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Published on 1 April 2010

The Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) template was developed in Indonesia during Phase I of the ECB Project. The tool was used in Bolivia for the first time in February 2010 by an inter-disciplinary team of more than 20 humanitarian response personnel, gathered from five agencies in the ECB Bolivia consortium. The team included water and sanitation, protection, hygiene and health, and shelter and livelihoods experts, and was led by Roger Quiroga, Disaster Risk Reduction & Adaptation Programme Coordinator at Oxfam GB. The team worked over six days in small specialist groups alongside experts from FUNDEPCO, the Bolivian government and UNICEF. Travelling by boat they assessed the flood situation in three dispersed communities in the south and west of the Amazonian Selva region of El Beni.The Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) template was developed in Indonesia during Phase I of the ECB Project. The tool was used in Bolivia for the first time in February 2010 by an inter-disciplinary team of more than 20 humanitarian response personnel, gathered from five agencies in the ECB Bolivia consortium. The team included water and sanitation, protection, hygiene and health, and shelter and livelihoods experts, and was led by Roger Quiroga, Disaster Risk Reduction & Adaptation Programme Coordinator at Oxfam GB. The team worked over six days in small specialist groups alongside experts from FUNDEPCO, the Bolivian government and UNICEF. Travelling by boat they assessed the flood situation in three dispersed communities in the south and west of the Amazonian Selva region of El Beni.

This was the first time that such a large group of agencies worked jointly to build an assessment tool which combines input from participating experts, the Bolivian government needs assessment template and the ECB JNA template. Roger Quiroga told us “... this will be the first time that different agencies will prepare a consolidated and coordinated report that will be not only for our agencies and the consortia, but also the government and United Nations teams.”

The team spent two days consolidating the data template and deciding what information needed to be included from the different government, agency and ECB JNA templates. Intense discussions arose as to how to strike a balance between the need for sufficiently rich information in each specialist area with the danger of overwhelming the assessment teams and communities with too much questioning and data. These challenges were then field tested over the next four days, as the groups visited remote settlements, camps and displaced communities in the harsh Amazonian jungle region.

Many flood affected communities were desolate, with only one or two family members left behind to try to salvage the last of their animals and crops.

Despite the circumstances the assessment groups received positive feedback and discovered that many community members had a very clear understanding of best practices for housing, livelihood protection and the support required to protect the most vulnerable during the flood season. The group was told time and time again that they needed support to build safer homes and to develop flood-resistant crops and agricultural systems. Clean water, access to health care and assured education for their children were also highlighted. Their feedback demonstrated their understanding of the need to change some of their existing practices and develop more long-term, sustainable systems to protect and prevent the effects of repeated flooding in their region.

One community leader pointed to the village school and food storage house and explained that he wanted their homes to be built like these two buildings on secure stilts several metres above the rising flood water levels. This, he explained, would stop their families having to relocate temporarily for several months and prevent them having to rebuild their homes each year after the flooding.

The agency teams met together with local government ministers, municipalities, emergency coordination units and local NGOs to share information and discuss if and how they should respond. Core gaps in provision were identified and opportunities to share further analysis and information were assured in the weeks following the Joint Needs Assessment.

This is an exciting project for the ECB Bolivia consortium and offers an opportunity for these agencies and partners to continue to work together before, during and after future emergencies. The JNA process provides an invaluable opportunity to build trust between different agencies. Working together with national governments and partners is challenging, and the JNA template needs to be further refined and developed to ensure that it can be adapted and applied to several different humanitarian contexts. The expert team confirmed that the tool should not be too cumbersome or complicated for staff to implement and adapt. They also highlighted the need for an effective interactive platform to record the data and share with other agencies and partners both at the national and global levels.

Funding and further development of the JNA tool are anticipated in the coming two years. Donor support is being sought by the ECB global project team and ECB agencies to ensure that the invaluable lessons learnt in Bolivia can contribute towards fine-tuning a useful collaborative data tool. The experience in El Beni, together with the assessment following the earthquake in West Sumatra, should offer both Indonesia and Bolivia an opportunity to take this tool to a new level in future emergency response programs.

Written by Andrea Stewart (andrea.stewart@co.care.org), ECB Communications Manager (Andrea travelled with the JNA team for 3 days in the Beni region).

With thanks to all the agencies that contributed their time and energy to this JNA project. Participating members include: CARE, CRS, Oxfam, Save the Children, and World Vision. Partners include: FUNDEPCO, the Bolivian Ministry for Civil Defence, the Beni Municipal Prefecture, and UNICEF.

Photo: Roger Quiroga, Oxfam GB, 2010

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