ECB World Vision Adventures in Partnering Case Study A: Coming together to reduce the impact of disasters in Bolivia
Bolivia is the second poorest country in the Americas. Six per cent of the population are indigenous. Of them, 64 per cent live below the poverty line and only 24 per cent of the mostly indigenous rural population have access to water services. Twenty-three percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day.
Disaster preparedness in Bolivia
180 participants attended our second ECB inter-active event in La Paz, Bolivia 28-30 November 2011.
Experiences were shared of DRR tools, Joint Needs Assessment, Accountability tools, joint fundraising, and local response in consortium, as well as Food Security, Water and Sanitation in Emergencies and Climate Change.
See the conference agenda and read our conference summary.
In Bolivia, climate change poses an increasingly dangerous threat to impoverished, minority, and vulnerable populations. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, forest fires, droughts, and flooding are occurring with growing frequency and intensity. Disasters such as these often result in an incalculable loss of life and leave extreme damage to infrastructures and livelihoods. These impacts are intensified by a chronic lack of coordination between government actors, NGOs, and communities.
The Bolivia consortium is working to address these coordination issues and recently chose to expand membership to form the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies in Bolivia. Led by Oxfam together with EIGHT other NGO members* (ACH, CARE, Christian Aid, CRS, HelpAge, Oxfam, Plan International, Save the Children, and World Vision) the consortium also works closely with government and academic members such as UNICEF, Fundacion para el desarrollo participativo y comunitario and the Bolivian Vice Minister for Civil Defense (VIDECICODI).
The Bolivia consortium is focused on developing a joint Disaster Risk Reduction framework, joint accountability training using a Spanish version of the Good Enough Guide and the Sphere handbook, and increasing national staff capacity through the CBHA leadership and core skills training program. Our Inter-agency Simulations also provide a means through which members and partners of the consortium can test and reflect upon how they collaborate under pressure.
Bolivia tested the ECB Joint Needs Assessment approach following intense flooding in the Beni region , and again in 2010 following landslides and flooding in La Paz and surrounding provinces.
The Consortium conducted a Joint Needs Assessment from April to May 2011 aimed at improving capacities and instruments to identify the current emergency situation in country, to better understand the emergency scenarios and to better analyze current needs related to rehabilitation and early recovery processes.
The Consortium is well positioned to have a multiplier effect throughout the Andean region. Members work also in the neighboring countries of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. Cross-border projects are a possibility, and preliminary dialogues with members in other countries have begun.
The Bolivia consortium is led by Roger Quiroga, Oxfam and Ingrid Terrazas, Field Facilitator.
Read our recent news on the work being conducted in the region.
Contact us for more information on our work in the region.
Share and Bookmark
E-mail page Add to favourites