In brief 

 
Programme summary:

 

The second half of 2009 has been a very busy but productive period as the Asia Pacific zone office has 

responded to multiple disasters simultaneously, while carrying forward its aim to introduce several new 

initiatives designed to increase the impact of its work with Asia Pacific national societies. Many national 

societies across the zone have maintained a high level of programming as they continue to carry out 

comprehensive post-disaster recovery activities while others have started reviewing their development 

activities in line with the International Federation’s newly adopted Strategy 2020. 

 

 

Notable achievements in the this reporting period have included: 

•

  The direction and coordination of four emergency appeals in response to disasters that struck 

Philippines, Vietnam, Samoa and Indonesia within a ten-day period. 

•

  The consolidation of the reorganized Asia Pacific disaster management unit which was able to 

successfully carry out its lead role in the international coordination of these disasters.  

•

  Five national societies were supported to implement pandemic preparedness projects (Nepal, 

Indonesia, Philippines, Viet Nam and India), and seven mini-projects were approved (Afghanistan, 

Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Mongolia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).  

•

  Support was provided to several national societies to revise their strategic plans and review their 

legal base (including Bangladesh, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines and Sri Lanka). 

•

  Humanitarian diplomacy initiatives have included taking forward the emerging partnership with the 

Asian Development Bank through starting country level consultations in 7 countries; carrying out a 

review and dialogue with 12 national societies on their understanding and activities in humanitarian 

diplomacy; preparatory work for a potential partnership with the Association of South East Asian 

Nations (ASEAN). 

 

In Samoa, Red Cross volunteers and community members gather after the 

tsunami to map risks from disasters and health emergencies to help prepare 

for future events. 

Rob Few

/

International Federation

 

Asia Pacific  

 

 

Appeal No.  MAA50001 

 

31/12/2009 

 
 
This report covers the period 
01/07/2009 to 31/12/2009. 

 

 

 

 

 

2

•

  Extensive work profiling the activities of national societies and the International Federation in 

responding to disasters and in advance of the fifth year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 

2004. 

•

  As of the end of November, the total income for annual plans/appeals was CHF 45.2 million, 

representing a 106 per cent coverage to date.  

•

  The total income for all current/ongoing emergency appeals is CHF 474.8 million (and CHF 1.187 

million including the tsunami), which represents a 90 per cent coverage to date. 

•

  To support these field activities, a total of 634 standard and pledge-based narrative and financial 

reports have been quality controlled and published by the zone office up to end November, with 

none overdue. 

 

Financial situation

: 

The total 2009 budget for the zone office plan has been revised from CHF 998,889 

(USD 920,321 or EUR 655,129) to CHF 1,451,689 (USD 1,421,357 or EUR 960,588). Coverage is 111 per 

cent while expenditure from January to October 2009 was 54.1 per cent of the total 2009 budget (see 

attached financial report

). The financial report from January to December 2009 will be issued with the 2009 

annual report by April 2010.

 

 

No. of people we help: 

The Asia Pacific zone office provides support to the 37 national societies, four 

International Federation secretariat regional offices and 15 country offices in the Asia Pacific region, to help 

strengthen their capacity to deliver more extensive and effective humanitarian services to vulnerable 

groups.

 

 

Our partners: 

Within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, there is close cooperation with many 

partner national societies and with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supporting 

national societies throughout the Asia Pacific region. In addition, there are partnerships with many external 

organizations at all levels (community, national and regional levels), community-based, national and 

international organizations, UN, and other developmental agencies. 

 

The zone office would like to especially thank the following partner national societies which have 

contributed this year in cash or kind to the Asia Pacific zone appeal: Australian Red Cross/Australian 

government, British Red Cross/British government (DFID), Red Cross Society of China, Finnish Red 

Cross/Finnish government, Japanese Red Cross, New Zealand Red Cross, Norwegian Red 

Cross/Norwegian government, Spanish Red Cross and Swedish Red Cross/Swedish government.

 

 

Context 

 

 

On the geo-political level, this period witnessed a dramatic escalation of fighting and political tensions in 

Afghanistan and Pakistan. The much contested presidential elections in Afghanistan finally resulted in the 

confirmation of a president, but with the authority and credibility of his administration being severely called 

into question. In Pakistan, the military operations first in Swat and then in South Waziristan led to large 

numbers of internally displaced people fleeing into other areas of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and 

western Punjab, both east and west of the Indus River. It has also provoked a massive increase in the 

number of bombings and suicide attacks that caused large scale casualties in NWFP and Islamabad. 

 

There has been some development in the political situation in Myanmar, with a new approach being taken 

by the United States to enter into dialogue with the military government, with a similar initiative also being 

taken by the opposition leader. Similarly there has been an improvement in tensions on the Korean 

peninsular, symbolized by the resumption of family reunions after a break of two years.  

 

The end of the conflict in Sri Lanka led to large numbers of internally displaced persons being detained in 

camps due to the authorities’ continuing security concerns. However towards the end of the year, these 

concerns were abated and large numbers of displaced people were starting to return to their homes. In 

Indonesia, the later part of the year also witnessed three separate shooting incidents involving foreign 

humanitarian workers, including an attack on the German Red Cross representative in Banda Aceh who 

was shot but fortunately escaped serious injury.  

 

After a relatively low frequency and scale of disasters in the first half of the year, September and early 

October saw large-scale disasters striking the region in quick succession in Philippines (typhoons), Viet 

Nam (typhoons) Samoa (earthquake and tsunami) and Indonesia (earthquake in West Sumatra). 

 

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Emergency appeals were launched for the four disasters, seeking a total of CHF 37.7 million in total, to 

provide relief and recovery assistance to those affected.

 

 

Progress towards outcomes

 

 

Disaster Management Unit 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme 

 

Programme purpose 

Asia Pacific national societies will provide timely assistance, and build resilience among communities to 

prepare for and recover from disasters. 

 

The Asia Pacific disaster management 

programme has continued to provide support 

to national societies working with and through 

regional and country offices in supporting the 

various activities across disaster 

preparedness, disaster management planning, 

disaster risk reduction and disaster response 

and recovery.   Of importance has been the 

changes to the zone organizational structure 

during the reporting period. This has seen the 

joining of the Asia Pacific disaster 

management coordinator and the disaster 

management unit into a single disaster 

management unit under the management of 

the Asia Pacific zone’s director and head of 

operations.  In addition, a new health unit is 

being established, while the water and 

sanitation, and health-in-emergencies 

delegates from the previous disaster 

management unit will move across to this new unit. 

 

During the reporting period, Asia Pacific experienced a number of major disaster events that have required 

assistance from the unit. In particular at the end of September, within a period of five days it led the 

coordination of external support to four major humanitarian response operations in Indonesia, Philippines, 

Samoa and Viet Nam and minor operations in Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Sri 

Lanka and Tonga. 

 

While the focus of the zone disaster management programme is centred on Asia Pacific, the wider zone 

disaster management team has taken the lead in a number of processes, to support the wider Red Cross 

and Red Crescent disaster management capacity, including: 

•

  the development of a contingency planning learning package, disaster risk reduction and education 

guidelines; 

•

  the development of the first regional disaster response team (RDRT) information technology and 

telecommunications (IT&T) course; and 

•

  updating of the curriculum for the International Federation’s induction and specialized RDRT water 

and sanitation courses. 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Staff and volunteers from the Philippine National Red Cross distribute 

blankets and hygiene goods and assess the condition of the evacuation 

centres one month after typhoon Ondoy hit. In Calamba city alone, a 

total of 12,570 families and 61,057 persons were affected.

 Yoshi 

Shimizu/International Federation

 

 

4

Outcomes/Expected results 

 

Programme component 1 : Disaster preparedness
Outcome

: National society mechanisms for the efficient delivery of disaster management assistance are 

strengthened. 

 

Achievements

 

The provision of technical and advisory services in conjunction with regional and country level disaster 

management representatives has continued to support the development of disaster preparedness across 

Asia Pacific national societies.   

 

National level contingency planning was supported in East Asia where representatives from the unit worked 

closely with the DPRK Red Cross, and International Federation country- and regional-level representatives 

in clarifying response planning concepts and outlining knowledge developing contingency plans. The result 

of this process was the drafting of a national flood contingency plan for the DPRK Red Cross. The 

outcomes of this workshop will enable participants from the national society headquarters and the three 

branches in the most flood-prone areas to replicate the process at the provincial level supported by 

International Federation country and regional representatives. Building on this experience as well as 

incorporating the lessons from other contingency planning processes from countries such as Afghanistan, 

Cambodia, India, Lao, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka the unit has developed a contingency 

planning learning package. The learning package consists of key concepts, resource materials and 

guidance on appropriate processes and lessons learned in developing contingency plans.  Importantly this 

has been developed in consultation with the disaster management services department at the secretariat in 

Geneva and the ongoing review of the Disaster Response and Contingency Planning Guidelines. 

 

The unit has also contributed in the revision of the global Emergency Assessment Guideline training 

curriculum. The first draft was facilitated and tested in East Asia with the participation of Red Cross Society 

of China, DPRK Red Cross and Mongolian Red Cross. 

  

In support of effective preparedness planning, the enhancement of personnel response skills and capacity 

continued to strengthen through the Asia Pacific RDRT taskforce, in which the unit and representatives from 

the four regional offices were able to finalize the RDRT / Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) 

field handbook, the human resource/response database, the procurement of personal protective equipment 

and pre-positioning of RDRT kits in strategic locations across the zone. The curriculum for a specialized 

RDRT shelter course has been drafted in preparation for the first course to be conducted in 2010. These 

actions were undertaken in consultation with the International Federation’s FACT/RDRT senior officer and 

global RDRT taskforce. Furthermore, the Asia Pacific RDRT taskforce agreed on a common and standard 

approach across the zone which included common systems (criteria selection, evaluation of members 

during trainings, memorandums of understanding, standard operating procedures, performance appraisals, 

etc.) in the four regions; the use of a common database; and agreed on a process to develop and 

disseminate standard curriculum and the consolidation of these approaches into an Asia Pacific RDRT 

strategy which will be drafted for consultation with national societies in early 2010. 

 

Further to the development of the RDRT system, the unit together with the Malaysian Red Crescent hosted 

the first Asia Pacific zone relief Emergency Response Unit (ERU) training course. It was arranged jointly 

with the disaster management services department in Geneva and supported by the American, Belgian, 

French, Danish, Finnish, Netherlands and Japanese Red Cross societies, with both financial and human 

resources. 

 

In the area of shelter, a number of awareness raising activities in shelter have seen a greater recognition by 

national societies as a technical area for enhancement with the aim of actively supporting sheltering 

programming and safe shelter awareness. The unit, together with the wider zone disaster management 

team, will build on this positive motivation and support national societies to build shelter capacity in the 

coming period through specific country-based capacity building interventions. 

 

As the zone is in the process of establishing a separate health unit, a number of water and sanitation 

activities were supported through the unit in the second half of 2009.  These included the deployment of an 

International Federation representative from Sri Lanka to support Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation 

Transformation (PHAST) training for the Cyclone Sidr operation in Bangladesh. In addition, with support 

from the Australian, Japanese and New Zealand Red Cross societies, the unit hosted the first Asia Pacific 

 

5

Zone Water and Sanitation, and Hygiene Promotion Workshop attended by representatives from 21 Asia 

Pacific national societies, and water and sanitation delegates from Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement 

partners (ICRC, International Federation and partner national societies) supporting programmes bilaterally 

in Asia Pacific. Following the workshop, there was a meeting on water and sanitation, and hygiene 

promotion for the partners, where opportunities were discussed for improving coordination in support of 

national societies across the zone. Feedback from partners recommended annual meetings, with a zone-

level water and sanitation workshop every two years. Finally, the first water and sanitation disaster 

response kit ‘Training of Trainers’ also took place with 10 delegates from both partner national society and 

International Federation offices in the zone participating in the training, which used a trainer from Austrian 

Red Cross and was supported by the Finnish Red Cross. The training aims to ensure a pool of water and 

sanitation trainers are available to conduct water and sanitation emergency response trainings in the future 

at a national, regional and zonal level. 

 

Looking to the humanitarian trends across the Asia Pacific, the unit commissioned a study to analyse the 

food security and livelihoods situation across the zone, from which it is hoped that the unit, supported by 

regional and country disaster management representatives, will be well placed to initiate discussions and 

support national societies with regard to the food security and livelihood situation within their countries. 

 

Programme component 2 : Disaster risk reduction (DRR)
Outcome

: National society capacity to support community preparedness and mitigation is strengthened 

and harmonized across Asia Pacific. 

 

Achievements

 

The support to developing further a holistic approach to disaster management through a disaster risk 

reduction approach continued to be guided by the Framework for Community Safety and Resilience.  

Specifically, the unit supported various community-based activities across the zone through the 

implementation of the Global Alliance on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). This has included assisting the 

five initial priority countries of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Nepal and Tonga complete baseline 

assessments and five-year DRR plans. Through this experience the unit was able to modify the standard 

baseline and DRR plan templates and as such assist the national societies more effectively represent their 

DRR situation and future priorities. This process has also drawn from the experiences of the Americas who 

have led the development of indictors to effectively measure DRR progress. 

 

Building on internal experiences, the unit supported the Southeast Asia regional office in jointly hosting, with 

the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, an Asia Pacific Practitioners Workshop, where 31 national 

societies from across Asia Pacific and 29 external partners came together to exchange experiences, 

lessons and promote approaches on DRR. The workshop was a unique platform to consolidate the Red 

Cross Red Crescent approach to building community safety and resilience as well as to the long-term 

planning approach being promoted through the Global Alliance on DRR.  Meanwhile, the commitment to 

addressing community safety and resilience has also been taken up by the Indian Red Cross and 

Indonesian Red Cross societies who have joined the alliance and have completed the analysis of the DRR 

situation within their countries through the baseline assessment process. 

 

The unit, together with the Asia Pacific zone organizational development unit, facilitated a gender and 

disaster management workshop hosted by the Nepal Red Cross Society. The event was supported by 

representatives from the Geneva secretariat’s principles and values department, American Red Cross and 

Canadian Red Cross. The workshop drew on past experiences of 33 disaster management and gender 

practitioners from 12 national societies across Asia Pacific who have incorporated a gender approach into 

their disaster management activities, shedding light on the challenges faced across Asia Pacific in 

incorporating a gender perspective in response to disasters and longer-term programming. Discussions 

were focused on reviewing gender within the disaster management cycle, and analysing training tools for 

promoting gender sensitive approaches to disaster management programming. Based on discussions, a 

conceptual framework was developed to better integrate gender into disaster management programming.  

Furthermore the workshop formed part of a wider set of similar workshops reviewing gender issues in health 

and other technical areas (e.g. violence and diversity) facilitated by International Federation zone offices 

around the world during 2009-2010. The outputs of these activities will also feed into the development of the 

International Federation’s new Gender Policy, to be ready in 2010. 

In an effort to more systematically capture the experiences of Asia Pacific national societies in implementing 

community-based DRR programmes and identify the cost benefits of preparedness programmes the unit, in 

partnership with the Philippines National Red Cross and with support from the European Community 

 

6

Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) through the German Red Cross, undertook a study of the impact and cost 

effectiveness of three community-based disaster risk management programmes carried out in partnership 

with three national societies (the Danish, German and Spanish Red Cross societies) and three donors: 

Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Disaster Preparedness ECHO (DIPECHO) and the 

German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A draft cost-benefit analysis methodology was also piloted as a key 

feature of the assessment process. The outcomes of the study are currently being prepared for 

dissemination in written and audio visual formats, and have provided valuable information on community-

based DRR programming and the cost benefit of such activities not only for the Philippines context but also 

for other Asia Pacific national societies. 

 

Programme component 3 : Early recovery
Outcome

: The capacity and coordination of zone resources are strengthened to effectively reduce the 

impact of disasters and health emergencies.  Assistance to restore or improve pre-disaster living 

conditions is strengthened and the risk of future disasters is reduced.

 
Achievements

 

Recovery programming across Asia Pacific has picked up speed during the reporting period with a number 

of recovery programmes nearing completion, while others have been recently initiated.  In general, national 

societies, particularly those engaged in disaster response operations, are actively planning to address the 

disaster-affected communities’ recovery needs, and are incorporating newer approaches to recovery 

options including transitional shelter, livelihoods and cash programming within their appeals. 

 

During the reporting period a number of operations were supported in the development and ongoing 

implementation of their recovery programming.  In Pakistan, support was provided to the national society 

with regard to their humanitarian assistance for internally displaced people through undertaking an initial 

community needs assessment process that was the basis of an initial recovery plan of action. The unit then 

negotiated with British Red Cross for its assistance in providing livelihoods technical assistance to further 

define the initial plan of action and recovery assessment and analysis. The findings of the assessment 

provided key recommendations for broader recovery and livelihoods work that will be supported by the unit 

in the coming period.   

 

In China, the unit supported the Sichuan Earthquake operation with redesigning the livelihoods programme, 

taking into account local concerns around cash programming and facilitating a process to build a common 

understanding for establishing a new livelihoods programme. This involved developing strategic directions, 

programme modifications and new partnerships. Technical assistance has also been provided to 

Bangladesh Red Crescent with regard to their Cyclone Sidr and Aila operations. Specifically the unit 

supported the ongoing implementation with recommendations for the completion and transition of Sidr 

recovery programmes, as well as providing advice on potential further recovery interventions to assist those 

affected by Cyclone Aila if funding becomes available. 
The unit has facilitated a multi-partner (British, Japanese and Netherlands Red Cross societies) visit to 

conduct a preliminary review of the Cyclone Nargis recovery and accountability frameworks which focused 

on the shelter and livelihoods recovery programmes. The preliminary review particularly focused on the 

affected communities’ participation in their own recovery and how this has developed community capacities 

to prepare for future disasters. The outcomes of the review will be used to refine the recovery programme 

under the operation, and build a platform for future recovery programming in Myanmar as well as in the Asia 

Pacific zone. 
Most recently, recovery programming has been incorporated into the emergency appeals launched in 

Indonesia, Philippines, Samoa and Viet Nam.  Through inputs from the unit as well as recovery delegates 

within FACT teams, each operation has been supported in defining locally appropriate recovery 

interventions to assist the affected communities recover from each disaster event. 
 

In Indonesia and the Philippines, the national societies are focussing on developing their  transitional shelter 

programming as their primary recovery focus which is being integrated with other recovery programmes to 

ensure a holistic approach to supporting communities rebuild. In Samoa, recovery programming is focusing 

on livelihoods interventions primarily through cash programming, In Viet Nam the unit has worked closely 

with the American Red Cross and the International Federation country office to initiate a cash grant 

programme addressing livelihoods needs of those affected by Typhoon Ketsana and Parma.

 

 

 

7

Programme component 4: Disaster response
Outcome

: The capacity and coordination of zone response to disasters and health emergencies are 

strengthened to effectively mitigate the impact of disasters through rapid provision of assistance or 

intervention during and/or immediately after a disaster or health emergency. 

 
Achievements

 

The disaster management unit has experienced an increase in the need for external assistance to support 

national ssociety disaster response operations over the past six months. This has included the facilitation of 

technical support through the deployment of zone personnel, the mobilization of RDRT, FACT and ERU 

tools as well as International Federation and partner national society representatives from regional and 

country offices within Asia Pacific. The following table outlines the external support provided to various 

operations facilitated by the unit during the reporting period.   

 

 

*indicates facilitation by the disaster management unit 
DMU: disaster management unit; ZFU: zone finance unit; PMER: planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting; RLU: regional 
logistics unit 
EARO: East Asia regional office; PRP: Pacific regional office; PNS: partner national society; SARO: South Asia regional office; 
SEARO: South East Asia regional office 

 

Within the above outlined support the unit requested the first ever FACT team to support a disaster 

management unit. The team was mobilized as surge capacity to support the unit in its provision of 

specialized technical assistance to four major operations all of which commenced in a five-day period. The 

Asia Pacific FACT team was made up of technical expertise in operations management, relief, health, 

shelter and recovery and were deployed to four separate countries.  The success of this flexible use of the 

FACT tool has highlighted the need for the unit to review its surge capacity arrangements and by doing so 

identify and arrange within Asia Pacific national societies the access and possible deployment of technical 

expertise across its core areas. This will be incorporated into the 2010 plan. 

 

Programme component 5: Information sharing, knowledge management, coordination and 
cooperation  
Outcome

: Sharing of best practices through peer national society support and engagement with all 

Movement components and relevant external humanitarian organizations in Asia Pacific. 

 

Achievements

 

Regional platforms for networking and exchange were held in both South Asia and the Pacific.  These 

events provided valuable face-to-face time between disaster management representatives from national 

societies, International Federation and partner national societies from the respective regions and the unit.  

In South Asia, the Disaster Management Working Group (DMWG) reinforced its regional cooperation, 

knowledge sharing and joint capacity building in an effort to optimize the utilization of regional resources 

and collective contribution to build safer and resilient communities in the region. In the Pacific, the Disaster 

Management Forum and Emergency Management Core group provided an important opportunity for 

representatives from all Pacific national societies as well as partner national societies and the International 

Federation to come together and exchange recent programming lessons, review the amalgamation of the 

two regional forums as well as receive an update on regional and global trends. 

 

 

8

Drawing on the lessons from regional collaboration, the Community Based DRR Training Curriculum and 

Facilitators’ Guide developed by the South Asia DMWG have been disseminated to all seven zones and 

agreement has been made for these to be translated into Arabic and further field tested in the Middle East 

and North Africa zone. 

The unit participated in a joint mission with representatives from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, 

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN

 

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) and the UN Country Team in Nepal to develop a 

joint Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan for Nepal drawing upon the draft National Strategy for Disaster 

Risk Management (NSDRM). This is the first time that ISDR system partners have come together to lead a 

multi-stakeholder participatory process with the government of Nepal and civil society organizations to 

underline short- to medium-term DRR priorities that are both urgent and implementable within the current 

institutional and policy set-up of the country.  Based on the priorities laid out in the NSDRM and 

discussions, the ISDR partners and government agreed upon five flagship areas of focus for disaster risk 

management in Nepal.

 

 

The East Asia disaster management team and the unit attended the conference “Building a Local 

Government Alliance for DRR”. It focused on enhancing the awareness of DRR at the local level as cities of 

all sizes are subjected to rapid population growth, environmental degradation, and overall increased 

conditions of vulnerability. The leading role of local governments in implementing DRR actions at the local 

level was discussed, providing an opportunity to understand how the Red Cross and Red Crescent 

Movement can position itself as an effective partner in this process. 

 

The unit participated in the ISDR Asia Partnership meeting which focused on the follow-up to the second 

session of the global platform on DRR, the finalization of the Kuala Lumpur Action Plan (implementation 

plan for the 3rd Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction declaration) on DRR and the 

preparations for the 4th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.    
Further engagement with the UN system was undertaken where the unit’s recovery delegate participated in 

a UNDP event aimed at assisting UNDP and its key partners in planning for recovery training across Asia 

Pacific. The provided an opportunity to raise awareness on the role of Red Cross and Red Crescent in 

assisting disaster affected communities recovery from disasters. The unit will continue to engage in this 

initiative as a way for developing recovery capacity across the zone. 

 

The Civil Military Relations focal point from the unit attended the fourth Asia Pacific Conference on Military 

Assistance to Disaster Relief Operations (APC-MADRO) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The 

objective of APC-MADRO was to finalize the regional guidelines on military assistance to disaster relief 

operations for presentation and endorsements by countries at a final conference planned in 2011. The 

guidelines will then be the guiding document for military planners and commanders participating in civilian-

led disaster response operations within Asia Pacific. The ARF focused on preparedness activities, model 

agreements and development of future exercises for disaster response across Asia Pacific. 

 

The unit also presented the role and responsibility of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in disaster 

preparedness, response and recovery at a consultation event which was hosted by the governments of 

Australia and Singapore together with UNOCHA, the International Federation and Habitat for Humanity: the 

2nd Asia Pacific Housing Forum in Manila. On behalf of the unit, the operations manager from the Cyclone 

Nargis operation represented the Red Cross and Red Crescent at the Disaster Management Summit in 

Singapore. These events have provided an opportunity for the unit to continue the promotion of Red Cross 

and Red Crescent work globally and within the zone to UN agencies, donor governments and private 

organizations. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

International

 

Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles

 

(refer to global 

IDRL plan for details)

 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme 

 

Programme purpose 

The International Federation’s International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL) 

Programme seeks to reduce human vulnerability by promoting legal preparedness for disasters. 

 

The IDRL programme aims to improve legal preparedness for disasters and the effective application of 

existing international legal tools in disaster management. Through a field-focused structure, it acts in three 

main areas:   

 

•

 

cooperating with national societies to provide technical assistance to governments on implementing the 

guidelines, through country-level technical assistance projects and the development of a detailed 

handbook and model legislation; 

•

  building the capacity of national societies, International Federation staff and humanitarian partners to 

promote and use the guidelines and related international instruments through the finalization of an 

advocacy manual, training workshops and other materials; and  

•

  disseminating and promoting the IDRL guidelines and related instruments with governments, 

humanitarian partners, and inter-governmental organizations as well as fostering new collaborative 

research on domestic legislative issues in disaster management designed to strengthen the 

Movement’s approach to DRR in applicable law.   

 

IDRL activities in Asia-Pacific are carried out according to the global IDRL plan (available at 

www.ifrc.org/idrl

). A global two-year progress report on implementation of the Guidelines 

(

http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/idrl/IDRL-Progress-Report_en.pdf

) and a mid year report on global IDRL 

activities for 2009 http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/annual09/MAA0000409pu1.pdf ) are available online. 

 
Outcomes/Expected results

 

 

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. 

 

Achievements 

In Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam, three respective technical assistance projects have been completed 

entitled ‘Legal preparedness for responding to disasters and communicable disease emergencies’, with 

funding from the Asian Development Bank and AusAID and technical support from the World Health 

Organisation. Final high-level workshops were organized in Viet Nam on 31 July and Laos on 5 August to 

present findings from the studies and inputs received were incorporated to produce the final study reports 

(to be made available at 

http://www.ifrc.org/idrl

).  

 

Follow-up activities in each country are being arranged. In Cambodia, ongoing technical assistance will be 

provided for the development of new disaster management law and participation in consultation workshops. 

In Laos, UNDP is using the IDRL study as a basis for designing activities falling under a three-year project 

framework proposal for increasing the capacity of the government of Laos in Disaster Management (2010 – 

2012).  Meanwhile in Viet Nam, former IDRL legal researchers have been appointed by UNDP/Viet Nam 

goverment for a technical assistance project entitled “Strengthening institutional capacity for disaster risk 

management in Viet Nam, including climate change-related disasters”, a project which will also involve 

ongoing technical assistance from the IDRL programme. 

 

In Indonesia, the IDRL programme has given input into the government’s 

Draft Guidelines on the Role of 

the International Institutions and the International Non-Government Institutions

 which are being developed 

with UNOCHA following the adoption of Government Regulation No. 23 of 2008 on Participation of 

International Institutions and Foreign Non-Governmental Institutions in Disaster Management. 

 

In the South Asia region, plans for technical assistance projects have been progressing. One project is 

already underway in Nepal led by Nepal Red Cross, which is expected to finish in March 2010. In Pakistan 

and Afghanistan, initial terms of reference for a scoping study covering both countries were developed and 

 

10

a consultant identified, but due to the in-country situation, the project is now on hold until February 2010. In 

Afghanistan, an IDRL component has been included in the Afghan Red Crescent’s disaster management 

contingency planning process. 

 

East Asia also showed positive developments in IDRL. Mongolia’s National Emergency Management 

Authority has agreed to host a National IDRL Workshop, and work is underway to finalize terms of reference 

for a technical assistance project, expected to commence in 2010. 
 

Activities are also ongoing in the Pacific region. In Vanuatu, terms of references for a modified technical 

assistance project have been adapted to the Vanuatu context and presented to national authorities. 

Implementation will be done in partnership with the Vanuatu Red Cross Society and in close collaboration 

with the National Disaster Management Office, State Law Office and other national stakeholders. A national 

advocacy forum is scheduled for January. In Kiribati, approval for an initial legal research project has been 

received from Kiribati Red Cross with interest shown by the Office of the President.  

 

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 

 

Achievements 

The IDRL programme organized a successful two-day IDRL training workshop and one-day consultation 

workshop for Pacific national societies in Suva on 17-19 August 2009 attended by 13 national societies and 

some international partners. 

 

Various other capacity building activities were also undertaken in the Pacific region in partnership with 

different organizations. In Kiribati, the team provided facilitation of a Forum on Disaster Risk Management 

together with the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), with specific focus on legal 

preparedness on 29 July 2009. In Australia, the team organized an IDRL workshop during the Australasian 

Hazard Management Workshop, from 5 to 7 August 2009. 

 

A number of national societies have started collaborating with their governments to review their existing 

laws using the IDRL Guidelines. In Indonesia, the national society supported its national disaster 

management agency (BNPB) in hosting a workshop called ‘Application of International Disaster Response 

Law to Facilitate National Policy on International Humanitarian Assistance in Indonesia’. The workshop 

which was held from 27 to 28 July was also supported by the International Federation, ICRC and UNOCHA. 

 

Following the successful completion of the technical assistance projects in Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam, 

the Asian Development Bank requested the IDRL programme to organize a Mekong Regional Forum on 

‘Legal Preparedness & Regional Arrangements for Disaster & Communicable Disease Emergencies’. It was 

held in Phnom Penh on 15 and 16 October. Representatives from six governments and national societies 

joined other regional and international partners to discuss how to strengthen regional and national laws and 

procedures for cooperation in dealing with major emergencies. 

 

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. 

 

Achievements

 

During this reporting period, advocacy priorities were focussed on expanding partnership with various 

organizations. In the case of UN agencies, closer links were formed through collaboration during technical 

assistance projects in countries and through participation in various national and regional events. 

Representatives from the International Federation’s South Asia regional office and the zone disaster 

management unit introduced IDRL during meetings with the South Asian Association for Regional 

Cooperation (SAARC). 

 

A number of presentations and dissemination activities were undertaken in forums during this period of 

reporting, including a presentation on the IDRL Guidelines by Nepal Red Cross in a session on ‘Nepal 

Disaster Strategy & Legislation’ during US PACOM’s Tempest Express disaster civil/military exercise and 

also during the ‘International Conference on Dealing with Disasters’ in Kathmandu. The IDRL programme 

was also invited to present on legal preparedness for communicable disease emergencies during the 

Regional Interagency Pandemic Preparedness Forum, 1 October in Bangkok hosted by ADPC, funded by 

 

11

Nestlé and the Asian Development Bank. The IDRL delegate in the Pacific also made presentations during 

the Pacific Humanitarian Team Vanuatu Contingency Planning Workshop, 23 to 25 September in Port Vila 

Vanuatu. 

 

Between July and December 2009, the IDRL Guidelines have been translated into more national languages 

including Vietnamese, Japanese, Lao and Mongolian. There is also a significant increase in media attention 

on IDRL activities around the zone. 

 

Constraints or Challenges 

Some planned activities for the second half of 2009 were put on hold due to the multiple disaster events in 

the region as well as the commencement of some technical assistance projects due to the in-country 

situation as mentioned.  

 

Some challenges remain for initiating new technical assistance projects in the region, due in part to the 

need for greater in-country preparatory work and sensitization of key stakeholders.  In an effort to address 

this, the IDRL programme has developed a slightly modified approach to the original technical assistance 

model, involving some preliminary research and consultation in country prior to embarking on a full scale 

project. This has so far been received positively and will assist in initiating new projects in 2010.

 

 

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 care programmes that respond to national public health priorities.  

 

The Asia Pacific health programme is currently managed through the network of four regional health 

coordinators based in the four regional offices and the zone technical health delegates/coordinators. This 

will change soon with the recruitment of a zone health coordinator who will join the zone office in January 

2010. The coordinator will also lead the delivery of the public health in emergencies component of the zonal 

health programme. This will also lead to the creation of a health and care unit in the zone office which will 

consist of the zone health coordinator, the water, sanitation and hygiene promotion coordinator who is 

currently part of the zone’s disaster management unit, and the humanitarian pandemic preparedness 

coordinator. 

 

Outcomes/Expected results 

 

 

Programme component 1 :  Public health in emergencies

Outcome 1

:  Effective support to national societies public health activities in Asia Pacific. 

Outcome 2:

 

 

Increased capacity of national societies in responding to public health emergencies. 

 

Achievements 

For achievements on the public health in emergencies and water and sanitation components of this 

programme, please refer to zone’s disaster management unit update. 

 

Programme component 2 :  HIV/AIDS 
Outcome 1

:  Asia Pacific national societies have scaled up the quality and reach of their HIV/AIDS 

programming in line with the Federation’s HIV and related policies. 

Outcome 2:

 

 

Strong and active alliances are functioning in all four Asia Pacific regions as part of the 

Federation’s global alliance on HIV. 

 

Achievements 

Please refer to the East Asia, Pacific, South Asia and Southeast Asia regional health reports (in the 

respective regional programme updates) for details on the HIV/AIDS components. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12

Programme component 3 :  Community-based first aid (CBFA)/community health 
Outcome 1

:  Sharing of best practices through peer national society support and engagement with all 

Movement components and relevant external humanitarian organizations in Asia Pacific. 

Outcome 2:

 

 

Health activities of national societies are valued and recognized by the health authorities as 

contributing to national health strategy. 

 

Achievements 

Please refer to the East Asia, Pacific, South Asia and Southeast Asia regional health reports (in the 

respective regional programme updates) for details on the CBFA/community health components. 

 

Programme component 4 :  Avian and human influenza (AHI) preparedness
Outcome 1

: National societies implement health activities that enable vulnerable communities to prepare 

for and respond to the impact of avian and human influenza.

 

Achievements 

As the influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 continues to evolve globally, there are now 12 national societies in 

Asia Pacific participating in the Humanitarian Pandemic Preparedness (H2P) Programme which aims to 

assist humanitarian organizations and communities mitigate and respond to threats of influenza pandemic. 

These national societies are part of the larger number of societies which have been involved in the national 

response primarily through coordination with national influenza pandemic preparedness and response 

bodies, and prevention and mitigation communication through their networks of branches and volunteers. 

 

National societies participating in the programme fast-tracked the implementation of activities as soon as 

their project agreements were signed. Having established linkage with national coordination bodies, 

technical committees and relevant non-government, civil society and mass organizations, the 

implementation of the USAID-funded H2P projects of the Indonesian Red Cross (or Palang Merah 

Indonesia/PMI) and Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) in June, the Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC) in 

August, and the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) in November got underway. 

 

Considering the rapid spread of the influenza pandemic virus in the Philippines, PNRC accelerated the 

delivery of communication activities by adapting messages and materials developed by the H2P global 

communication working group and after consulting national authorities. It has also fast-tracked the training 

of master trainers involving partner NGOs and under the guidance of a technical committee, regional and 

provincial trainers’ trainings are currently undertaken with the target of training pools of trainers in all 74 

provinces of the country. A planning committee is now created to lead the formulation of the H2P pandemic 

mitigation and response plan, while a draft PNRC business continuity plan (BCP) is now under review. The 

VNRC, in partnership with CARE Viet Nam, have already completed the field testing of the adapted training 

curriculum for community responders and have started the training of provincial trainers. Planning 

committees for the development of a national H2P plan and multi-sector pandemic response plans in two 

provinces have been created, while the drafting of the response plans is underway. In Indonesia, after 

updating its project workplan, PMI has adapted and translated communication and training materials in 

consultation with national authorities and partners, and has organized workshops to sensitize partners on 

the inter-agency H2P country planning process. In India, IRCS has already recruited coordinators who are 

now being inducted into the project involving three states. 

 

The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), whose H2P project has already completed 12 months, has already 

completed the training of community leaders, health workers and female health volunteers in four project 

districts, including training in eight additional districts. Together with the H2P working group consisting of 

CARE, Save the Children and the Academy for Educational Development (AED), and national authorities 

and other partners, the draft H2P country plan has already been submitted for adoption while the 

formulation of district pandemic response plans are ongoing in four districts. Simulation exercises are being 

planned in the first quarter of 2010 to test these plans. An internal mid-term review conducted in November 

2009 revealed that project implementation is on track. 

 

The Red Cross/Red Crescent societies of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Mongolia, Pakistan and 

Sri Lanka have started in November 2009 the implementation of response-oriented projects to help mitigate 

influenza pandemic transmission in communities through training of community volunteers and 

communication activities. Through a grant from the British government Department for International 

Development (DFID) and guided by the UN urgent needs identification process (UNIP), these six-month 

projects will also enable national societies to develop pandemic business continuity plans and to sustain 

their engagement with national pandemic response coordination bodies. 

 

13

The International Federation zone office, working with regional and country offices, continued to provide 

dedicated support to national societies participating in the programme. In addition to the zone coordinator, 

project officers at the country offices in India, Indonesia and Viet Nam are in place to ensure technical, 

management and liaison support are available to these projects which are considered the biggest in the 

programme. In addition to direct technical advice, provision of tools, templates and materials, project 

coordinators and technical staff of national societies in India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Viet Nam 

convened in Kathmandu in August. They updated on the programme components and deliverables, and 

project management procedures; shared experiences in the implementation of the projects; and continued 

the development of a network of Red Cross and Red Crescent H2P practitioners in Asia Pacific. Project 

coordinators, including representatives from the national societies in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand, 

also attended a regional H2P conference (in Hanoi in September) organized by USAID and InterAction and 

hosted by VNRC, where H2P advocacy/communication, training, planning and policy tools and materials 

(which can be accessed via 

www.pandemicpreparedness.org

) were shared to government representatives, 

NGOs and civil society organizations, and relevant organizations from nine Asian countries.  

 

The zone office also continued to coordinate with regional partners and participate in regional mechanisms 

in an effort to identify synergies and to mainstream community preparedness. Efforts to reinforce country-

level implementation of the Call to Action statement 

(

http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/health/h1n1/Call_to_action.pdf

) were made with the UN System Influenza 

Coordination, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA and World Health 

Organization, while exchange of contacts with the UN High Commisioner for Refugees, International 

Organization for Migration and World Food Programme were made to facilitate in-country collaboration and 

partnerships. The zone also continued to contribute to the ASEAN Technical Working Group for Pandemic 

Preparedness and Response (ATWGPPR) and have cooperated with the Asia Europe Foundation’s (ASEF) 

Network on Public Health and the Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) on multi-

sector pandemic preparedness. 

 

The on-going preparedness and continuity planning of national societies and International Federation 

regional and country offices were also supported and coordinated. Periodic situation reports and updates 

were sent out to H1N1 focal persons, while the dissemination and utilisation of the 

‘Responding to the 

influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009: basic guidance to national societies’

 

(http://pandemicpreparedness.org/uploads/1_H1N1BasicGuidance_en_6153.zip) and the 

‘Your best 

defence is you’

 (

www.bestdefence.org

) global communication campaign were reinforced.  

 

Constraints or Challenges

 

While the H2P programme in the zone managed to adjust activities to respond to the evolving H1N1 

pandemic, capacities at various levels were further stretched. National societies participating in the 

programme also had to manage expectations of national authorities and partners for accelerated and 

expanded implementation of projects. National societies are utilizing existing coordination mechanisms and 

communication lines to level off expectations. 

 

The devastation caused by the earthquakes in Indonesia, and typhoons and floods in the Philippines and 

Vietnam required national societies to mobilize their resources resulting in delays in the implementation of 

projects in these countries. Emergency response and recovery setup have been established and project 

teams have resumed focus on project implementation. Further, the difficulty in recruiting qualified staff in 

Indonesia hindered PMI’s implementation; a project team is now in place and has updated the project 

workplan. 

 

While all national societies are anticipated to deliver project results, not all may be able to complete the 

integration of H2P tools and materials into community-based programmes in health and risk reduction as 

well as mainstream influenza pandemic preparedness and response in the overall organizational disaster 

management mechanisms. These national societies need additional support and resources to expand and 

deepen the coverage of their efforts, particularly as community pandemic preparedness continues to be 

under-invested and weak. The International Federation has been in discussion with USAID and DFID for 

potential continued cooperation after existing grants come to an end. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14

Organizational Development 

 

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 

 

Outcomes/Expected results 

 

i) 

Organizational development (OD) 

 

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

Organizational performance issues addressed in individual national societies through tailor-

made organizational development and capacity building initiatives

. 

 

Achievements 

Achievements against the expected outcomes have included country missions to Mongolian Red Cross and 

Red Cross Society of China on Intensified Capacity Building Fund support; joint missions with ICRC to 

Maldivian Red Crescent on preparations for its first General Assembly, to Myanmar on its legal base 

revision process, and a forthcoming mission to Bangladesh at the end of December for an orientation on the 

legal base revision process to the newly elected Governing Board and to all branch delegates at the annual 

general meeting; Fiji Red Cross on support to strategic planning; and Nepal Red Cross on an internal 

workshop on accountability and the Operational Alliance process on OD. 

 

Distance OD support was also given to Kiribati Red Cross on Intensified Capacity Building Fund and OD 

issues; DPRK Red Cross OD processes supported by the International Federation delegation; New Zealand 

Red Cross on Constitution revision and successful adoption; and to Philippine National Red Cross on 

preparations for a legal base revision support mission by the International Federation and ICRC Statutes 

Commission members and the Federation’s deputy secretary-general. 

 

The “New OD Strategy and Framework for National Society Development” has been presented in many 

forums aimed at improving harmonized Movement approaches to OD and capacity building at country 

levels. The Mongolian Red Cross, Papua New Guinea Red Cross and Bangladesh Red Crescent have 

agreed to pilot the new approach at country level with all partners, and appropriate meetings are being 

arranged for early 2010 in each country to launch the process with all partners present. An approach is yet 

to be made to the Timor-Leste Red Cross to ensure a pilot in the Southeast Asia region to complete zone-

wide pilots. Indicators for success in all pilots will include new numbers of vulnerable people reached with 

new or expanded services to ensure the local level impact of all OD and capacity building strategies. 

 

At a global level, several Asia Pacific OD and volunteering initiatives have been showcased to share 

knowledge across all zones. The Australian and Papua New Guinea national societies presented the “New 

OD approach” at the Federation’s General Assembly, while the Fiji Red Cross and Afghanistan Red 

Crescent societies presented their respective strategic planning processes as examples of global best 

practices, particularly leading to harmonized Movement plans as an innovative approach piloted in 

Afghanistan.  

 

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. 

Outcome 2: 

Increased integration with zone resource mobilization (RM) and planning monitoring 

evaluation and reporting (PMER). 

Outcome 3: 

Increased integration with zone human resources. 

Outcome 4: 

Increased integration with global secretariat principles and values department. 

Outcome 5: 

Increased integration with zone communications and knowledge sharing. 

Outcome 6:

 Increased integration with zone security. 

 

 
 

 

15

Achievements 

The work to develop a guideline on “OD in emergencies” with associated training modules for all FACT, 

ERU, RDRT and national disaster response team (NDRT) courses has progressed in Southeast Asia. 

Further innovative models of providing short-term OD consultancies to Samoa Red Cross leadership in the 

tsunami response and recovery programme, and to Indonesian Red Cross’s Padang branch for the West 

Sumatra earthquake operation, have resulted in new approaches to strengthening national society 

capacities while responding to disasters which will be included in the guidelines. The Asia Pacific 

volunteering manager’s work on volunteering in emergencies has also fed into the development of global 

guidelines launched in the second half of 2009 which were piloted in a South Asia regional OD delegates 

meeting with regional disaster management and health counterparts for use in preparedness for response 

work. 

 

The gender and disaster management forum was co-hosted between Nepal Red Cross, the Federation’s 

zone disaster management and OD Units, and the secretariat’s principles and values department from 

Geneva from 2 to 5 June in Kathmandu. A total of 14 men and 23 women participants from nine Asia Pacific 

national societies, four partner national societies, respective regional and country offices, and ICRC 

participated. The key deliverables of the meeting will be primarily to produce a document which will have a 

one- to two-page introduction to the topic and reference to the workshop; six to nine pages outlining 

gendered issues and practices to be considered in each component of the disaster management cycle – 

building of best practice and the workshop outcomes, five national society case studies, and an updated CD 

of the latest best practice materials for those wishing to strengthen gendered approaches in all aspects of 

the disaster management cycle. Work on these products has been initiated with the zone disaster 

management unit and will be completed by the end of January 2010. 

 

There have been many new discussions on improved pieces of collaborative work planned for 2010 which 

will include joint work with the zone humanitarian diplomacy (HD) coordinator and communications manager 

on capacity building work that leads to stronger national society HD capacities in response to Strategy 2020 

objectives; work with the zone resource mobilization/planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting (PMER) 

unit and communications coordinator on strengthening fundraising and communications peer support and 

an Asia Pacific handbook of best practices; and work with the IDRL team to try and harmonize legal base 

revision processes with new disaster management and/or Red Cross and Red Crescent laws in selected 

countries, based on successful experiences in DPRK for example. 

 

The unit also supported three regional International Federation core programme teams in South Asia, East 

Asia and the Pacific on sharing lessons learned on integrated programming approaches to enhance 

country-level practice and harmonized support to selected national societies. The new Asia Pacific OD and 

volunteering DVDs on “Community and Branch Development” and “Participatory Planning” have proved 

very popular in advocating for integrated programme approaches as they capture best practices from 

holistic programming available in the social care programme of the Mongolian Red Cross and community 

development programme of the Nepal Red Cross. A very wide range of integrated capacity building 

approaches have also been collated and disseminated in a new CD on “Building resilience and capacities” 

jointly produced by the zone disaster management and OD and volunteering units. Evidence of changed 

practices as a result of these lessons learned can be perceived in new community development 

programming in DPRK, the new integrated programming in branch expansion plans in Sri Lanka Red 

Cross’s newly launched 5-Year Development Plan, and also in the programmatic discussions in the newly 

formed Maldivian Red Crescent. 

 

Programme component 3:  Information sharing and knowledge management
Outcome:  

Sharing of best practices through peer national society support and engagement with all 

Movement components and relevant external humanitarian organizations in Asia Pacific

. 

 

Achievements 

The first meeting of the Asia Pacific zone fundraising and communications network steering group was held 

in Kuala Lumpur and was attended by New Zealand Red Cross (in the Chair), Fiji Red Cross, Singapore 

Red Cross, Nepal Red Cross and Hong Kong Branch of the Red Cross Society of China, with the Philippine 

National Red Cross feeding recommendations from a distance due to the typhoon response priorities. Plans 

were finalized for a first Asia Pacific network meeting of 18 national societies in April, hosted by New 

Zealand Red Cross. This meeting will utilize peer resource persons and external facilitators to strengthen 

knowledge sharing and best practices in areas such as corporate fundraising, internet giving, developing a 

communications plan, fundraising in emergencies, and using volunteers. The steering group has requested 

 

16

the Asia Pacific OD unit to initiate a collection of best practices from the initial 18 national societies who 

have signed up to participate in the April meeting to serve as resource material for the session in the forum 

on updating an Asia Pacific resource development handbook for all national societies. 

 

Active requests from all Movement components continue to ensure that the set of five DVDs on best 

practices in OD and capacity building work are disseminated and continue to enhance better practice. The 

DVD on “Volunteers and Youth” was shown at the Asia Pacific Youth gathering during the Solferino Global 

Youth Meeting and raised unanimous interest and motivation in youth delegates to take messages back to 

their national societies about strengthened roles of youth in service, leadership and governance roles. In 

total, 300 copies of the DVD on “Gender and Diversity” were circulated to all Movement components 

participating in the Council of Delegates to inspire new global approaches to gender and diversity work 

based on best practices in national societies of the Asia Pacific. The DVDs are also enjoying a large 

number of visits on the Federation’s YouTube site that reaches global audiences.  

 

The successful leadership of the three youth representatives from Asia Pacific who convened and ran the 

zone-wide consultation with the 78 youth delegates from 23 national societies who attended the Solferino 

Youth gathering has resulted in three specific outputs. The first was a report with recommendations of youth 

participants to formalize an Asia Pacific youth network facilitated by an expanded youth steering group 

representing all four regions of the zone. The second is for the steering group to work with a set of two 

regional youth coordinators from each of the four regions of the zone to plan and conduct an Asia Pacific 

youth summit in the first half of 2009. The third is for the youth summit to feed youth-led recommendations 

into the youth session of the next Asia Pacific and Middle East Regional Conference to be held in Amman in 

late 2010. The conference steering committee has confirmed a third of the discussion time will be devoted 

to youth-led voices and agendas. 

 

In recognition of the energetic youth led strategies in Asia Pacific, two members of the Asia Pacific youth 

network steering group have been invited to attend the Middle East Youth Meeting in December 2009 to 

ensure collaborative processes and harmonized agendas in advance of the youth sessions at the Asia 

Pacific and Middle East Regional Conference in 2010. 

 

ii) Volunteering Development  

Volunteering development is a major component of this programme. In line with Global Agenda goal 3, the 

volunteering component will strive to achieve the following outcome:  

 

“National societies demonstrate improvement in volunteering aspects in programmes and emergency 

operations that lead to better services provided to vulnerable people as well as higher rates of retention and 

satisfaction of volunteers.”

  

 
 

 

Programme component 1: Tailor-made initiatives.
Outcome: 

National societies have access to consistent strategic and technical support (including peer-to-

peer support) and resources on volunteering development work

. 

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

: Integration of volunteering within health, principles and values and disaster management 

programmes. 

Programme component 3: Information sharing and knowledge management
Outcome

: Volunteering development knowledge management. 

Programme component 4: Global volunteering
Outcome:

 Global volunteering development. 

 

Achievements 

The volunteering development section of the zone OD unit continued to provide specific country-based 

assistance to national societies within the four work dimensions on volunteering development, which are a) 

legal base; b) system and procedures; c) celebration of volunteerism; and d) volunteering in emergencies. 

 

Specific country-based technical assistance in areas of volunteering policy and manual revision or 

development, volunteer database guidance, capturing best practices and facilitating peer support were 

provided to Fiji Red Cross, Philippine National Red Cross, Sri Lanka Red Cross and Maldivian Red 

Crescent. A volunteering review was conducted for Fiji Red Cross upon the request of its director general 

for a better understanding of volunteers and their perspectives on the national society. The key findings and 

 

17

suggestions from this review have contributed to the development of its Strategic Planning Process for 2010 

to 2014. 

 

The successful application for the Federation’s Strategic OD Support Fund (SOS) by the Solomon Islands, 

Tonga and Samoan Red Cross societies, led to the request for technical support to develop plans and 

activities for each national society to strengthen their respective volunteering development practices.  

 

Apart from support to Asia Pacific national societies, the unit also offered technical support to partner 

national societies, International Federation and ICRC delegations to further strengthen their work with 

volunteers and their approaches to managing volunteers. One good example is the harmonized approach to 

working relations between Movement partners based in Afghanistan to find a common means to strengthen 

its national society’s volunteering policy, management practices and pool of volunteers. This support led to 

innovative and collaborative work between two zones where all Movement counterparts engaged in 

volunteering development within Afghanistan were invited to join a regional volunteering development 

workshop organized by the Middle East and North Africa zone OD unit together with the global volunteering 

unit in Geneva. 

 

From mid-year until November 2009, the volunteering development manager participated in a wide variety 

of meetings and conducted seven presentations for staff, members and volunteers of national societies, 

International Federation country offices, and ICRC staff. In support of improved global collaborative work 

the manager was asked to facilitate a session on volunteering challenges and identified solutions at the 

Global Lessons Learned Workshop on Community-Based Health and First Aid (CBHFA) in Action held in 

Jakarta, Indonesia. This forum was attended by over 40 participants from various national societies 

worldwide. 

 

Constraints or Challenges

 

The heightened OD and volunteering in emergencies support to the various disaster response and early 

recovery operations in the second half of 2009 proved to be extremely time consuming. This resulted in 

delays to the launch of the senior executive coaching support initiative for selected secretaries-general, and 

to the completion of OD and volunteering in emergencies training modules into future FACT, ERU, RDRT 

and NDRT trainings through the zone’s disaster management unit. Although discussions have been 

maintained with the zone’s communications manager and resource mobilization and PMER coordinator on 

developing capacity building tools and approaches for respective national society counterparts, the work will 

be initiated in early 2010. 

 

With the transition of the Federation’s regional OD delegate roles in the Pacific and South Asia into regional 

programme coordinators, increased time was spent by the unit to scale up technical assistance to 

respective national societies. The additional resource from the Red Cross Society of China staff on loan as 

OD delegate for 12 months will strengthen the team’s ability to meet the many support requests now being 

received. This trend has also increased the need to strengthen coordinated deployments of existing national 

society peer practitioners, and for International Federation and partner national society OD delegates 

across the zone to strengthen multi-country support roles in a measured set of time-bound negotiated 

initiatives. An example of this will be the deployment of the regional finance development delegate from 

either South Asia or Southeast Asia to support Kiribati Red Cross in the Pacific in January 2010. 

 

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.

 

 

Outcomes/Expected results

 

 

Programme component

 

1: Promotion of tolerance and respect for diversity

Outcome 1: 

Enhancing understanding and sharing of best practices.

Outcome 2: 

Capacity-building in principles and values/gender of national society staff and volunteers. 

Outcome 3: 

Raising public awareness with a view to changing behaviour in society.

 

Outcome 4: 

Advocacy and international representation.

 

18

Achievements 

 

 

One of the specific achievements is the completion and distribution of a best practices DVD on “Gender and 

Diversity”, which was part of a set of five thematic DVDs. It contains excellent examples of mainstreaming 

these perspectives in work which is seldom recognized across the Movement. The DVDs are being widely 

used in planning and partnership meetings and will reinforce strongly the cross-cutting themes of gender, 

social inclusion and anti-discrimination, and branch and volunteer development as holistic concepts. This 

DVD is also being uploaded on YouTube where it can be easily reached by a global audience. 

 

 

Achievements 

 

 

A meeting on gender and disaster management was co-hosted between Nepal Red Cross, the zone 

disaster management and OD units, and the secretariat’s principles and values department from Geneva in 

Kathmandu. A total of 14 men and 23 women participants from nine Asia Pacific national societies, four 

partner national societies, respective regional and country delegations, and ICRC shared knowledge and 

best practices from across a full spectrum of disaster management preparedness, response and recovery 

operations. The practical outputs include tools, checklists, and guidelines to ensure improved approaches to 

gender equity in disaster management work in all components and at all levels of the Movement in future. 

 

Achievements 

 

 

The unit is working with the global principles and values department on a quantitative baseline survey which 

will examine National Society standalone principles and values programming as well as its integration into 

operations. Ten national societies from Asia Pacific will be selected to contribute to a global sample, from 

which it aims to highlight the strong societies, as well as those seeking to be stronger, and also highlight the 

varying sizes and scales among them. The baseline survey questionnaire was managed by the zone OD 

unit, and is now completed. This initiative will serve as a baseline mechanism to identify national societies 

with good practices of social inclusion and anti-discrimination in their programming, while also recognize 

national societies that have identified communities not affected by health or disaster management 

programmes, yet are still vulnerable and marginalized. It is hoped that lessons can be learned from these 

good practices and applied into programming. 

 

 

Communications, Advocacy and Knowledge Sharing 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme 

 

Programme purpose 

To enhance Red Cross and Red Crescent programme impact and effectiveness through expanded 

national society domestic visibility and increased global International Federation brand identity. 

 

Outcomes/Expected results 
 

Programme component 1 : Enhanced emergency communications capability
Outcome: 

National societies and the International Federation are the leaders in providing accurate, timely 

information to domestic and international press during major disasters.

 
Achievements 

During the four major emergencies in the region in September and October, a “leaning forward” posture, 

quality one-to-one media relationships, rapid distribution of information to media and national societies, a 

clear set of key messages and the development of audio-visual tools all helped to generate nearly 700,000 

unique media website impressions in the ten days following the first emergency. The Everytime Disaster 

Response List now includes inputs from Pacific national societies and approximately 85 per cent of the 

remaining national societies across Asia Pacific. Standard communications language and planning 

Programme component

 

2:  Integration of humanitarian values and gender into operational disaster 

management and health programming 
Outcome 1:  

Further development of gender into programming.

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 who fall outside the traditional health and disaster management programme 

areas.

 

 

19

components have been developed and are included in all recent emergency appeals, with standard budgets 

that are scaled up and down depending on the magnitude of the emergency. The new emergency 

communications guidelines were followed with success during all recent emergencies and were rolled out to 

all International Federation communicators in South Asia, along with national societies communicators from 

India and Nepal, at meetings in Delhi in November. The International Federation and Thomson Reuters 

Foundation pilot-tested the Eligibility Information System (EIS) beneficiary communications plan in 

Indonesia in November and beneficiary communications strategies and funding were included in emergency 

appeals for both Indonesia and Samoa. 

 

Programme component 2: Integration of effective communications into programme and resource 
mobilization activity and planning  
Outcome 1: 

Increasingly successful programme awareness at the donor and beneficiary/end user level

. 

Outcome 2: 

Increasingly successful resource mobilization through enhanced communications, planning 

and implementation.

 

 

Achievements 

In the latter half of 2009, the disaster management unit and communications conducted significant joint 

planning, funding and implementation of priorities including the production of three documentary products 

on disaster risk reduction, gathering of photographs showing disaster management impacts across six 

national societies and improving the disaster management unit’s communications tools to donor audiences. 

Joint plans for capacity building in communications were developed and are being implemented across 

resource mobilization, organizational development, and a steering group of Asia Pacific national societies. 

The H2P and IDRL programmes both included significant communications-related initiatives in their annual 

programme plans, based on in-depth consultations with the communications unit, and those plans are being 

implemented, with the Asia Pacific implementation of the “Best Defense Is You” campaign serving as one 

example. All four regions dramatically improved their communications planning for 2010/2011, based on 

engagement with their respective communications resources and are aligned with the zonal 

communications strategy. 

 

 

Programme component 3: Communications capacity and team building at the zone, 
regional/country office and national society level 
Outcome: 

Expanded knowledge and experience at the zone, regional/country office and national society 

level in successful communications and media programme planning and implementation in support of 

global and localized priorities. 

Programme component 4: Increased knowledge sharing and capture of institutional successes 
from and between national societies and all other Movement components
Outcome: 

Increased input to knowledge sharing systems by Movement partners and increased usage of 

those systems by key customers/audiences. 

 

Achievements 

In the capacity building arena, Pacific national society leadership was media trained, supported in the 

development of communications tools for the Nairobi General Assembly, and provided with direct support 

engaging with key domestic media.

  C

ommunicators in South Asia have been media trained and provided 

with the knowledge and tools to train their respective offices and national societies at home.

 

Southeast Asia 

national societies have been trained in audio visual production, uploading and downloading resources from 

and to global sources. Asia Pacific-wide, guidance and training have been provided on the adoption and 

use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

 

In collaboration with resource mobilization and 

organizational development, the focus of capacity building initiatives has been on a resource 

mobilization/communications network and event to be held in New Zealand in early 2010. Significant 

communications planning has contributed to the work of a resource mobilization/communications steering 

group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

Resource Mobilization and Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and 

Reporting Unit 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme  

 

 

Purpose  

The performance and impact of Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes in Asia Pacific zone is 

enhanced through effective resource mobilization, planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. 

 

Outcomes/Expected results

 

 

Component 1: Resource Mobilization  
Purpose: 

Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes in Asia Pacific are well resourced.

 

Outcome 1:

 All Asia Pacific annual plans/appeals and emergency appeals are at least 80 per cent 

covered (aiming for 100 per cent coverage) and all funding is well managed. 

Outcome 2:

 Support Asia Pacific national societies to diversify their funding sources and secure long term 

funding. 

 

Achievements 

The zone RM/PMER unit has continued to provide coordination of resource mobilization for all the 

International Federation’s annual plans/appeals and emergency appeals in Asia Pacific. As of the end of 

November, the total income for all the annual plans/appeals was CHF 45.2 million, representing a coverage 

of 106 per cent of all annual plans/appeals. The total income for all current/ active emergency appeals was 

CHF 474.8 million, and CHF 1,187 million including the tsunami; with an overall coverage of 90 per cent. 

Targets of 80 coverage have been met, and a total of 321 pledges of funding were received and processed 

by the unit in the period January-November 2009. 

 

Working together with the zone OD unit and zone communications unit, support has been provided for a 

membership-led Asia Pacific Fundraising Network forum to be hosted by New Zealand Red Cross in April 

2010 (for more details see OD section of this report). The unit has also worked closely with the external 

relations coordinator on the development of a new partnership with the Asian Development Bank.  

 

Component 2: Planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting 
Outcome 1:

 Asia Pacific International Federation appeals, plans and reports meet required quality 

standards, and are 100 per cent compliant in meeting all deadlines. 

Outcome 2:

 Quality of Asia Pacific Red Cross Red Crescent programmes is enhanced through robust 

planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems. 

 

Achievements 

  

From January to November 2009, the unit finalized and validated a total of 495 reports/plans/appeals. 

During this period, the zone RM/PMER unit and zone finance unit together issued a total of 634 narrative 

and financial reports. Throughout this reporting period July-November, the unit has succeeded in achieving 

100 per cent compliance in meeting all reporting deadlines every month, with no reports overdue (the only 

zone to have achieved this). The unit was responsible for the finalization of all 2010-11 plans for Asia 

Pacific, and also provided support in reporting in the disasters which struck Asia Pacific in 

September/October/November, providing three staff members to undertake emergency reporting in West 

Sumatra, Indonesia during this period, and one member of staff to assist in reporting in Viet Nam. 

 

 

In capacity building in planning monitoring evaluation and reporting (PMER), two PMER training workshops 

were organized by the unit, the first held in Kuala Lumpur in early November, and the second for South Asia 

held in the Maldives in early December. The workshops were primarily for International Federation staff, 

although some national society representatives attended the South Asia workshop. In 2010 it is planned to 

establish a pool of PMER resource persons to assist Asia Pacific national societies in PMER work, to further 

develop PMER tools to share with national societies, and to do more to disseminate best practice in PMER. 

 

 
 

 

21

External Relations 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme 

 

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. 

 

Outcomes/Expected results

 

 

Programme component 1: Humanitarian diplomacy (HD) capacity building  
Outcome: 

Identify and map out existing HD setup and relationships in Asia Pacific, those between 

national societies and external actors and those between the Secretariat and external actors. 

Programme component 2:  Humanitarian diplomacy response  
Outcome: 

Support national societies in planning and organising their own HD advocacy campaigns, or 

through means of quiet diplomacy address urgent humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities identified 

by the national societies or the secretariat in the zone or by headquarters in Geneva.

 

Programme component 3: Governments, international and regional organizations 
Outcome: 

Support national societies and through the secretariat develop and enhance existing 

cooperation with regional institutions and regionally established international organizations.

 

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, to identify common denominators and make joint 

efforts persuading decision makers to act, at all times, in the interests of vulnerable people, in full respect 

for fundamental humanitarian principles.

 

A concept paper on humanitarian diplomacy training was developed and circulated for comments 

throughout the zone. The aim is a targeted humanitarian diplomacy training programme for the Red Cross 

and Red Crescent including Federation secretariat staff. A possible partnership between the e-learning non-

profit organization DiploFoundation in Malta/Geneva and the International Federation is being considered. 

During November a meeting took place in New Delhi between the International Federation and a senior 

fellow of DiploFoundation, to discuss various possibilities and ways forward. The feedback so far is very 

encouraging, including several positive comments on the concept paper from the Republic of Korea, New 

Zealand, Japanese and Indian Red Cross societies. 

 

The external relations coordinator undertook an advocacy mission on humanitarian diplomacy in India, 

meeting representatives from the International Federation’s South Asia regional office and India country 

office, ICRC, the Indian Red Cross, partner national societies, government and NGOs. It was a good 

opportunity to discuss the positioning of the Red Cross Red Crescent in India and South Asia as a whole, 

and drew positive interest and reactions from all participants. 

 

A joint, 

ad hoc

, collaboration between the external relations unit and the communications unit has been 

setup through a project called ‘HD-stories’. This small project is about collecting experiences from various 

parts of the zone to give ‘real examples’ of HD in action. The purpose is to further help implement the HD 

policy by giving ‘real examples’ of HD work taking place in the zone. So far the external relations unit has 

identified three cases which the communications unit are working on; China, DPRK and Nepal, where the 

communications managers in both regions are currently developing the identified stories for publication and 

sharing among national societies. More national societies are being identified and more stories are 

expected to evolve within this project over time. 

 

The unit finalised in November a concept paper on International Federation-ASEAN relations in coordination 

with the zone office’s disaster management, H2P and IDRL units, to facilitate a discussion with the 

Southeast Asia leadership at the General Assembly in Nairobi on how to best approach ASEAN. 

Discussions are also ongoing with the International Federation’s Southeast Asia regional office on how HD 

could be better addressed in the Southeast Asian context. The regional office in Bangkok prepared a draft 

proposal which incorporates HD into its setup as a main function on top of existing mechanisms and roles. 

 

The Asian Development Bank – International Federation country consultation process is moving forward 

and a number of preliminary consultations have taken place in Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and 

Tajikistan while meetings are scheduled for Nepal, Pakistan and Kirgizstan later in 2009 or early next year. 

Preparations for a broader consultation meeting are under way and a meeting is planned for the end of 

 

22

January 2010 to take stock on the country consultations process and see how the partnership can best be 

brought forward.

 

 

Regional Logistics Unit 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme 

 

Programme purpose 

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. 

 

 

The budget of the regional logistics unit (RLU) is mainly covered by the cost recovery mechanism, and a 

small part of the budget is covered by the core budget. For further information, please also see the Global 

Logistics Programme plan. 

 

Outcomes/Expected results

 

 

Programme component 1:  Logistics network  

Outcome: 

Development of sustainable logistics networks across the region. 

 
Achievements 

 

 

The second half of 2009 has been very motivating for the unit. It has seen the continuation of work started 

in 2008 and earlier this year on the development of logistics capacity within specific Asia Pacific national 

societies. Since the addition of two short-term trainee logistics delegates to the team, several logistics 

workshops were conducted – a basic logistics workshop In Afghanistan in October, the annual Kuala 

Lumpur logistics workshop conducted in early November and a general logistics workshop for the Viet Nam 

Red Cross in December. 

 
A number of initiatives have continued with selected national societies in terms of longer-term logistics 

strategies and capacity building which saw the facilitation of two meetings with the Indonesian Red Cross 

and Thai Red Cross to discuss, brainstorm and agree on longer-term logistics strategies for these societies. 

This work will continue into the foreseeable future and early work has started with additional national 

societies on similar initiatives such as with Timor-Leste Red Cross where a logistics assessment was 

conducted in late November. 

 
Programme component 2:  Sub-regional warehouse network 

Outcome:

 Development of an adequate and well-functioning sub-regional warehouse network. 

 
Achievements 

 

 

Work is still ongoing in terms of developing sub-regional warehouse capacity. The sub-regional study to be 

arranged by the logistics and resource mobilization department in Geneva has now began with results and 

proposals due in early 2010. 
The Kuala Lumpur regional logistics unit’s existing warehouse continues to expand its capacity and during 

the second half of 2009 added stock for the German Red Cross. Discussions have also been finalized with 

the ICRC who will also preposition stock in the warehouse beginning late December. In addition discussions 

continue with several other national societies interested to pre-position stock around the region. 

 

Utilizing the experiences gained from previous operations in 2008, during October 2009 the unit provided 

support to four simultaneous emergency operations in the Philippines, Indonesia, Samoa and Viet Nam. 

2,500 cbm of relief items were dispatched through the warehouse to these operations including 

procurement, loading and handling of 10 chartered aircraft, 5 commercial air shipments and transport 

containers. This was a major undertaking but was made possible with the support of the global International 

Federation logistics setup. 

 

 

 

23

Programme component 3:  Suppliers data base and regional framework agreements 

Outcome:

 Development of a comprehensive suppliers data base and regional framework agreements.

 

 
Achievements 

 

 

The latter half of 2009 will see the tender and finalization of the hygiene parcel framework agreement and 

further analysis on the needs and possible structure for a regional transport agreement. 

 

 

Finance Unit 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme 

 

Programme purpose 

Professional and technical support is given to the International Federation offices in improving the 

standard of financial management in the region. 

 

Outcomes/Expected results

 

 

Programme component  1:  Monthly returns 
Outcome: 

Technical support to field finance staff in ensuring timeliness and accuracy of monthly returns 

compliant with financial procedures. 

Programme component  2 : Financial management information and support

Outcome: 

Provide financial management information and support to technical managers periodically and 

on an ad-hoc basis when deemed necessary. 

Programme component 3 :  Awareness raising and direct support 

Outcome: 

Continue to raise the level of financial awareness in the Asia Pacific region and support the 

financial management of Asia Pacific operations that have no International Federation presence. 

 

Achievements 

 

 

The following achievements and impact have proven that the support provided by ZFU has improved the 

overall financial management of the region: 

 

•

 

Conducted a programme managers training for International Federation and national society staff in 

November in the Chengdu office in China. This improved the overall financial accounting, 

management and reporting of International Federation and national society funds. 

•

 

Provided finance presentation and training for H2P meeting in Nepal in August. H2P representatives 

and country finance staff were invited to this training to ensure smooth spending, monitoring and 

accounting of USAID funds. 

•

 

Circulated timely Monthly Financial Analysis report to ensure managers are kept informed on the 

financial issues and risk so that immediate action can be taken to improve the financial situation and 

eliminate risk or financial exposure. 

•

 

Maintained and improved the finance infrastructure by providing training, locating skilful human 

resources and filling gaps as needed. 

•

 

Oversaw the external audit of 2008 expenses for Myanmar Cyclone and China Earthquake 

operations in the zone office by KPMG. Auditors also reviewed the control check in place at the zone 

office. The overall result was a clean audit report with minimal risk highlighted. 

•

 

Conducted and facilitated a finance workshop for 38 finance staff from 28 September to 2 October. 

Finance staff were given coaching on new procedures, updates on technical financial working 

modalities and training on system processes such as Coda-XL and Accounts Payable.  

 

The above is reflected through these measurable impacts: 

•

 

The overall understanding of financial management and progress monitoring of activities has proven 

that the International Federation has improved and developed the financial skills of all personnel. 

•

 

Expenditures have been in line with planned budgets and activities with approved expenditure 

ceilings. There are no exposures on the funding plans. 

•

 

Timely financial reporting to donors and continuous monitoring of pledge-based financial statements. 

•

 

Smooth monthly cash transfers of funds to regional and country offices, enabling timely 

implementation of activities. 

 

 

24

 

Informations Systems Unit 

 

a) The purpose and components of the programme 

 

Programme purpose 

Increase Red Cross Red Crescent information technology and telecommunications capacity to provide 

adequate support to all International Federation activities, including disaster situations. 

 

This unit provides information technology (IT) and telecommunications services and support to the 

International Federation Asia Pacific zone, regional and country offices as well as national societies in the 

zone. The zone information systems unit’s budget is part of the core budget allocated to the zone. 

 

Outcomes/Expected results

 

 

Programme component 1: Customized IT and telecoms service support systems 
Outcome:

 Increased productivity and efficiency of International Federation field secretariat offices and 

operations, and improved response time for solving all information systems problems. 

 
Achievements 

 

 

Following up previous challenges, standardizing the IT and telecommunication equipment in Asia Pacific 

International Federation offices is no longer an issue as the organization as a whole now understands and 

accepts the benefits of standardized equipment. The current challenge is to connect these independent 

country IT systems into a single coherent system that would deliver seamless integration and location-

independent transparency to support working in a global manner within a single global IT system. Technical 

skill sets are therefore essential to plan and deliver a proper system that has minimal glitches. 

 

Programme component 2: Information sharing and knowledge management
Outcome

: 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. 

 

A new collaboration tool, WebEx, was tested and made available for all International Federation zone, 

regional and country offices to host virtual online meetings, conferences, and presentations with any party 

anywhere with an Internet or phone connection. This move aims to reduce traveling and meeting costs 

through the use of technology. 

 

Programme component 3: National society information systems capacity building 
Outcome:

 Standardized and increased information systems capacity in national societies. 

 

The unit provided basic IT and telecommunication training to para-IT staff members in the regional and 

country offices of Mongolia, Timor-Leste, Fiji, Sri Lanka, and China, enabling them to provide immediate 

support in day-to-day operational IT and telecommunication issues. It is expected that this will help reduce 

the costs of outsourcing support and build capacity to provide self-sustained support. 

 
 
 

Additional Units 

 

In addition, the Asia Pacific zone office has units covering important work in human resources and 

administration. Information on the activities of these units during the reporting period can be provided on 

request. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

25

Working in partnership

 

 

Promoting better and more effective cooperation within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and with 

external organizations remains a key objective of the International Federation within the Asia Pacific zone.  

 

The second half of 2009 has seen the strengthening of the role played by the regional offices in facilitating 

information exchange and coordination between partner national societies in longer-term development 

programming. Informal information updates on a variety of programmes and operations have been 

circulated to partner national societies from the regional offices, and the Southeast Asia office has 

organized well-received quarterly forums with the partner national societies active in its region. 

 

 

Looking ahead

 

 

Among the key priorities for 2010 will be working with national societies to support them in adapting their 

programmes in line with the International Federation’s newly adopted Strategy 2020. Particular attention will 

be given to the three “enabling actions” of the Strategy (namely stronger national societies, humanitarian 

diplomacy and an effective International Federation). It is recognised that national societies must be in the 

forefront of identifying their own priorities and developing their own action plans but in line with the broad 

aspirations and identified outcomes of these enabling actions. 

 

October 2010 will see the holding of the Asia Pacific regional conference in Jordan – the first time an Asia 

Pacific conference will be held in the Middle East. A number of events are already scheduled that will serve 

as important steps in the build up to the conference. These include an Asia Pacific disaster management 

meeting in Australia in May 2010 which follows on from a similar meeting four years earlier in Tokyo and 

which will review the achievements and lessons learned from the Asia Pacific disaster management 

strategy adopted at the last regional conference in Singapore. Other events planned include a resource 

mobilization forum to be held in New Zealand in April 2010 and a youth-led summit which will feed 

recommendations into the youth session of the next Asia Pacific regional meeting. 

 

Next year should also see the completion of long-running recovery operations in tsunami-affected countries, 

Pakistan, China and Myanmar and the Red Cross Red Crescent will take steps to ensure that lessons from 

these diverse operating environments are well learned and incorporated into future practice. 

w we w 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26

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:

•

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

•

  Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases 

and public health emergencies. 

•

  Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross

 

Red 

Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of 

vulnerability. 

•

  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 

•

  Alistair Henley, director of Asia Pacific zone, email: 

alistair.henley@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 2161 0892,  

•

  Jagan Chapagain, head of operations, email: 

jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 2161 0892 

•

  Michael Annear, head of disaster management unit, email: 

michael.annear@ifrc.org

,  

phone +66 81 753 9598 

•

  Victoria Bannon, IDRL programme coordinator, email: 

victoria.bannon@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5764 

•

  Al Panico, head of tsunami unit, email: 

al.panico@ifrc.org

; phone: +60 3 9207 5700 

•

  Jim Catampongan, avian and human influenza coordinator, email: 

jim.catampongan@ifrc.org

;  

phone +603-9207 5779 

•

  John Gwynn, organizational development coordinator, email: 

john.gwynn@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 92075760 

•

  Jason Smith, communications manager, email: 

jason.smith@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 92075780 

•

  Penny Elghady, resource mobilization & planning monitoring evaluation and reporting coordinator, email: 

penny.elghady@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5775 

•

  Peter Lundberg, external relations coordinator, email: 

peter.lundberg@ifrc.org

; phone: +60 3 9207 5707 

•

  Igor Dmitryuk, head of regional logistics unit, email: 

Igor.dmitryuk@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5750   

•

  Umadevi Selvarajah, zone finance manager, email: 

umadevi.selvarajah@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5740 

•

  Letty Sparrow, human resource coordinator, email: 

letty.sparrow@ifrc.org

; phone +60 3 9207 5735 

•

  Jonathan Chua, information systems manager, email: 

jonathan.chua@ifrc.org

;  

phone +60 3 9207 5733 

•

  Iswana Ishak, administration manager, email: 

iswana.ishak@ifrc.org

; phone: +60 3 9207 5710 

 

Selected Parameters

Reporting Timeframe

2009/1-2009/10

Budget Timeframe

2009/1-2009/12

Appeal

MAA50001

Budget

APPEAL

All figures are in Swiss Francs (CHF)

Interim Financial Report Jan-Oct 2009

MAA50001 - Asia Pacific zone

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

I. Consolidated Response to Appeal

Goal 1: Disaster

Management

Goal 2: Health

and Care

Goal 3: Capacity

Building

Goal 4:

Principles and

Values

Coordination

TOTAL

A. Budget

660,655

0

367,872

10,695

412,468

1,451,689

B. Opening Balance

15,162

0

272,059

2

54,908

342,131

Income

Cash contributions
Australian Red Cross

44,515

4,447

48,962

Australian Red Cross (from Australian Government)

367,887

26,274

394,162

British Red Cross

23,043

23,043

China Red Cross

5,908

5,908

DFID Partnership grant

28,742

28,742

Finnish Red Cross

0

0

Finnish Red Cross (from Finnish Government)

0

0

Japanese Red Cross

60,145

10,974

60,463

131,582

Norwegian Red Cross (from Norwegian Government)

274,469

274,469

Sweden Red Cross (from Swedish Government)

40,717

40,717

Unidentified donor

8,065

8,065

C1. Cash contributions

671,098

145,377

10,974

128,200

955,649

Outstanding pledges (Revalued)
Sweden Red Cross (from Swedish Government)

43,863

33,628

77,491

C2. Outstanding pledges (Revalued)

43,863

33,628

77,491

Inkind Personnel

Australian Red Cross

76,500

37,200

113,700

New Zealand Red Cross

38,280

38,280

Norwegian Red Cross

8,500

8,500

Sweden Red Cross

37,200

37,200

C4. Inkind Personnel

76,500

121,180

197,680

C. Total  Income  = SUM(C1..C5)

747,598

189,240

10,974

326,299

1,274,111

D. Total  Funding = B +C

762,760

0

461,299

10,976

381,206

1,616,242

Appeal Coverage

115%

#DIV/0

125%

103%

92%

111%

II. Balance of Funds

Goal 1: Disaster

Management

Goal 2: Health

and Care

Goal 3: Capacity

Building

Goal 4:

Principles and

Values

Coordination

TOTAL

B. Opening Balance

15,162

0

272,059

2

54,908

342,131

C. Income

747,598

189,240

10,974

326,299

1,274,111

E. Expenditure

-193,087

-245,931

-227,082

-666,100

F. Closing Balance = (B + C + E)

569,673

0

215,368

10,976

154,125

950,142

Other Income

Services

43,291

43,291

C5. Other Income

43,291

43,291

Prepared on 30/Nov/2009

Appeal report with project details.rep

Page 1 of 2

Selected Parameters

Reporting Timeframe

2009/1-2009/10

Budget Timeframe

2009/1-2009/12

Appeal

MAA50001

Budget

APPEAL

All figures are in Swiss Francs (CHF)

Interim Financial Report Jan-Oct 2009

MAA50001 - Asia Pacific zone

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

III. Budget Analysis / Breakdown of Expenditure

Expenditure

Account Groups

Budget

Goal 1: Disaster

Management

Goal 2: Health

and Care

Goal 3: Capacity

Building

Goal 4: Principles

and Values

Coordination

TOTAL

Variance

A

B

A - B

BUDGET (C)

660,655

0

367,872

10,695

412,468

1,451,689

Transport & Storage

Storage

500

316

72

388

112

Distribution & Monitoring

2,110

2,110

-2,110

Transport & Vehicle Costs

500

301

4

304

196

Total Transport & Storage

1,000

2,110

616

76

2,802

-1,802

Personnel

International Staff

432,276

114,882

1,396

172,071

288,348

143,928

Regionally Deployed Staff

10,000

7,734

302

8,036

1,964

National Staff

48,000

32,787

32,787

15,213

National Society Staff

5,000

389

389

4,611

Consultants

36,500

1,654

1,654

34,846

Total Personnel

531,776

116,535

42,306

172,373

331,214

200,562

Workshops & Training

Workshops & Training

487,173

20,176

39,999

19,121

79,296

407,878

Total Workshops & Training

487,173

20,176

39,999

19,121

79,296

407,878

General Expenditure

Travel

74,000

33,116

26,882

13,466

73,463

537

Information & Public Relation

173,250

8,790

111,446

3,137

123,372

49,878

Office Costs

63,900

381

1,590

1,971

61,929

Communications

4,640

1,154

1,301

1,658

4,112

528

Professional Fees

100

216

216

-116

Financial Charges

200

30

96

124

250

-50

Other General Expenses

9,820

16

840

856

8,964

Total General Expenditure

325,910

43,305

140,120

20,815

204,240

121,670

Programme Support

Program Support

91,014

8,204

16,336

7,418

31,957

59,056

Total Programme Support

91,014

8,204

16,336

7,418

31,957

59,056

Services

Shared Services

14,816

6,554

7,280

13,834

982

Total Services

14,816

6,554

7,280

13,834

982

Operational Provisions

Operational Provisions

2,757

2,757

-2,757

Total Operational Provisions

2,757

2,757

-2,757

TOTAL EXPENDITURE (D)

1,451,689

193,087

245,931

227,082

666,100

785,589

VARIANCE (C - D)

467,568

0

121,941

10,695

185,386

785,589

Prepared on 30/Nov/2009

Appeal report with project details.rep

Page 2 of 2

Document Outline

• MAA50001PU2F.pdf
  • Response to Appeal