are strengthened.
Key activities:

Provide oversight and coordination for the completion of the WPNS phase III survey facilitated by the
regional DM teams in all Asia Pacific national societies.

- Analyse the humanitarian needs and capacities of national societies, drawing from international and

external information sources to support effective planning and prioritisation of services.

Support the regional and country offices in their assistance to the contingency/disaster response (national
societies, government, IASC) planning processes in five national societies through the implementation of
the standardised contingency planning training module.

Work collectively with regional offices for the completion of regional contingency/disaster response plans
across Asia Pacific.

Support the regional and country offices in their assistance to the development of operational alliances in
two national societies, and DM-related policies or strategic plans in three national societies.

Contribute and facilitate Asia Pacific national society inputs into the review process of the global DM Policy
and Principles and Rules for Disaster Relief.

Raise awareness of revised Red Cross Red Crescent global and zone DM policies, strategies (including
S2020) as well as disaster response tools and international DM standards.

Monitor progress of national society achievements against the Asia Pacific DM Strategy and International
Federation global DM strategies.

Build on and expand awareness and understanding within International Federation senior management,
national society technical, management and governance representatives of the global cluster system and
inter-agency standing committee (IASC).

Advocate for and adoption of the IDRL guidelines with national societies and their governments.

Promote the incorporation of key learnings identified in the 2009 Gender and DM forum into relevant
programme and operational contexts.

The DMU will support the regional and country teams in their disaster management planning activities with
national societies through the exchange of best practice, preparation of standard support materials and technical
inputs. In addition, the DMU will undertake an analysis of the humanitarian needs and capacities across the zone
to support national societies in their national and regional level planning. While the focus is on supporting national
level action, the DMU will raise awareness of global policies and strategies within national societies and
International Federation offices ensuring Asia Pacific national society DM actions are aligned with Movement
practices.

Programme component 2: Organizational Preparedness

Outcome: National society capacity to develop and maintain skilled human resources, financial and material
capacity, and effective systems and procedures for disaster management are supported.
Key activities:

Support the regional and country offices in their assistance to national societies for reviewing/developing
capacity and defining roles in national early warning systems in four national societies and wider National
Disaster Response Preparedness Mechanisms (NDRPM) in four national societies.

- Lead the development of guidance for national societies and International Federation offices in the

engagement with civil-military bodies across the zone.

Support the development of shelter capacity within national societies through the facilitation of one general
shelter training; one participatory assessment of safe shelter awareness pilot training; and the development
of a training video on the use of the Federation shelter kit to accompany the booklet developed in 2009.

Support the regional and country offices in their assistance to national societies in the development of water
and sanitation in emergency capacity through technical input into regional events; assisting national
societies that have existing water and sanitation emergency response unit (ERU) equipment to convert this
into disaster response kits; and the pre-positioning of additional water and sanitation disaster response kits
in accordance with the Asia Pacific water and sanitation strategy.

Lead the zone task force for regional disaster response teams (RDRT) and provide support and guidance
for standard tools, training, induction courses with technical focus (i.e. water and sanitation, shelter, health,
IT/telecommunications etc.), cross regional activities and overall integration into the global response system

In conjunction with the regional offices, develop a pool of trainers from partner national societies and
Federation offices who will support national society water and sanitation disaster response training at the

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

national level.

- Facilitate development of collaborative response effectiveness, preparedness to receive international

assistance and promote cooperation through key agreements such as memoranda of agreement (MOU)
and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Develop a zone wide disaster management capacity database, in collaboration with the zone organizational
development and other pertinent units, with national societies and secretariat offices.

Support the International Federation secretariat development of competency based disaster management
staff development and placement systems, which increase effectiveness of response, preparedness and
early recovery.

Organizational development in emergencies guidelines developed, and disseminated to be used in future
emergency response operations.

Facilitate the implementation of the Global Alliance on DRR in Asia Pacific with 10 additional national
societies joining the alliance; and provide support to the five existing national societies who are members of
the alliance implementing identified programmes for scaling up their DRR actions.

Support to national societies in building on their existing organizational preparedness rests primarily with country
and regional offices. In support, the DMU will provide assistance through specific technical inputs and leading
preparedness actions in emerging areas such as shelter and emergency water and sanitation response, pre-
disaster agreements, as well as cross regional tools. While the regional offices will be the first line of support to
national societies who are engaged in the Global Alliance on DRR, the DMU will continue to facilitate
implementation across the zone ensuring uniformity and consistency in support to national societies.

Programme component 3: Community Preparedness

Outcome: Capacity of national societies to support community preparedness and mitigation and adaptation
actions is strengthened and harmonized across Asia Pacific.
Key activities:

Support the regional and country offices in their assistance to national societies for the development of
community-based DRR proposals for scaling up national society actions.

Drawing on national society experiences, to support regional offices in enhancing understanding and
inclusion of historical and future hazard data (i.e. influence of climate change) into their VCA, education
and awareness, mitigation and adaptation actions.

Look to adapt our experiences and tools to meet the needs of newly forming ‘communities’ such as urban
populations and those which have arisen due to issues of migration and economic hardship.

Guide the incorporation of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, into DRR programming.

- Contribute towards the development of a sustainable programming approach for community level

programming together with the OD and health units.

Support regional and country offices through the provision of technical inputs, harmonisation and linkages
in the development and dissemination of guidelines, tools and manuals for application across Asia Pacific.

Building on the experiences of national societies across the zone in the field of community preparedness, the
DMU will focus on enhancing the quality of programming through the dissemination of best practice,
harmonisation of methodology and preparation of guidance in the area of incorporating gender and more
sustainable approaches. In addition to supporting national societies in the scaling up of programming, the DMU
will lead a process of adapting Red Cross Red Crescent experience from rural to urban communities, with the aim
of increasing our engagement in these newly forming communities.

Programme component 4: Disaster response

Outcome: National societies’ response operations effectively mitigate the loss of life and impact on
livelihoods from disasters and health emergencies through the leadership and rapid provision of disaster
management services.
Key activities:

Maintain a 24/7 disaster monitoring system linked to national societies and Federation offices.

Ensure effective information management for all disaster response operations undertaken by national
societies including the use of the disaster management information system (DMIS), information bulletins,
disaster relief emergency fund (DREF) bulletins, emergency appeals, and operations updates.

- Provide disaster management support and human resource surge capacity to initiate emergency

assessments, support emerging operations, bridge gaps in operation staffing and support ongoing

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

operations technical sector needs.

- Provide technical guidance for operations in relief, assessment, health in emergencies, water and

sanitation, shelter (including Emergency Shelter Clusters) and early recovery.

Coordination of disaster response across the zone through approved disaster response working modalities.

Review, and update as needed, the Asia Pacific disaster response working modalities and operation
protocols; and raise awareness and alignment through their dissemination.

Monitor the quality of the disaster response across the zone in line with the Principles and Rules for
Disaster Relief, Code of Conduct for the Red Cross Red Crescent and NGOs in disaster relief, Sphere and
other international standards.

Coordinate and ensure evaluations and reviews are conducted for all internationally supported disaster
response operations undertaken by Asia Pacific national societies.

The DMU will coordinate all international assistance provided to national societies in times of disaster response
through directly engaging with the country team to efficiently and effectively meet the humanitarian needs of
affected populations. In meeting this challenge the DMU will continue to strengthening its technical capacities,
promote quality and accountability in response planning and transition into recovery operations. Updated and
disseminated working modalities and operating procedures will reflect the ongoing development of capacity,
needs and consolidation of the zone DM team.

Programme component 5: Recovery

Outcome: National Society and International Federation representatives will have increased capacity to
effectively plan for and participate in recovery processes which support disaster affected communities.
Key activities:
x Provide recovery expertise to support national societies during disasters in developing emergency appeals,

needs assessments, planning, identifying key roles, implementing, reviewing and evaluating recovery
processes.

x Develop tools that support national societies to achieve a stronger understanding of their possible roles in

recovery processes.

x Raise awareness of recovery processes through knowledge sharing to reinforce the institutional

commitment for recovery programming.

x Expand knowledge and practice of recovery through providing relevant training within the zone.

x Further develop the workforce capabilities of Asia Pacific zone to be able to provide effective early recovery

services.

x Maximize integration of recovery programmes and ability to coordinate recovery activities within the

Movement through cross sector planning with OD, DRR, health, water and sanitation, psychosocial support,
and shelter.

x Further develop linkages, relationships and potential partnerships for mutual support in recovery processes.

Support the prior establishment of key relationships and partnerships between national societies and
relevant partner national societies, key government departments, private sector, and non-government
organizations etc.

x Maintain close technical coordination and collaboration with the Secretariat disaster response and early

recovery unit.

The ability of national societies to confidently commit to undertaking recovery processes is highly variable. They
require sound prior knowledge of communities through processes such as VCA etc, to be able to undertake timely
community assessment and needs analysis following a disaster. Knowledge, skills and competence to undertake
these tasks in a timely manner is pivotal for national societies to be able to commit to recovery activities. As such
the recovery component will focus on enhancing the awareness of the ‘relief to recovery’ concept through
incremental stages that support capacity development. This will include assisting national societies identify their
strengths, positioning themselves for potential recovery processes, and planning for recovery interventions.

Programme component 6: Coordination and Advocacy

Outcome: active engagement with Movement and external partners for the exchange and adoption of best
practices, peer learning, awareness and advocacy actions to benefit from our shared values, experiences and
capacities.
Key activities:

Development and dissemination, together with the regional offices, of 5 new technical guides and best
practice outlines per year through narrative and visual media on DM work.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Translate global shelter practical booklets and guidelines into 6 national languages.

Promote greater integration of health, volunteering and OD into regional disaster management programming
and emergency operations.

Facilitate an Asia Pacific wide national society DM workshop in preparation for the Asia Pacific regional
conference.

Strategic support for Asia Pacific regional networks and promotion of cross regional network lessons learnt
and best practices.

Provide guidance and support to national societies in their engagement with national platforms and promote
their role through the ISDR Asia Partnership.

Identify and develop joint programme activities with ICRC including mechanisms for greater cooperation in
disaster response and preparedness.

Continue the development of relationships with regional governmental bodies, UN agencies, International
NGOs and development banks in the area of DM.

Engage in joint ISDR missions for supporting the scaling up of DRR and UNDAC disaster preparedness
missions for enhancing national response preparedness.

Engage in the 4th Asian Ministerial Conference on DRR.

Recent years have seen an increase in the Red Cross Red Crescent advocacy efforts and engagement with
external partners, as many internal and external partners look to the Red Cross Red Crescent for leadership and
partnership. To facilitate greater understanding of our capacity and the reach of national societies there is a need
to develop greater awareness of DM actions internally and externally. This will be achieved through active
engagement with regional DM networks, the cross-regional ”matching”, identifying development needs with
capacities available, as well as facilitating discussions between partner national societies working in the region on
similar activities and formalise this through alliances.

In addition, the DMU will continue to engage actively with organizations such the UNDP, ESCAP, OCHA, and
ISDR; the European Union, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and government aid agencies; interagency
and governmental platforms such as IASC; ISDR Asia Partnership, Asian Ministerial Conference; and
organizations such as ADRC and ADPC. This will ensure that the region and national societies have strong links
with other actors in disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management.

Profile of Target Beneficiaries

The target beneficiaries of the programme are principally DM staff, members and volunteers in the national
societies and regional and country offices across the Asia Pacific Zone. In consultation with regional offices,
national society DM departments will receive support and technical input towards the development of their
capacity, preparedness, and overall risk reduction programming. Regional and country office DM representatives
will also be supported in enhancing programming, interpreting global policy, strategy and programmes. Overall
the entire zonal DM team will work towards the scaling up of the quality and the reach of national society DM
programming.

Potential Risks and Challenges

The Asia Pacific region is the most disaster-prone region on earth, accounting for on average over 40 per cent of
the world’s disasters annually. The type, scale and frequency of natural disasters across the region is increasing
and have varied impacts in each of the different sub-regions, due to geographical, demographical and socio-
economic status. In addition to the mega disasters, the region experiences high numbers of reoccurring and
smaller scale disaster events, all of which pose potentially negative impact on the ability to achieve the scope the
programme. In an effort to be better prepared for this inevitable situation the zonal DM team will draw on the ‘best
position recourse’ to tap assistance from the regional offices enabling the ongoing implementation of the
programme.

International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles

Programme purpose

The International Federation’s International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles Programme seeks to
reduce human vulnerability by promoting legal preparedness for disasters.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

In 2010-11, the International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL) programme will continue to
fulfil its mandate from the 30

International Conference to disseminate and promote the use of the guidelines for

the domestic facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance (“IDRL
Guidelines”), in order to reduce unnecessary restrictions, delays and expenses in international disaster relief
operations and to increase their quality, coordination and complementarity with domestic efforts. It will also assist
national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to build their capacity and knowledge of legal issues in disaster
management (both international and national) to enable them to provide more effective advice to their
governments, consistent with their humanitarian mandates and auxiliary roles. Funding for the Asia Pacific IDRL
programme is being sought through the global DM plan and budget 2010-2011.

Programme component 1: Technical assistance to governments

Outcome: Policy-makers understand and make use of the IDRL Guidelines to strengthen legal and policy
frameworks for disaster response.

In Asia Pacific, this will be achieved through continuing to undertake a number of IDRL technical assistance
projects which will advise interested governments on ways to enhance legal preparedness for international
disaster assistance and make optimal use of the IDRL Guidelines in their national contexts. The IDRL Asia Pacific
Unit will also contribute towards the development of an IDRL handbook and a disaster law course for policy-
makers.

Programme component 2: Training and capacity building

Outcome: Interested national societies and humanitarian partners are empowered to advocate for
strengthened legal frameworks for disaster response.

The IDRL Asia Pacific Unit will contribute towards the development of a capacity-building manual for national
societies, and will organize sub-regional legislative advocacy workshops for national societies. Additionally the
Unit will provide training on legal issues in disaster/health emergency management to national societies,
Federation personnel and humanitarian partners.

Programme component 3: Dissemination, advocacy and research

Outcome: The IDRL Guidelines are well known, partnerships are developed and the knowledge base of the
Movement on legal issues in disaster response is deepened.

Health and Care

a) The purpose and components of the programme

Programme purpose

National societies in Asia Pacific have strengthened capacity to deliver effective and sustainable health and
social care programmes that respond to national public health priorities and social needs.

The zone health and care programme budget for 2010 is CHF 1,567,865 and for 2011 is CHF 1,353,962.

The health and care programme in Asia Pacific zone is based on the strategic directions set by the International
Federation’s Global Agenda Goal 2 (reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public
health emergencies), global health and care policies and strategies, and the Singapore declaration. At the same
time, it will continue to be sensitive to pressing needs and priorities of each member national society, as well as
organisational priorities for the next decade as outlined by Strategy 2020.

The Asia Pacific health and care team is made of up health coordinators and technical delegates attached at
country, regional and zone offices but working as a one team to deliver strategic health programming support to
member national societies. To further advance this service, a new health and care unit is being established in
Kuala Lumpur at the zone office which will coordinate regional and country health teams supporting national
societies in Asia and the Pacific. The zone health team will:
x Ensure International Federation health and care policies and strategies are well-disseminated and understood

by Asia Pacific national societies.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

x Provide technical support and targeted capacity building efforts to ensure quality of national society health

programmes in the region.

x Support national societies in building partnerships and in advocacy with other organizations working in the

health sector in Asia Pacific.

The programme will focus on the following areas (details below).
x Public health in emergencies;

x Human pandemic preparedness;

x Water and sanitation/hygiene promotion;

x Coordination, partnerships and advocacy.

Programme component 1: Public health in emergencies

Outcome 1: Effective support to Asia Pacific national societies’ public health in emergencies.
Outcome 2: Increased capacity of national societies in responding to public health emergencies.

A strategic region for the International Federation considering its vulnerability to disasters and disease outbreaks,
including emerging and re-emerging infections, the public health in emergencies component will lead and
coordinate the further strengthening of preparedness and response capacity in tackling the public health needs
and gaps resulting from these events. This component will be led by the health and care coordinator who will work
closely with the zone disaster management unit and with regional and country health teams.

The programme, in further improving the Federation’s emergency health surge capacity, will work on the
identification, training and deployment of health experts as part of the RDRT/FACT, as well as in ensuring pre-
disaster arrangements are in place. It will also endeavour that Federation health ERU are better understood in an
effort to ensure improved and rational utilisation of these tools. It will actively work with DMU and emergency
response task forces to ensure that immediate and life-saving public health interventions are identified and
sufficiently reflected in appeals and updates.

The programme will also provide strategic frameworks that will guide national societies in the development of their
public health in emergencies programmes. It will also work with regional health teams and the disaster
management unit in the development and application of tools and guidelines that ensure national society
emergency health programmes are integrated with national society risk reduction and disaster preparedness
programmes. It will also promote the adaptation and use of the Federation’s ‘public health guide for emergencies’,
‘epidemic control for volunteers’ and other guidelines.

Programme component 2: Human pandemic preparedness (H2P)

Outcome 1: Technical and programme management capacity of national society staff, as well as key partners,
to lead and coordinate pandemic preparedness projects is strengthened.
Key activities:
1. Coach/mentor national society H2P coordinators and project staff on the key technical aspects of pandemic

influenza and the H2P project.

2. Conduct periodic visits to national societies with H2P projects to offer technical assistance in the

design/implementation of key components and to accompany them in the conduct of reviews.

3. Undertake a tailor-made training-workshop that addresses specific capacity gaps among H2P projects.
4. Maintain a pool of H2P resource persons who are willing to assist national societies in undertaking or

resolving particular issues in H2P programming.

5. Regularly compile, adapt and distribute to national society H2P coordinators and project staff key technical

resources, tools and guidelines for effective design and implementation of project components and
deliverables.

Outcome 2: Experience gained, and tools and guidelines developed through H2P projects are documented
and shared.
Key activities:
1. Contribute to the establishment and maintenance of H2P programme pages in existing Federation

communication platforms: the public website and FedNet.

2. Support national societies in the documentation of best practices and experience in the implementation of

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

3. the key components of the project.
4. Participate in regional/zonal networks in health, disaster management and organizational development to

disseminate H2P project experience and to promote integration/mainstreaming with existing/long-term
programmes.

5. Actively contribute in global programme evaluation in the first of half of 2010, and disseminate findings to

relevant stakeholders

6. Work with H2P partners and relevant networks/forums in Asia Pacific to promote community pandemic

preparedness, and to disseminate H2P experience, practices and products.

Outcome 3: H2P recognised as an important component of pandemic preparedness and response.
Key activities:

1. Further develop relationships with relevant governmental bodies, UN agencies, H2P partners and other

international organizations with strong interest in pandemic preparedness.

2. Participate in regional coordination mechanisms and partners’ forums organized by USAID, UNSIC,

UNOCHA and ASEAN, among others.

3. Actively participate in, and identify synergies with relevant regional initiatives that support national

governments in pandemic preparedness and response – such as the ASEAN assessment of multi-
sectoral pandemic preparedness and response.

As part of the Federation’s global influenza programme, the Asia Pacific pandemic preparedness programme
aims to build a chain of health and disaster management tools and practices as indispensable requirements to
generating a fully-prepared and deployable capacity of community first-responders during a pandemic influenza
outbreak. In Asia Pacific, the Red Cross societies of India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Vietnam have
accepted the challenge of carrying out pioneering one-year projects with specific objectives:
1. Develop response plans and mechanisms for the national society and civil society organizations.
2. Strengthen the capacity and competency of relevant staff and volunteers of the national society and civil

society organizations to carry out community-level pandemic preparedness activities.

3. Establish functioning coordination mechanisms at relevant levels with national, regional and international

stakeholders.

With the start of the influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, the national societies in Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Cambodia, Fiji, Mongolia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have started to implement mitigation and response-oriented
activities in vulnerable communities, following the recently-released ‘Responding to influenza pandemic (H1N1)
2009 – National societies’ resource kit’, ‘Your best defence is you’ global communication campaign, and other
tools developed through the H2P initiative (www.pandemicpreparedness.org).

Led by a zone influenza coordinator working with regional and country health teams, this programme aims to
provide targeted and focused support (but not exclusive) to the above-mentioned national societies to achieve
project objectives and deliverables through the following components: capacity strengthening, knowledge sharing
and coordination and representation. In its third year of implementation, this component will actively contribute in
the review of the global programme during the first half of 2010.

Programme component 3 : Water and sanitation/hygiene promotion

Outcome 1: Water and sanitation/hygiene promotion in disaster management: Asia Pacific national
society mechanisms improve for deploying water and sanitation equipment in emergency response
Key Activities:
1. Finalise the Asia Pacific water and sanitation/hygiene promotion strategy, including a review of the

current status of water and sanitation in emergency response for all national societies in Asia Pacific, to
provide recommendations on converting existing equipment to water and sanitation disaster response
kits as well as new pre-positioning of water and sanitation disaster response kits and training.

2. Review the water and sanitation in emergency response capacity for seven national societies in Asia

Pacific, with the view to providing recommendations on developing their capacity over a 5 year plan.

3. Assist with two regional RDRT water and sanitation specialised trainings for the Asia Pacific zone in

Southeast Asia and South Asia.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

4. Assist with national level water and sanitation specialised disaster response training in seven national

societies in Asia Pacific.

5.  Assist national societies to attend ERU and FACT trainings.
6.  Conduct one water and sanitation disaster response kit training of trainers in Kuala Lumpur.
7.  Raise awareness and understanding of the Federation tools for water and sanitation in emergency

response.

8. Assist Geneva to standardise training for water and sanitation in emergency response.

Outcome 2: Water and sanitation/hygiene promotion in develomental context: Asia Pacific national
societies improve their capacity to implement community-based water and sanitation / hygiene promotion
programmes
Key Activities:
1. Assist 7 national societies in Asia Pacific to develop or adopt a water and sanitation / hygiene promotion

policy and strategy.

2. Mapping of water and sanitation long-term community-based and global water and sanitation initiative

projects completed.

3. Assess and write global water and sanitation initiative project proposal in Myanmar, Pacific and South Asia

Region.

4.  Investigate funding opportunities for global water and sanitation initiative projects in Asia Pacific.
5.  1 PHAST training of trainers held at the zone level.
6.  1 software and sanitation technical workshop held at the zone level to discuss and review software tools,

community based health and first aid and water and sanitation integration and hygiene promotion in
emergencies.

7. Conduct visits to 12 Asia Pacific zone national societies.

Outcome 3: Coordination & Advocacy: Sharing adoption of best practice methodologies is achieved through
peer national society support, regional and zonal exchange and engagement with all Movement components in
Asia Pacific and external humanitarian organizations.
Key Activities:
1. Develop and disseminate 5 technical case studies and best practice outlines in narrative or visual form.
2. Conduct one zone water and sanitation / hygiene promotion workshop and water and sanitation / hygiene

promotion zonal partner meeting annually.

3. Conduct support visits to all Asia Pacific regional offices twice a year and Geneva Secretariat once a year

for annual global water and sanitation coordinators meeting.

Outcome 4: Quality and Accountability: Water and sanitation / hygiene promotion programmes conducted
by the Federation utilised approved project management tools
Key Activities:
1.  Develop standard water and sanitation logframe and indicators, in accordance with global guidelines.
2.  Review water and sanitation proposals.
3.  Ensure water and sanitation technical evaluations are conducted for all water and sanitation programmes

and develop plan.

4.  Conduct regular reviews of water and sanitation recovery programmes.
5.  Conduct water and sanitation lessons learned for tsunami programme.
6.  Conduct water and sanitation evaluations in Bangladesh and others as required.

A water,sanitation and hygiene promotion coordinator at the zone office in Kuala Lumpur, together with a regional
water, sanitation and hygiene promotion delegate in the Southeast Asia regional office in Bangkok, comprise the
zone team. Following a zonal workshop and partners’ meeting in August 2009, an Asia Pacific water and
sanitation / hygiene promotion strategy is being drawn up, linked to the global water and sanitation initiative.

The team will also coordinate support to national societies to utilize the water and sanitation emergency response
equipment available, as well as scale-up community-based long-term water and sanitation/hygiene promotion
programmes that contribute to the UN Millennium Development Goals and the Federation’s Global Agenda.

Programme component 4: Coordination, partnerships and advocacy

Outcome: Asia Pacific national societies’ health programmes are further improved through coordination,
partnerships and advocacy actions with relevant regional partners.
Key activities:

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

1. Promote/advocate for a national society programme approach in tackling health issues, and the greater

integration of disaster management, organisational development and volunteering into national society
health and social care programmes.

2. Provide strategic support for Asia Pacific regional health networks and promote cross-regional sharing of

lessons learnt and best practices.

3. Provide guidance and support to national societies in their engagement with national health authorities and

relevant in-country external partners, and promote their role through regional networks and partners.

4. Reinvigorate or develop new relationships with regional governmental bodies, UN agencies, international

NGOs and development banks in the area of health and social care.

All four regions of Asia Pacific have launched HIV programmes under the framework of the global alliance on HIV
in 2008. Support to national societies is provided by the four regional health coordinators, as well as a regional
HIV delegate in Southeast Asia.

Support to national societies in their community based first aid/community health work is provided by respective
health teams of the four regions, and through networks of Red Cross Red Crescent community based first aid
practitioners in the Asia Pacific region.

National societies and Federation health teams in different countries and regions have been working with different
sectors within national societies, as well as with Movement components and with non-Movement partners. The
programme will endeavour to consolidate these efforts at different levels and outline a strategic approach to
maximise their benefit to national society health programmes, as well as to communities which these programmes
intend to serve.

With Movement partners, the health and care team will capitalise on existing Red Cross Red Crescent health
networks and other sectoral networks, as well as partner forums, in profiling national society health programmes,
practices and experiences, as well as pressing needs of national societies in the different core health areas.

The programme will also enhance coordination and cooperation with regional coordination mechanisms in health,
such as the ASEAN in the area of pandemic preparedness and emerging infectious diseases, to clarify roles of
national societies addressing these public health issues. It will continue to engage with WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS,
OCHA, inter-regional forums such as ASEF, government aid agencies, and relevant NGO networks in the zone.
This is to ensure that Red Cross Red Crescent values, voice and experiences in key public health and social
issues are shared, and the necessary cooperation and synergies in health policy advocacy and formulation, as
well as in programming, are explored and maximised.

b) Profile of target beneficiaries

The Asia Pacific zone health and care programming will target national society staff and volunteers in the region
for skills training and capacity building. It will also work with the national societies, national governments and other
humanitarian organizations to ensure a good understanding of the role of the Red Cross Red Crescent in health.
The final beneficiaries are the individuals and communities in the Asia Pacific region who benefit from national
society health and care programmes.

c) Potential risks and challenges

Countries in Asia Pacific are diverse and continuously experiencing changes. These continue to pose enormous
challenges to the capacity of national societies in order to be abreast of these changes and be able to respond to
their impact to public health. National societies are also challenged by the need to match their capacity with the
growing demand for services in an environment where resources are becoming scarce and actors are increasing.

Sustaining national society capacity in health is a challenge due to high staff turnover and lack of organizational
mechanisms to retain qualified human resources. Investments in strengthening human resources are to be
carefully thought through and integrated in the broader organizational development effort.

Organizational Development

The 2010-11 plan builds on the outcomes of the 2009-2010 plan, and has been developed in full synergy with the
global secretariat’s organisational development (OD) department plan and its focus on new OD strategy
implementation and on youth, volunteer and leadership development.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

The Asia Pacific OD and Volunteering Unit will focus its efforts to achieve Strategy 2020’s “enabling action of
building strong national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies” with strategies that build national society led
centres of excellence and mutual support mechanisms; strengthened approaches to youth and volunteering
development work; measurable increases in sustainable resource mobilization; implementation of the new
harmonised OD approach for national society development in the Movement agreed in the Brisbane Forum of
December 2008; focussed tailor-made senior executive management coaching and mentoring leadership
development programmes offered to selected national society senior managers; and shared experiences and best
practices to strengthen integrated OD and volunteering development approaches in all core programmes to
achieve Strategy 2020’s objectives.

The unit will continue to strengthen the integrated work with other zone programmes and services, as well as with
all Movement components in the zone, to offer practical support to national societies to achieve their individual as
well as collective OD and capacity building targets expressed in the Asia Pacific Regional Conference in
Singapore in 2006 and anticipated from the next Regional Conference in 2010.

a) The purpose and components of the programme

Programme purpose

Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most pressing
situations of vulnerability

The zonal OD and volunteering development programme budget for 2010 is CHF 395,189 and CHF 354,748 for
2011.

The zone OD coordinator and volunteering development manager based in Kuala Lumpur will continue to work
with regional teams as one unified zonal team. The zonal team meets regularly to connect country and regional
level OD and volunteering work into one support plan to avoid duplication of technical, human and financial
resources, and to maximize best-positioned support and funding resources available to support local level work in
the 37 country environments of the zone.

The following programme components are included in all zone and regional OD team plans to ensure a consistent
and harmonized set of programme components against one common programme purpose which still allow for
customised support at national society level.

a) Organizational

development

Programme component 1: Tailor-made organizational development and capacity building
initiatives

Outcome: Organizational issues have been addressed in individual national societies through tailor-made
organizational development and capacity building initiatives.
Key activity areas:
x Manage a harmonized Movement approach to customised OD and volunteering support to national

societies by participating in OD delegate recruitment and selection processes, supplementing induction and
debriefing sessions, offering customised training to improve OD and volunteering practice, and organizing
meetings of the whole group of International Federation and other national societies, partner national
society and ICRC OD practitioners at key strategic moments.

x Implement the agreed “New OD approach for national society development” in four national societies per

year with a harmonized Movement plan.

x Update membership-driven OD and capacity building targets and ensure appropriate aligned support to

achieve the same in consultation with national society leadership forums across the zone.

x Ensure quality of applications to, and accountable implementation of work, supported by the Federation

Intensified Capacity Building (ICB), Strategic OD Support (SOS), and Empress Shoken funds with
measurable results in services to vulnerable people and contributions to global learning on strengthened
approaches to OD and capacity building.

x Support for three national society strategic and operational plans per year in line with Strategy 2020 with

harmonized Movement support plans.

x Support the Federation Integrity Policy implementation process in three national societies with Movement

support plans.

x Support legal base development processes with ICRC in two national societies (Myanmar and Bangladesh)

plus two national societies in formation (Tuvalu and Bhutan).

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

x Manage an outsourced senior executive coaching programme for five selected secretaries-general per

year using external executive coaching consultancies.

x Coordinate implementation and support with the zone communications unit and zone resource

mobilisation/planning monitoring evaluation and reporting (PMER) unit for an Asia Pacific Resource
Mobilization and Communications Forum in 2010, with follow up capacity building plans in 4 national
societies per year.

Programme component 2: Integration with health, disaster management, and principles and
values

Outcome 1: Increased integration of organizational development and capacity building aspects within health,
principles and values, and disaster management programmes.
Key activity areas:
x Implement the 2009 “OD in emergencies learning” into major relief and recovery operations through

guidelines and operational support in four major disasters per year.

x Integrate two modules on “Gender and DM” and “OD in emergencies” (to complement the “volunteering in

emergencies” module) into field assessment coordination team (FACT), emergency response unit (ERU),
regional disaster response team (RDRT) and national disaster response team (NDRT) training.

x Develop and share guidelines for strengthened integrated capacity building with zone health teams in

emergency and development contexts in three national societies per year.

x Identify and support with the zone IDRL unit, joint legal base strengthening and integrated IDRL advocacy

work to formulate most effective legal bases in two national societies per year.

x Ensure organizational development support for new national society strategic plans is followed up by

PMER support to develop operational plans with monitoring and evaluation, and quality and accountability
targets in three national societies per year.

Programme component 3: Information sharing and knowledge management

Outcome: Sharing of lessons learned, best practices, and skilled national society practitioners providing peer
national society support in organizational development and capacity building across all Movement components
in Asia Pacific.
Key activity areas
x Implement with zone human resources unit a zone-wide database of skilled national society peer

practitioners that provide mutual capacity building support between national societies and monitor this
human resource pool to identify more diverse candidates for international deployments within the
Federation.

x Facilitate 8 national society peer support missions per year.

x Produce third update of the national society-generated capacity building fact sheets and Asia Pacific

organizational development CD-ROM of best practice organizational development and capacity building
tools by the end of 2011.

x Continue to develop with zone communications and knowledge sharing unit user-friendly and web-enabled

knowledge sharing mechanisms to facilitate national society exchange of best practices.

x Develop with zone communications unit communications development training modules to improve national

society visibility and positioning within and outside the Movement linked to improved humanitarian
advocacy and increased resource mobilization in four national societies per year.

x Facilitate the finalization of a youth led Asia Pacific Youth Strategy to promote youth governance and

leadership networks and proposals for stronger youth involvement in services and Red Cross Red
Crescent governance to the Asia Pacific and Middle East Regional Conference in 2010 with follow up
action plans.

b) Volunteering Development

Programme component 1: Tailor-made initiatives to support national societies in their
volunteering development and management efforts.

Outcome: National societies have access to technical support (including peer-to-peer support) and resources
on volunteering development, and, are receiving consistent strategic support in volunteering development work.
Key activities:

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Annually update a zone baseline of national societies volunteering development progress.

x Tailor-made support to six national societies in developing and implementing plans for volunteering

development, taking into consideration: volunteer management systems, volunteering policies and legal base
issues.

Support national societies to recruit more diverse community-based volunteers.

Support three national societies to develop efficient volunteer profile recording systems.

Support three national societies to establish accident insurance coverage for volunteers.

x Support national societies and the International Federation to increase efforts towards the celebration and

recognition of the achievements of volunteers.

x Establish a peer-to-peer support function in line with the OD programme that delivers consistent strategic

support in volunteering development to two national societies to improve volunteer management capacity.

Programme component 2: Integration with health, disaster management and humanitarian
values on better management of volunteering in conflicts, emergencies and disasters.

Outcome: Integration of strengthened and sustainable volunteering practices within health, principles and
values and DM programmes in conflicts, emergencies and disasters, and development scenarios.
Key activities:
x

In collaboration with the OD programme, combine into one guideline “OD in emergencies” together with
“volunteering in emergencies”.

x Identify and capture key learning from recent emergency situations like China, Indonesia, Pakistan and

Myanmar; and conflict situations like in Afghanistan to improve local practices and disseminate to other
disaster response and recovery environments.

Incorporate agreed volunteering in emergencies standards in core disaster management training at zone,
regional and country levels.

Incorporate the standard module on general volunteering into various standard Red Cross Red Crescent
training such as IMPACT and RDRT.

x National disaster management emergency contingency and “health in emergencies” contingency plans

include a section on volunteering in emergencies. Guidelines on volunteer financial compensation have
been incorporated into all response and recovery operations.

Programme component 3: Information sharing and knowledge management to enhance
coordinated support to National Society volunteering development and promoting
volunteerism

Outcome: Volunteering development knowledge management and enhanced volunteerism environment.
Key activities:
x Common Movement understanding and approach on development of volunteering by all Movement

partners through incorporating standard volunteering sensitization into orientation courses.

Contribute to the development of a global information system that makes available relevant information on
volunteering development.

Support national societies in preparing for and engaging in the International Year of Volunteers 2001 + 10

Develop resources and examples of national societies engaging with promotion of volunteerism.

Programme component 4: Global volunteering

Outcome: Global volunteering development.
Key activities:
x Actively support, contribute to and take part in the International Federation’s collective (global)

volunteering development efforts.

x Actively support the revision process and implementation of the International Federation volunteering

policy.

Actively support development of tools for measuring impact of volunteers and volunteering development.

x Actively support development of a comprehensive training resource on supporting national society

volunteering development.

Actively support a project/study in understanding volunteerism in urban areas.

b) Profile of target beneficiaries

The zone OD and volunteering unit focuses its work on support of a range of stakeholders on request. These
include national societies of the Asia Pacific zone, International Federation regional and country offices, as well as
partner national societies and ICRC regional and country delegations. As part of the integrated approach to

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

ensure linkages between OD and health, disaster management, and principles and values programmes, support
is also given to other core programme delegates to achieve integrated outcomes at programming level.

Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers are at the heart of an effective humanitarian assistance for millions of
vulnerable people. The unit will continue to promote a harmonized approach to this with all Movement
components across the zone.

Other target groups are partner organizations and governments. In particular, this relates to establishing
volunteer-friendly environments in countries. The International Federation is currently working with partners such
as United Nations Volunteers to encourage and support national societies to work for the establishment and
adoption of legal frameworks that promote volunteerism.

c) Potential risks and challenges

Efforts have therefore been strengthened to work as a collective zone OD team with other regional OD teams to
deliver best-positioned support at country level wherever requests are made. The outcomes of the zone OD
mapping of national society targets has once again highlighted the need for new enhanced mechanisms of non-
delegate support such as national society peer practitioner and coaching models, as well as effective databases
of external consultants and resource persons with recognized track records in assisting national societies to
achieve excellence in specific technical fields.

2009 saw the diversification of the highly valued long-term partners to the Asia Pacific OD and volunteering
development programme who had up to now included the Swedish Red Cross, Australian Red Cross and
Japanese Red Cross. The Finnish Red Cross kindly extended some new financial support and the unit will also
continue to explore other innovative modalities of support such co-funding of zonal and global initiatives. One
example is the support it received from the secretariat’s Principles and Values Department in 2009 to host the
“Gender and DM” meeting which enabled 9 Asia Pacific national societies and four long-term strategic partners to
agree new strengthened approaches in operations into the future, as well as contributed to global learning and
new guidelines and policies on this issue.

Principles and Values

a) The purpose and components of the programme

Programme purpose

Global Agenda goal 4: Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for
diversity and human dignity.

The zonal principles and values programme budget for CHF 16,043 for 2010 and CHF 16,043 for 2011.

The Asia Pacific region is a region of great cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. It is also a disaster-prone
region, with wide socio-economic disparities between and within countries, while many countries are politically
unstable. A number of countries are experiencing armed conflicts due to ethnic, ideological and/or religious
differences. Discrimination, intolerance, exclusion, and violence form part of the lives of the majority of vulnerable
communities across the region.

But the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement stands for more. It remains a potential agent of change, influencing
behaviour in society, being a bridge maker, advocating for respect for human beings, and promoting non-
discrimination, mutual understanding, and lasting peace among all people. The task, however, is a daunting one.
Special efforts are needed to reduce discrimination, intolerance and social exclusion. National societies in the
region, which are well-respected and very much a part of their local communities, have a clear role to play to
reiterate the Fundamental Principles as a basis for change at the community level.

Increased attention will be allocated at zone level to enable more systematic collection of existing best practices
as an entry point to strengthening this dimension of programming work. This work will follow the three programme
guidance areas of the global principles and values priorities: (1) to document and promote best practices in
dissemination and advocacy work on humanitarian values, (2) integrated approaches to International Federation
principles and values in existing health and disaster management programmes, and (3) the identification of
specific programmes targeted at improving respect, dignity, and services provided to vulnerable groups who do
not always fall under the health and disaster management programmes.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Currently most of the work to promote principles and values is integrated within the International Federation and
national societies’ existing programming. For the health and care core programme, a key aspect will be the
implementation of awareness activities to reduce discrimination against people living with HIV in the region. In
disaster management, the focus will be on advocacy of the SPHERE Standards, the Humanitarian Charter and
Code of Conduct, and an initial exercise piloted by the zone OD and DM units to enhance the gender
perspectives of all future DM work that started in 2009. To widen the impact of these initiatives, the Asia Pacific
zone will support national societies in advocacy work with beneficiaries, Movement partners, the media and civil
society.

Programme component 2: Integration of humanitarian values and gender into operational
disaster management and health programming

Outcome 1: Further development of gender into programming
x Establish under the zone OD programme a zonal gender network of practitioners from national societies to

collect good practices and develop a strategic approach to mainstreaming gender perspectives in all
national societies’ programmes and institutional structures from 2009 onwards into 2010 and 2011.

x Disseminate global gender into programming guidelines and a checklist beginning with DM programmes.

x Form a pool of trainers in a position to coach other partner national societies seeking to enhance capacity.

Programme component 3: Anti-discrimination and violence prevention/reduction programmes

Outcome 1: Mapping of national society programmes which target discrimination, marginalization or
exclusion of communities falling outside traditional health and disaster management programme areas
x Promote more effective programmes aimed at prevention / response to discrimination / violence,

empowerment of vulnerable groups, and changing external environments that promote social cohesion and
sustainable lives for discriminated groups.

x Facilitate exchange of information and identification of good practices between national societies.

b) Profile of target audience and final beneficiaries

The secretariat’s principles and values department has produced and will be producing more global tools for use
by the secretariat’s zones, regional and country offices, and all national societies. The key target audiences will
be leaders and programme managers of national societies and Federation core programme delegates and
managers. Due to the nature of the integrated approach taken, the products and work of the principles and values
department are relevant for governance and management, OD, health, disaster management, humanitarian
diplomacy, and communications. The key recipients of the dissemination materials and shared best practices will
also include volunteers, members, and staff of the national societies of the zone.

Programme component 1: Promotion of tolerance and respect for diversity

Outcome 1: Enhancing understanding and sharing of best practices
x Collect and share best practices in innovative approaches to principles and values work, starting by

disseminating in 2010 the learning from the Asia Pacific version of the global principles and values baseline
survey conducted in 10 Asia Pacific national societies in 2009.

x Promote new policy and guideline developments in the national society networks at leadership meetings.

x Disseminate the global principles and values and gender e-newsletter highlighting recent Red Cross Red

Crescent national societies’, secretariat (Geneva and zonal) activities and materials, as well as external
developments.

Outcome 2: Capacity building in principles and values / gender of national societies staff and
volunteers
x Distribute global modules to improve existing dissemination and training of staff, volunteers, youth,

governance, building on, for example, the outputs on principles and values approaches within youth
focussed work derived from the Solferino global youth meeting in 2009.

x Ensure the International Federation and national societies first assimilate the Principles into their own

structure and practice these Principles by integrating humanitarian values into all their programmes and
services using orientation modules and best practice examples.

Outcome 3: Raising public awareness with a view to changing behaviour in society
x Disseminate materials, best practice guidelines and case studies generated globally and within the zone to

strengthen existing humanitarian values sensitization and campaign materials for use by national societies
building on the baseline survey outputs with 10 Asia Pacific national societies in late 2009.

Outcome 4: Advocacy and international representation
x Conduct humanitarian advocacy and communications work to influence decision makers to take into

consideration the interests of the vulnerable in conjunction with the humanitarian diplomacy new goals and
strategies in alignment with Strategy 2020 in 2010 onwards.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

The final beneficiaries of all principles and values programmes are the most vulnerable suffering from
discrimination, exclusion or violence, as well as the community at large when engaging in behavioural change.

c) Potential risks and challenges

The biggest challenge is the difficulty to secure appropriate and continuous funding for the principles and values
activities which are not covered by the core funds available. It is hoped to expand a donor base to support this
highly important aspect of programme work across such an identity and diversity sensitive zone, and to tap into
other programmes (disaster management/health/organizational development) for funding and integrated
approaches, especially initially with the pilot approach with emphasis on principles and values and gender
integration within disaster management contexts.

A second challenge is the lack of a principles and values zone focal point or coordinator. However, the Asia
Pacific zone has expressed clear commitments to undertake the work within existing resources as far as possible,
and to seek donor funding as a creative way of taking this work forwards in order to have adequate principles and
values representation in the field. Through working with networks of national societies, identified in close
collaboration with the zone, the global principles and values department will also be a key supporter to the Asia
Pacific zone work to ensure that its work continues to be relevant for the field and its vulnerable populations.

For many activities of this plan, it is difficult to measure the actual impact in the community simply in quantitative
terms and qualitative assessments are required. In order to be able to better measure impact, a performance
framework specifically designed for projects to reduce discrimination and violence in the community, as well as to
tackle gender inequalities will be set-up, including a range of indicators which should facilitate the monitoring.

Humanitarian Diplomacy

Programme purpose

Persuading decision makers and opinion leaders to act, at all times, in the interest of vulnerable people, and
with full respect for fundamental humanitarian principles.

The zone humanitarian diplomacy programme budget is CHF 258,610 for 2010 and CHF 258,610 for 2011.

Humanitarian Diplomacy (HD) is a means to enhance and further develop the work of national societies and the
International Federation secretariat when it comes to persuading decision makers and opinion leaders to act, at
all times, in the interest of vulnerable people, and with full respect for fundamental humanitarian principles. The
Federation Humanitarian Diplomacy Policy, which was adopted in May 2009 by the International Federation’s
governing board, is the overarching guiding policy document which recognizes that diplomacy involves all aspects
of its work and is exercised in different ways as required by the defined objectives; advocacy (public or silent),
negotiation, communication, formal agreements, fundraising and other measures.

A large number of national societies in Asia Pacific already conduct a wide range of recognizable and important
humanitarian diplomacy initiatives. There is a need to identify and map existing practices and achievements, but
also identify gaps and challenges, building on the initial information gathering exercise initiated in 2009. As a
Movement concern, collective analysis will also be done with colleagues from ICRC and national societies to
identify experienced and successful HD practices and practitioners within the network of the Asia Pacific zone.
The identified practitioners will form the basis of the future national society peer-to-peer support and could form
the shape of a HD forum, to develop next steps to initiate more conscious efforts and time to scale up activities
across the zone.

In the Asia Pacific zone the ambition is to further expand existing and to develop new relations with a number of
major international and regional organizations and key governments active in the humanitarian field. The
International Federation in Asia Pacific has established relations with global and regional organizations, and
governments working in the humanitarian field. Up to now these relations have too often been organized on an ad
hoc and reactive basis, and more sustainable and long-term partnerships have not been fully realized.

The goal is to ensure that agreements and partnerships with organizations and governments realise their fullest
operational potential, adding real value for national societies and the Federation secretariat, and their
programmes. It also supports the strengthening of national society capacities to use their auxiliary role for the
benefit of vulnerable people. HD improves overall humanitarian access, helps maintain humanitarian space for
national societies and the International Federation, and strengthens the ability of national societies to pursue their
own national objectives.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

The decision to engage in humanitarian diplomacy is not a choice, but a responsibility. It is a responsibility that
stems from the privileged access enjoyed by national societies as auxiliaries to the public authorities in the
humanitarian field as well as the international organization status that the International Federation has been
granted in 14 countries in Asia Pacific. It includes the ability to reach out to decision-makers and opinion leaders
relevant to all Federation programmes and those of national societies, and its base in fundamental humanitarian
principles ensures that independence, neutrality and impartiality are maintained at all times.

The zone office will be supporting national societies in the region with HD through Federation regional and
country offices and conduct the overall coordination within the secretariat on those related issues. For the coming
years, the immediate focus will be on several key areas outlined below as programme components.

Programme component 1: Humanitarian diplomacy capacity building

Outcome 1: Identify and map out existing HD setup and relationships in Asia Pacific, those between national
society and external actors (i.e. governments, international organizations etc.) and those between the
International Federation secretariat and external actors. Based on the identified gaps, develop an Asia Pacific
HD plan of action to address the identified needs to support national societies in achieving their main advocacy
goals, in full accordance with the objectives set up in the HD policy.
x Develop tools and disseminate whenever required, conduct training on HD for national societies and

secretariat staff when required. Directly support national societies working on HD related areas, in a given
country, through regional and country offices in close support of the secretariat in the zone office.

x Utilize the existing work on, for example, IDRL, as an important aspect of HD, and how the International

Federation could better address governments and conduct legislative advocacy.

Programme component 2: Humanitarian diplomacy response

Outcome: Support national societies in planning and organizing their own HD advocacy campaigns, or through
means of quiet diplomacy, address urgent humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities, particularly during
emergencies when opportunities for influence are heightened. As a core function of the secretariat, the zone
office will have a lead role in coordinating HD-related issues in Asia Pacific, supporting national society and
country teams through the regional offices, in close consultation with the HD division in Geneva, New York and
Brussels.

Programme component 3: Governments, international and regional organizations

Outcome: Support national societies and through the secretariat develop and further enhance already existing
cooperation with a number of regional institutions and regionally established international organizations such
as; Asia Development Bank (ADB), ASEAN, SAARC, Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), UNDP, OCHA, UNESCAP,
UNHCR, WHO and several others. These organizations are, together with governments in the region, key
policy and decision makers, and opinion leaders, and therefore it is of strategic importance for the national
societies with the support of the secretariat to influence these institutions for greater roles in safeguarding the
interests of vulnerable communities, and doing so in full respect of fundamental humanitarian principles.

Programme component 4: Academia, foundations, private sector, civil society

Outcome: Support national societies and through the secretariat establish or expand cooperation and
partnership with other opinion leaders in the region, such as; academic institutions, foundations, the private
sector and civil society institutions.
x To identify common denominators and make joint efforts persuading decision makers to act in the interests

of vulnerable people, in full respect of fundamental humanitarian principles.

Role of the Secretariat

a) Technical programme support

The set up of the Asia Pacific zone teams in each core programme and support service area is intended to enable
the International Federation secretariat to deliver on its strategic objectives in an efficient and cost-effective
manner across the entire Asia Pacific region.

The zone coordination budget for 2010 is CHF 387,265 and for 2011 the budget is CHF 387,265.

The primary focus is on ensuring that national societies at the country level benefit from well-planned and
coordinated International Federation support to scale up their activities in line with Strategy 2020. Zone units have

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

developed modalities of working which ensure that harmonized and collective planning at country, regional and
zone levels offer a range of national society “best-positioned support”. Where needed, this will involve
International Federation technical programme delegates working directly with individual national society
counterparts from either the country, regional or zonal level.

Promoting effective coordination with a range of partner society and ICRC colleagues is another critical function
and, depending on the situation, this may be best achieved at the country, regional or zone level. A similar
situation applies when it comes to networking with other international or regional humanitarian organizations and
other bodies. The above plans in this document outline how the respective zone units will lead and guide these
activities and ensure that clear lead responsibilities are assigned to the most appropriate group of resource
persons.

The section below outlines the key objectives and planned outcomes for each of the zone office units’ provision of
membership and support services:

Resource Mobilisation

A top priority for the Asia Pacific zone is to ensure that the International Federation-

supported programmes in Asia Pacific (annual plans and emergency appeals) are well-resourced. Efforts will be
made to increase and enhance partnerships within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and with external
organizations, providing increased resource mobilization opportunities. Support will be provided to national
societies to enhance their capacities in resource mobilisation, including the setting up of an Asia Pacific
fundraising network.

Planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting (PMER): Special attention is given to ensure that the
International Federation appeals, plans and reports meet required quality standards and are 100 percent
compliant in meeting all deadlines. In addition, coordination is provided across the zone through the regional and
country offices, to ensure a standardised approach to PMER, through dissemination of global tools and best
practice, so that the quality of Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes is enhanced through robust planning,
monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems.

Communications, Advocacy and Knowledge Sharing: Priority will be given to enhance Red Cross and Red
Crescent programme impact and effectiveness through expanded national society domestic visibility and
increased global International Federation brand identity. One of the main objectives will be to work towards
developing national societies and the International Federation as the leaders in providing accurate and timely
information to domestic and international press during major disasters. Efforts will be made to increase
programme awareness at the donor and beneficiary/end user level. Knowledge and experience will be expanded
at delegation and national society level in successful communications and media programme planning and
implementation in support of global and localized priorities. Efforts will be made to increase input to knowledge
sharing systems by Red Cross Red Crescent partners and increased usage of those systems by key
customers/audiences.

Security Management: Coordination of effective security processes and procedures that aim to further improve
the International Federation’s overall security management in the zone, regional and country offices, as well as
the national societies working or operating under the International Federation’s security umbrella will be a priority.
Timely and effective response and support to critical situations, including disasters will be ensured. Regional and
country offices in the zone will be supported to achieve the International Federation’s minimum security
requirements. Events and situations in the Asia Pacific zone are effectively monitored and analyzed.

Logistics Management: Efforts will continue to increase Red Cross Red Crescent logistics capacity in terms of
disaster preparedness, response and recovery through higher quality logistics services, including human
resources, systems, tools and procedures, in order to be able to provide adequate response and support to all
International Federation activities in the Asia Pacific zone. This will be achieved through development of
sustainable logistics networks across the zone, development of an adequate and well-functioning sub-regional
warehouse network and development of a comprehensive suppliers data base and regional framework
agreements (please refer to Global Logistics plan for details).

Finance Management: Professional and technical support will be provided to the International Federation offices
in improving the standard of financial management in the zone. Technical support to field finance staff in ensuring
timeliness and accuracy of monthly returns will be made available. Strong and regular monitoring will be carried
out to ensure compliance with financial procedures. Financial management information and support to technical
managers periodically and on an ad-hoc basis will be provided. Efforts will continue to raise the level of financial
awareness in the Asia Pacific zone and support the financial management of Asia Pacific operations that have no
International Federation presence.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Human Resources Management: Establishment and implementation of effective human resources systems and
procedures to ensure effective planning, development and deployment of good quality human resources will be a
zone priority. Special attention will be paid to promote diversity of staff and adequate staff welfare mechanisms.
Human resource zone processes and structures will be further streamlined to allow adequate access to human
resources at short notice for emergency relief operations. Efforts will be made to support national societies in the
zone to strengthen their human resource processes and structures.

Information Systems: The Information systems unit in the zone will work towards increasing information
technology and telecommunications capacity to provide adequate support to all Red Cross Red Crescent
activities, including disaster situations. Customized IT and telecoms service support will be provided for increased
productivity and efficiency of International Federation field secretariat offices and operations, and improved
response time for solving all information systems problems. Information sharing and knowledge management will
be a priority for sharing of lessons learned and best practices in providing peer support across Asia Pacific and
more efficient teamwork across the seven zones and Geneva to provide better services.

Administration: The zone administration unit ensures that the International Federation zone, regional and
country offices in Asia Pacific are well-administered in accordance with Federation policies and procedures.
Comprehensive administrative support and assistance is provided to the Asia Pacific zone, regional and country
offices, as well as partner national societies in the zone. Regular communication and coordination with Geneva
administration department is maintained on administrative matters/issues to improve overall administrative
performance within the International Federation.

b) Partnership development and coordination

The zone office will continue to promote more effective partnership approaches and advocate for longer term
strategic cooperation between national societies, partner national societies, and non-Movement partners in Asia
Pacific. These include new commitments to ensure host national society ownership over previously “parallel
programming”, partnership exit strategies developed at the beginning of programmes, and longer term partnership
commitments with clear capacity building components. Best practices will be documented and shared across the
zone to encourage similar processes elsewhere.

The strategic Partner National Society meeting hosted by the Asia Pacific zone in 2009 to engage long-term
partners in the Asia Pacific zone in programmatic visioning for the future will lead to continued commitments to
have such discussions at strategic intervals. This collective approach to harmonising Movement support to
national society development across the zone is an essential aspect of the Asia Pacific zone’s management’s
commitment to capture fresh innovative approaches that contribute to coordinated approaches to sustainable
capacity building.

Promoting gender equity and diversity

The Asia Pacific zone works to ensure that at all levels, and in all Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes in
Asia Pacific, that gender equity and diversity are promoted.

In an effort to increase ways of making programmes and personnel within the national societies and Federation
structures more diversity and gender sensitive, the zone organizational development and volunteering unit will
build on two specific initiatives undertaken in 2009. The first initiative will be to ensure systematic follow up with
the zone DM unit of the outputs and gender sensitisation strategies agreed at the national society forum on
gender in disaster management held in June 2009. One of the key outputs was the emergence of an Asia Pacific
zone gender network of experienced persons from national societies to support each other and mainstream
gender perspectives in all programmes and services, beginning with disaster management. Another key output
was the commitment to develop and disseminate a report of the forum, accompanied by a best practice guideline
on minimum standards to integrate gender and other diversity concerns into all disaster management
programmes (later to be extended and mainstreamed in health programmes as well). It is proposed for these
guidelines to be absorbed into all DM related training courses throughout 2010 and 2011.

The second initiative described in the Principles and Values section of this plan is to build on the findings of the
global Principles and Values baseline survey in 10 Asia Pacific national societies. The baseline survey conducted
between August and October 2009 will have: (1) documented best practices in dissemination and advocacy work
on humanitarian values, (2) identified integrated approaches to principles and values work within existing health
and DM programmes, and (3) identified specific programmes targeted for some societies which aim to improve
the respect, dignity, and services provided to vulnerable groups who do not always fall under the health and
disaster management programmes.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

Through the managed follow up to these two specific initiatives at zone level there will be an increase in the
understanding and practical application of gender, diversity and wider principles and values work, and there will
be measurably strengthened mechanisms to document, disseminate, and mainstream existing best practices in
all programmes across the zone in a more systematic and managed manner.

Quality, accountability and learning

The zone PMER and organizational development units, working together with regional and country offices, have
agreed to continue ongoing joint strategies to ensure that all support to national societies will have enhanced
approaches to monitoring, evaluation and quality components during 2010 and 2011. The zone organizational
development unit continues to offer support where requested by regional offices for national society strategic
planning development. The zone PMER unit will continue to complement this by promoting follow up operational
planning support using relevant programme planning approaches and tools.

A more strategic and systematic approach will be taken in reviews and evaluations across Asia Pacific zone. The
zone PMER unit has established a calendar of all reviews and evaluations being undertaken, a library of
evaluations / reviews, and is developing a database for sharing of lessons learnt.

There will be increased dissemination of the new learning gathered during 2009 on community involvement and
beneficiary participation in programme design, implementation and monitoring generated by both tsunami
recovery programming as well as other long-term development programmes (e.g. the social care programme of
Mongolia Red Cross). The zone organizational development, PMER, and other programme units such as the DM
Unit, will play active and coordinated roles to also document and disseminate best practices to guide national
societies in learning from new approaches to community development and feedback mechanisms which have
been pioneered in a number of country environments. A good example of this was the joint OD, Capacity Building
and DM CD Rom tool which collated all case studies on successful capacity building within DM programmes at
community and institutional levels. 2010 and 2011 will see the systematic roll out of these case studies to
influence better programme design approaches at community and local levels.

The zone organizational development, health, disaster management and PMER coordinators will work to
promote, with regional and country International Federation counterparts, the mainstreaming of improved local
level quality and accountability frameworks and indicators in supporting national society strategic and operational
planning processes. Advantage will continue to be taken to support national societies who are in the process of
mid-term reviews of existing strategic plans, or in the development of new strategic plans, to integrate these
quality and accountability perspectives in their programme development objectives.

The zone organizational development unit plans to disseminate the interesting learning and results from an
external AUSAID supported consultancy conducted in Indonesia in 2009 which aimed at identifying appropriate
indicators to measure the impact of work to achieve Global Agenda Goal 3. This learning will be linked to
improved ways of delivering similar objectives included in the new Strategy 2020 document as well, so that
national societies and Movement counterparts can benefit from this learning.

Asia Pacific (MAA50001), 2010 – 2011 Plan

How we work

The International Federation’s
activities are aligned with its Global
Agenda, which sets out four broad
goals to meet the Federation's
mission to "improve the lives of
vulnerable people by mobilizing the
power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

x Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

x Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases

and public health emergencies.

x Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red

Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of
vulnerability.

x Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and

promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

Contact information

For further information specifically related to this report, please contact:

International Federation Asia Pacific zone office in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia: fax + 60 3 2161 1210;
phone: +60 3 2161 0892
x Alistair Henley, head of zone, email:

alistair.henley@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 2161 0892,

x Jagan Chapagain, deputy head of zone, email:

jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 2161 0892

x Michael Annear, head of disaster management unit, email:

michael.annear@ifrc.org

phone +66 81 753 9598

x Victoria Bannon, IDRL programme coordinator, email:

victoria.bannon@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5764

x Al Panico, head of tsunami unit, email:

al.panico@ifrc.org

; phone: +60 3 9207 5700

x Jim Catampongan, avian and human influenza coordinator, email:

jim.catampongan@ifrc.org

;

phone +603-9207 5779

x John Gwynn, organizational development coordinator, email:

john.gwnn@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 92075760

x Jason Smith, communications manager, email:

jason.smith@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 92075780

x Penny Elghady, resource mobilization & PMER coordinator, email:

penny.elghady@ifrc.org

;

phone +60 3 9207 5775

x Peter Lundberg, external relations coordinator, email:

peter.lundberg@ifrc.org

; phone: +60 3 9207 5707

x Igor Dmitryuk, head of regional logistics unit, email:

igor.dmitryuk@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5750

x Umadevi Selvarajah, zone finance manager, email:

umadevi.selvarajah@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5740

x Letty Sparrow, human resource coordinator, email:

letty.sparrow@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5735

x Jonathan Chua, zone information systems manager, email:

jonathan.chua@ifrc.org

;

phone +60 3 9207 5733

x Iswana Ishak, zone administration manager, email:

iswana.ishak@ifrc.org

; phone: +60 3 9207 5710

x Please send pledges of funding to:

zonerm.asiapacific@ifrc.org

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