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OCHA Situation Report
Protection
Cluster Leads: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) &
United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
Needs: In the transition from the emergency to early recovery phase, when human and financial resources
mobilised for the emergency response are reduced or re-allocated, there is a need for active monitoring of
the situation and coping strategies of those affected, with particular regard to:
Harms arising from the medium-longer term secondary impacts of the disaster including food
insecurity, income and livelihoods insecurity, nutrition deficiencies, negative impacts on health and
wellbeing;
Ensuring appropriate transitional and permanent shelter arrangements for flood-affected families in
rural, urban and squatter areas, whose homes are severely or completely damaged;
Provision of psychosocial support to flood-affected people experiencing distress, anxiety and
frustration as they face the challenge of rebuilding their lives and livelihoods;
Provision of psychosocial support to government and non-government first-responders;
Ensuring that protection considerations of safety, wellbeing and dignity are integrated into early
recovery interventions across all sectors.
Response:
The Protection Cluster continues to link with responding agencies for information-gathering and
dissemination around protection. The Cluster is maintaining contact with the National Disaster
Management Office (NDMO) and relevant Ministries to offer protection guidance and monitoring
support throughout the recovery period.
The Protection Cluster representatives participated in a field visit to the Western Division in early
May to explore protection issues that were highlighted throughout the response. A summary of this
field visit has been developed.
The Protection Cluster is working collaboratively with the Health Cluster to explore ways of working
with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Welfare to support effective post-disaster mental
health and psychosocial support interventions, at government, non-government and community
levels. This includes (i) development and dissemination of key ‘psychological first aid’ messages; (ii)
mapping of key Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Service (MHPSS) providers (iii)
development of specific training resources & information, education and communication materials
on ‘MHPSS in emergencies’ (iv) development of a project proposal for a capacity-building program
on ‘MHPSS in emergencies’ targeting a range of formal and informal MHPSS providers.
Gaps & Constraints: In terms of gaps, little information is available on plans or processes for monitoring
coping strategies and protection risks among flood-affected communities in the recovery period. This is
critical in order to:
Prevent and respond to negative coping strategies such as violence, crime, substance abuse, and
exploitation of women and children
Ensure that response and recovery programs do not cause further harm (need to assess potential
counter-protective impacts of response and recovery interventions)
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Cluster Lead: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Needs: In the absence of a comprehensive assessment, it is still very difficult to know the scale of damages
to water and sanitation infrastructure particularly in rural areas affected by the floods. The Water Authority
Fiji (WAF) reports that water supply systems have been restored to over 95 per cent of all urban areas.
However there are no clear statistics for rural areas. The department of health with a mandate for rural
sanitation, hygiene and water quality, is conducting a needs analysis which should inform future water,
sanitation and health (WASH) interventions.
Damaged infrastructure (pumps, piping, etc.) has been repaired while new replacements have been ordered
for installation in the near future. WAF has allocated the majority of the FJ$1.85 million grant from the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) for this work, in addition to a FJ$1.85 million grant from the ADB received
following the January floods.
Response: A joint mission of UNICEF, OCHA, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), OHCHR, FRCS
and MoH visited the affected areas during the first week of May to monitor the distribution and use of life
saving supplies handed over to FRCS. According to initial findings all target households received the
supplies and were using them with very few exceptions. Families who had returned from the evacuation
centers had soap, water containers, water purification tablets and communication materials in local
languages.
www.unocha.org
The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective
and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.
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