Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

• Cash assistance – consisting of the THB 5,000/household provided to all affected
families, In addition, a second fund (THB 20,000 to 30,000 depending on the level of
damage done to homes) was made available for rapid cash-for work schemes for housing
renovation or small-scale rehabilitation works. Both programs are funded through the
Offices of the Governors by the DPM. The emergency cash for work program was targeted
to poor households in the community and implemented through Tambon Administrative
Office (TAO) with the involvement of village heads and funding from MSDHS. While no
gaps were reported in terms of the geographical coverage of the program there were a
number of issues reported with the targeting of beneficiaries within particular areas and the
level of funding received (based on the assessment of damage). SIA participants indicated
that the compensation allocated to some households had been insufficient, while other had
received more than was required for repairs. Some households are already benefiting from
a three year debt moratorium instituted by BAAC approximately a year ago. “One Million
Baht Village Fund” beneficiaries will in addition only be required to pay interest on their
loan (rather than make debt payments) for a one year period.
Aid Coordination Structure
Aid distribution has been implemented through the formal government administrative
structure given the unprecedented level of damage and losses. At the provincial level,
in kind support from central government and line agencies were coordinated through
the Flood Relief Operations Center (FROC) and transferred to the affected provinces. In
each province, the governor is primarily responsible for coordinating relief assistance. Aid
would, therefore, be coursed through local governments: (i) the municipality for the urban
area, and (ii) to the district and sub-district levels for rural areas. Local governments set up
a distribution system in their own areas to ensure equal distribution and fairness. In the
areas visited, the distribution of assistance seems to have in general been considered fair
with the exceptions reported in terms of the emergency cash-for-work program highlighted
above. A coupon system with the names of each household registered in targeted areas
was used for the distribution of the “Emergency Survival Bags”. The mayor and sub-district
head designated members of their administrative committees to supervise the distribution
of relief assistance. A similar mechanism was put in place at community level, where the
community head or village head assigned areas for staff or village committee members to
supervise 175 . The village-level health volunteer system was also used in some areas for
the supervision of aid distribution with a particular focus on the outreach to vulnerable and
marginalized households.
Support Provided to Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups
Existing government systems to care for vulnerable and marginalized groups (particularly
the elderly, people with disabilities and the poor) were observed to be functioning in the
areas visited by the research team. Relief activities specifically geared towards these
groups were implemented under the coordination of Ministry of Social Development and
Human Security, the Ministry of Interior in coordination with local governments, and a
175 The Kamman or sub-district headman reports to the district office. The sub-district headman is elected directly by
villagers in the sub-district for a five-year term of office; however, they also are considered to be government officers under
the central administration, and are upwardly accountable to the district officer. The village committees mentioned were
established to support relief operations and are not a formal part of the local administrative structures.
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