UNHCR Handbook for Emergencies - UNHCR eCentre

42
Introduction
1. Emergency assistance must be based on
a sound, though rapid, assessment of the
refugees' most immediate problems and
needs and the resources available to meet
those needs.
2. The objective of the initial problem
analysis and needs assessment is to provide
UNHCR with a clear and concise picture of the
emergency situation, in both quantitative and
qualitative terms. It should provide enough
information to predict the evolution of the
emergency, at least in the short term. It is the
basis for decisions which affect the future of
the operation.
3.
More detailed assessments will follow as
the emergency develops and needs evolve:
assessment never stops.
The initial and subsequent assessments are
intricately linked with, and will form the basis
for, operations planning. The initial assessment
will also build on the contingency planning
process.
4. The initial assessment should:
apple❏ Answer the questions “what is the main
problem?” and ”is there an emergency or
not?”;
apple❏ Provide sufficient information to decide
whether UNHCR should be involved in the
emergency response and what the scope of
that involvement should be;
apple❏ Be an inter-agency initiative, but with one
body providing the overall coordination.
The team should include staff from UNHCR,
the government and other potential partners
(for example other UN agencies,
NGOs). Ideally the inter-agency body used
for contingency planning should provide
the basis for the group carrying out a simple
problem and needs assessment. Often
the people carrying out the initial assessment
will simultaneously be providing the
initial response. Whenever possible, the assessment
team should include those who
will implement the emergency operation in
the field;
apple❏ Be carried out quickly;
apple❏ Provide a full picture of the scope of the
emergency, rather than focus on a limited
area or sector (it is better to get the whole
picture half right);
apple❏ apple Describe the people affected by the emergency
(a simple demographic profile);
apple❏ Identify the coping ability of the refugees
themselves;
apple❏ Identify locally available resources;
apple❏ apple Identify what are the most immediate priorities;
apple❏ Use agreed and appropriate standards
against which needs can be measured;
apple❏ Involve the refugees, women and men,
from the outset. Get to know them and
understand their concerns. They are a key
source of information;
apple❏ apple Record the sources of information collected;
apple❏ Cross-check information, not relying on
only one tool (e.g. aerial surveys crosschecked
by on the ground observations and
interviews);
apple❏ Involve appropriate technical input;
apple❏ Use samples and surveys rather than collect
too much detailed information which is
difficult to analyze;
apple❏ Produce recommendations for immediate
action indicating the resources needed to
implement them;
apple❏ Be able to trigger an immediate and effective
response;
apple❏ Have the results shared promptly and
widely.
5. The assessment should, as a minimum, answer
the questions in the checklist in Annex 1.
This includes essential minimum information
required for planning an emergency operation.
6. The initial assessment should focus on
the priority life threatening problems which
are usually in the sectors of protection, water,
food, sanitation, shelter and health. The assessment
should measure the actual condition
of the refugees against what is needed for
their survival and immediate well-being (expressed
as “standards”). The resources at their
disposal should also be assessed.
The setting of standards appropriate for the
situation is an important prerequisite for
needs assessment.
7. Standards provide a benchmark against
which the condition of the refugees can be
measured (see Appendix 2 for some of the
minimum survival standards). The standards