Emergency, humanitarian and refugee program

Program 1.10

Overview

In 2014–15, the department provided an estimated $215.7 million to deliver lifesaving assistance to over 10 million people. We responded to emergencies in 21 countries across the Pacific, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Our humanitarian assistance helped communities struck by disasters, such as Tropical Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu in March 2015 and the earthquakes in Nepal in April and May 2015. We also provided critical relief to people who were displaced by conflict, persecution or armed violence.

The department used effective partnerships with Australian government, non-government and international agencies to deliver humanitarian assistance. Through our Humanitarian Partnership Arrangement, we worked with Australian NGOs to deliver emergency responses in Vanuatu, Nepal, Liberia, Lebanon and Sierra Leone. We also worked with New Zealand and stakeholders across the Pacific in preparation for the World Humanitarian Summit in Turkey in 2016 aimed at improving the responsiveness and effectiveness of the international system.

The department supported national governments in the Indo–Pacific region to increase their disaster response capacities, and worked with international partners to build the disaster resilience of vulnerable countries in the Indo–Pacific region.

Responding to emergencies

The department maintained its capacity to respond quickly to humanitarian emergencies, including through its Crisis Response Team which was deployed to Vanuatu and Nepal within 36 hours, and through pre-positioning and delivery of emergency relief supplies.

We continued our investment in the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) to deliver emergency medical care. We deployed a 27-person AUSMAT as part of Australia’s response to Tropical Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu. As part of contingency planning for a possible Ebola response in the Pacific, we supported AUSMAT to develop a deployable infectious disease treatment capability.

The department also supported a specialist urban search and rescue capability able to be deployed at short notice. We maintained two deployable teams from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and NSW Fire and Rescue. The NSW Urban Search and Rescue Team was also deployed within 36 hours as part of Australia’s immediate response to Tropical Cyclone Pam.

The department supported RedR Australia to maintain a standby deployment capability. Drawing upon funding from the department, RedR deployed 99 humanitarian specialists (including engineers, protection officers and water, sanitation and public health specialists) to UN humanitarian operations in 34 countries.

Tropical Cyclone Pam

The department’s response to help Vanuatu following Tropical Cyclone Pam was swift and substantial, providing $15 million of emergency assistance and a further $35 million package of longer-term recovery support. We activated our crisis response mechanisms and worked closely with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Attorney-General’s Department and Department of Health to ensure a coordinated and effective whole-of-government response. Within 36 hours, the department had deployed the first of its Crisis Response Team to provide surge capacity to the post in Port Vila across consular, humanitarian, media and policy functions. Our crisis response specialists were quickly on the ground and we delivered humanitarian relief supplies, including much-needed shelter, hygiene and kitchen kits.

Over the course of the crisis, we deployed 29 departmental officers to Vanuatu. In Canberra, the Crisis Centre and the Humanitarian Operations Centre operated for 10 and 19 days respectively, with the Emergency Call Unit handling over 1000 calls. (See also Consular services.)

Nepal earthquake

The earthquakes of 25 April and 12 May in Nepal created widespread destruction and left thousands without shelter or basic necessities. The department provided more than $28 million in response to the crisis. This included funds for emergency food assistance, supplies and humanitarian personnel to respond to immediate humanitarian needs as well as support for NGO partners to provide access to safe water and sanitation, emergency shelter and protection programs. More than $16 million was provided to support recovery and reconstruction efforts, with a focus on re-establishing livelihoods, access to education and safe schools, and supporting alternative dispute resolution and community mediation. (See also dfat.gov.au/news/news/pages/earthquake-in-nepal-2aspx; see also video.)

Working with our partners

The department partners with high-performing international organisations to extend Australia’s global reach to deliver timely and effective humanitarian assistance to those most in need, particularly in the Indo–Pacific region.

UN World Food Programme

The department contributed $113.7 million towards the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) operations, including $40 million in core funding, supporting WFP to provide food assistance to 80 million people. We also allocated $10 million to support school feeding programs in the Indo–Pacific region, which helped WFP to provide food to 20 million children globally and improve school attendance rates, particularly among girls. In Vanuatu, we provided $1.3 million to WFP to deliver emergency food assistance in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Pam, and $2.7 million in response to the earthquakes in Nepal. Australia played an active role on the WFP Executive Board, including as the board’s president in 2015.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

The department provided $11.3 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), including $9.3 million in core funding and $2 million for its regional and country operations in the Indo–Pacific region.

We continue to work closely with OCHA to address humanitarian coordination challenges in the field to reduce duplication and ensure a rapid and coherent response to emergencies, particularly in the Pacific region.

Central Emergency Response Fund

The department contributed $11.3 million to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). CERF plays an important role as an effective financing and coordination instrument for rapid onset disasters, maximising the impact of early action. It also supports under-funded emergencies, providing a lifeline for millions of people affected by armed conflict and long-term complex humanitarian crises. Our investment helped deliver funding to crises in 45 countries.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees

We provided $35 million, including $21 million in core funding, to support the humanitarian work of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Our assistance helped provide shelter, water, food, health care and humanitarian protection to more than 46 million refugees and internally displaced people in 127 countries. We also supported UNHCR to find durable solutions for displaced populations, while safeguarding the rights and dignity of those affected. The department continued to support the implementation of UNHCR’s Action Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Strategy, bringing our total contribution to $4 million since 2012–13.

International Committee of the Red Cross

Australia is a significant donor to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), providing more than $46 million to support its operations in 2014–15, including a core contribution of $26.6 million. In the last year, the department supported the ICRC to work in conflict hotspots in Africa and the Middle East, and to expand its efforts on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict. Our contribution assisted the ICRC to run programs in 73 countries and territories, provide food to over 9 million people worldwide and provide essential household and hygiene items to over 4 million people. The ICRC also supported 441 hospitals and 415 primary healthcare centres.

Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience

Australia endorsed the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 on 18 March 2015 at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan. The Sendai Framework is a global blueprint to build disaster resilience, reduce disaster risk, prepare for and recover from natural disasters. The department, together with the Attorney-General’s Department and Geoscience Australia, advocated a focus on how developing countries can mobilise and effectively use all sources of finance, including domestic revenue and remittances for disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) coordinates the implementation of the Sendai Framework. Australia is the second largest bilateral donor to UNISDR in the Asia–Pacific region. We also support the leadership of the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery to help high-risk, low-capacity developing countries better understand and reduce their vulnerabilities to natural hazards in accordance with the Sendai Framework.

During 2014, we co-funded an Asian Development Bank program retrofitting schools in Nepal for disaster resilience. All 160 schools constructed with Australian funds withstood the April 2015 earthquake. We also supported development of the South Asia Women’s Resilience Index, a tool to identify opportunities for women to participate in national resilience-building efforts.

Australian Civilian Corps

The department manages the Australian Civilian Corps (ACC), a register of approximately 500 experienced specialists who can deploy into crisis- or disaster-affected situations at short notice as Commonwealth employees.

In 2014–15, the ACC deployed 70 specialists to 13 countries, providing 295 person-months of assistance. The ACC supported election processes in Bougainville, Fiji and Solomon Islands; assisted post-conflict stabilisation programs in Burma; supported national disaster management agencies in Fiji, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu; and assisted national recovery and reconstruction efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, in Solomon Islands after the 2014 floods, and in Vanuatu and Tuvalu after Tropical Cyclone Pam.