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2020-12 Factsheet

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VRCS 2020

Highlights

The objective of the Pacific Shelter Cluster is to support a coherent and effective humanitarian shelter response following disaster events in Pacific Island Countries, underpinned by preparedness and capacity building initiatives. The regional coordination team led by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in accordance with its global shelter cluster mandate, prioritises provision of support to country-level clusters across the Pacific according to their specific needs. Much of this support is provided to National Governments who are responsible for humanitarian response in their countries.

At the request of national governments, the Pacific Shelter Cluster continued to support national shelter clusters in 2020 with the coordination of four country-level emergency responses in Vanuatu and Fiji reaching around 23,429 households (119,410 people) with emergency shelter and essential household items, and technical assistance including safe shelter awareness, trainings and workshops. Recovery shelter guidance was developed as a part of the TC Harold response, seeking to link humanitarian shelter with longer term recovery processes. The Pacific Shelter Cluster also inputted into the Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT) COVID-19 Response Plan which covers 14 Pacific Island Countries and continued to support preparedness and capacity building initiatives tailored to in-country needs as detailed below.

If you wish to contribute updates for inclusion in this factsheet, please contact filipe.waqabitu@ifrc.org or robert.dodds@ifrc.org

 

Need analysis

The Pacific region is highly disaster prone, and its populations are particularly vulnerable to natural hazards. The impacts of climate change affect livelihoods, coastal settlements, infrastructure, ecosystems and economic stability in the region. Rise in sea level poses an increasing threat to low-lying coastal areas. Specific shelter vulnerability factors include growing urbanization and the growth of informal settlements, which often result in substandard housing and infrastructure, compounded by social and economic marginalization. Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has added another dimension which has impacted humanitarian shelter preparedness and response.

Response

PREPAREDNESS and CAPACITY BUILDING

Some of the highlights for 2020 include:

Multi-country and regional:

  • The Pacific Shelter Cluster team continued to raise key advocacy points at the regional level through the Pacific Humanitarian Team's (PHT) Regional Inter-Cluster Coordinator's Group (RICCG) and remained on standby to support National Shelter Cluster Leads across the region for potential response, as well as with preparedness and capacity building activities.
  • Inputted into the Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT) COVID-19 Response Plan and continued to monitor the situation with respect to shelter and settlements.
  • Shared key resources on how Shelter and Settlements programs can help to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
  • Advocated to shelter agencies for the replenishment of standard emergency shelter and essential household items and updating of the PALM platform.
  • Supported research on Area Based Approaches and advocacy to national clusters for enhanced urban coordination and response.
  • Revised key shelter information, education and communication materials as a part of the Global Shelter Cluster ‘Promoting Safer Building’ working group.
  • Maintained the Pacific Shelter Cluster, and National Shelter Cluster websites https://www.sheltercluster.org/pacific

 

Vanuatu:

  • Revised the Environmental Checklist for Shelter Response. This checklist outlines key actions to be taken by the shelter cluster coordination team, humanitarian program managers and field staff during each phase of the humanitarian program cycle and has been developed by the Shelter Cluster Vanuatu to fill a knowledge gap highlighted during past responses.
  • Supported development of a shelter case study showcasing best practice for the Shelter Projects publication.
  • Supported remote cyclone season preparedness meetings with the national coordination team.

Tonga:

  • Detailed review of the COVID-19 Shelter Cluster Action Plan.

Fiji:

  • National Shelter Cluster coordination arrangements are currently being revised.

Solomon Islands:

  • Provincial level emergency shelter training package. This has been developed by Solomon Islands Shelter Sub-Committee co-lead Solomon Islands Red Cross with the technical and financial support of IFRC. This training package aims to strengthen preparedness and response capacity of the shelter sector at local level in the Solomon Islands, and can be delivered locally. The second provincial training was completed in December 2020 and involved participants from the NDMO and shelter agencies in Malaita Province.

Marshall Islands:

  • Technical support provided for the development of the cluster Terms of Reference.

 

EMERGENCY SHELTER RESPONSE

At the request of national governments, the Pacific Shelter Cluster supported the coordination of four country-level responses in 2020 through the remote-deployment of the Pacific Shelter Cluster coordination team, reinforced by Global Shelter Cluster surge capacity. Approximately 119,410 people were reached by shelter cluster partners with emergency shelter and essential household items, and/or technical assistance in terms of safe shelter awareness, trainings, and workshops during the TD03/ Tropical Cyclone Sarai response in Fiji late 2019 - early 2020 (1,058 households, 4,900 people)[i], the Tropical Cyclone Harold response in Vanuatu April - August (20,328 households, 101,640 people)[ii], the Tropical Cyclone Harold response in Fiji (2,854 households, 12,370 people)[iii] and the Tropical Cyclone Yasa Response in Fiji (100 households, 500 people reached by the end of 2020)[iv].

Remote coordination support was provided to Vanuatu Shelter Cluster for the duration of the Tropical Cyclone Harold response and into the recovery phase with the development of recovery shelter guidance, and input into the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (volume A & B) and Vanuatu Recovery Strategy. Coordination and information management support was also provided to Fiji for the Tropical Cyclone Yasa response.

Table 1 Summary of emergency shelter responses

Response

# people reached with shelter assistance (emergency & HH items)

# households reached with emergency shelter assistance

# households reached with essential household items

#  households provided with technical support and guidance

Comments/Source

TD 03/ TC Sarai response, Fiji

4,900

147

1,058

147

MDRFJ003 Final Report. Fiji: TC Sarai (2020/07/13)

TC Harold response, Vanuatu

101,640

20,328

8,676

1,230

Vanuatu Shelter Cluster TC Harold factsheet (2020)

TC Harold response, Fiji

12,370

2,854

2,854

-

MDRFJ004 Final report. Fiji: TC Harold (2021/01/26)

TC Yasa response, Fiji

500

100

100

100

MDRFJ005 Operational update report. Fiji: TC Yasa (2020/12/24)

Totals

119,410

23,429

12,688

1,477

 

 

 

Gaps / challenges

GAPS / CHALLENGES

There have been additional challenges caused by COVID-19 related travel restrictions, as well as a few recurring challenges including:

  • Restricted movement of coordination and technical personnel limited the support to a remote basis. This has stretched locally available human resources to the limit during emergency responses. Movement of relief items has also been affected by the introduction of COVID-19 protocols, leading to significant delays in reaching the affected population.
  • Planned support missions of the Pacific Shelter Cluster coordination team have not proceeded as planned. As a result, national cluster meetings across the region have been infrequent, and cluster preparedness and capacity building work plans haven’t advanced significantly in 2020.
  • Persistent lack of dedicated in-country resourcing within Governmental Shelter Cluster Lead Agencies, and competing mandates have seen the shelter cluster coordination function deprioritized in most Shelter Clusters in the region.
  • Significant turnover and loss of key national shelter cluster coordination team members and shelter cluster members (both Government and humanitarian).