wfn.org | Pakistan Aid Response Requires Higher Quality, Accountability Agency Says

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For Immediate release

NEWS UPDATE

Pakistan Aid Response Requires Higher Quality, Accountability Agency Says

ISLAMABAD- June 23, 2009 -- In hopes of improving the effectiveness of
aid to people displaced by the crisis in Pakistan, Church World Service
is urging the humanitarian community to pay closer attention to
internationally established quality standards and practices.

â??We fear that continued indifference to principles and levels of
quality in delivering aid may lead to more a chaotic situation for the
whole region,â?? said Marvin Parvez, Church World Service
Pakistan/Afghanistan country director and regional representative for
South Asia.

In a statement issued today about the ongoing humanitarian crisis
stemming from fighting between the Pakistan military and Taliban forces
that has displaced more than 2 million persons in the last two months,
Parvez said Pakistan has been â??miraculously dealing with this
situation, due to its resilient community structure and national
characteristics.â??

But, Parvez warned, "that cultural resilience is being tried to the max
and must be supported by care and services that are responsive and
accountable."

CWS is serving in the current Pakistan crisis as a "focal point" for
the Humanitarian Accountability Project (HAP) and Sphere Project-- two
international collaborations chartered to improve the accountability and
quality of assistance delivered to people affected by disaster.

As HAP/Sphere focal point, CWS is offering training and support to
partners, local non-governmental organizations, and members of the
Action by Churches Together alliance which are collaborating in
Pakistan.

The trainings specifically aim to enhance the knowledge, skills and
capacity of 540 humanitarian relief and development practitioners in
improving the quality and accountability of their services.

Geneva-based HAP is a self-regulatory partnership of aid agencies
working to assure that humanitarian organizations -- often the sole
providers of vital resources like food, water and shelter after
disasters -- are accountable to the people who are supposed to benefit
from their services. It currently has 22 full members, including
non-governmental organizations like Church World
Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan, Oxfam, World Vision, CARE International
and others.

"At this point in time there is an increasing need to confront the
issues of quality and accountability in relief work here -- in a
systematic manner and at a national level," Parvez said.

"The scope of the IDP crisis in Pakistan is requiring the need to
technically analyze and sort out the issues concerning the services
being provided to those displaced and their host communities," Parvez
said. "It's imperative that we take up the challenge with conviction and
full professional commitment."

> 'No token beneficiary participation'

The focus for effective response, says CWS, lies in listening to the
people who are being assisted; promoting beneficiaries' participation
and ownership; and seeking heightened collaboration among responding
agencies rather than competition.

As part of its response, Church World Service has provided
beneficiaries with outlets to express their concerns so that the voices
of the displaced have been heard by media covering the crisis and its
response. Having their voices heard allowed the displaced persons to
feel that someone is listening to them even if their problems would not
be resolved as a result.  CWS has emphasized the importance of
beneficiary participation from the beginning of rehabilitation
initiatives, including ways for the uprooted to report grievances.

In order to more fully serve those being assisted, CWS P/A is urging
that further work needs to be don
e in the following areas:

1.	The recent security situation has been a limiting factor for aid
agencies to move freely in most of conflict zones, but this should not
affect the commitment to quality management and accountability to
beneficiaries.

Token beneficiary participation and inappropriate communication
channels with beneficiaries and other stakeholders need to be replaced
with real participation and involvement and hence ownership by the
beneficiaries.

2.	The existing formal and informal coordination mechanisms among
and between various aid agencies require further strengthening both at
field and head-office levels. The element of competition should not
undermine the collective strength of aid agencies to secure maximum
benefit for the displaced.

3.	Painfully long lines to receive the food and non-food aid in the
camps and in the host communities are an indicator of limited
professional capacity and need to be minimized. The scenario indicates
an absence or lack of staff that can specifically focus on quality of
service delivery. Such appointment of quality and accountability-related
staff would lead to the assignment of higher priority to the principles
and standards to take care of real needs of the uprooted.

In 2008, Parvez earned the designation "Accountability Ambassador" from
HAP, signifying that CWS -Pakistan/Afghanistan complies with HAP
standards of humanitarian agency accountability to the communities in
which they work.

Church World Service is an international relief and development agency,
funded by public donations, grants, and by 35 member denominations in
the U.S. It is a member of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, a grouping
of aid groups that belong to the Action by Churches Together alliance.
Contributions to support Church World Service emergency response and
recovery efforts may be made online, by phone, (800) 297-1516), or sent
to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515.