The domestic initiative has especially grown with the expansion of the private sector, which has sustained Uganda’s economic growth at an average of 6% per annum for a period of nearly 20 years. Many companies have as a result tended to identify with their customers through robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and have contributed to many emergency responses in Uganda. Ugandans in safer parts of the country have also shown solidarity with their counterparts in emergency hit areas, sending them relief in the form of cash and physical items.

These efforts however have largely been frantic, undocumented and uncoordinated, rendering it difficult to determine scale, trends and the impact on wider humanitarian architecture.

In 2010, DRT, with support from the Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) programme undertook a study to assess how domestic response has contributed to the overall humanitarian effort in Uganda over a ten year period. This was done by mapping the domestic response resource flows, assessing the impact and benefits of each resource flow, determining how the resources are targeted, mapping how actors claim resources and assessing both the data and the utility of the method used in capturing and analysing the data. The study was carried out in Katawi and Pader districts which have suffered protracted and recurring disasters in the last ten years including conflict, flooding and drought. It was also carried out at the height of the humanitarian crisis caused by the March 2010 Bududa mudslides, which killed hundreds and displaced thousands of people.

Eighteen months have passed since the study and in the same period the country has sadly witnessed several other humanitarian crises of varying degrees. Heavy rains have caused a lot of destruction since June 2011, killing scores of people and destroying homes and crops. In a district called Bulambuli, around the Bududa area in the Mount Elgon ranges, mudslides struck again on 28 August, killing over 40 people and rendering thousands homeless. In what one newspaper dubbed “The curse around Mt Elgon”, huge stones and a mass of hanging soil in a game reserve were washed downhill burying several houses, an incident wildlife officials blamed on deforestation of the mountain slopes. In perhaps the most gripping and unexpected disaster, lightning strikes killed over 30 people across the country in the months of June and July. These disasters once again tested the ability of the national and local government and other domestic actors in responding to emergencies.

One of the findings of the 2010 domestic response study was the fact that victims of disasters consider the domestic effort to be prompt and immediate, and largely free from the procedural and bureaucratic practices of international agencies – clearly positive traits. However, the domestic effort, led by government and supplemented by private companies and local agencies, is also notorious for being frantic and uncoordinated.

Some critics believed the Government’s handling of the Bulambuli disaster was a disaster in its own right, due to the Government’s late entry into the response effort, and the differing numbers of the dead provided to companies giving out similar relief items. Yet the Government insists that it has responded to disasters in the best way possible, given the circumstances, pushing back against critics, and stressing that even countries with some of the most sophisticated technologies and expertise to predict, warn and respond to disasters struggle “when nature decides to act in a certain way”.

The Bulambuli tragedy however revealed that anticipation of disasters is not yet a key part of the Government’s disaster preparedness strategy, which was a principal finding of the domestic response study. Nonetheless, there have been several positive developments since the study was conducted, including the relocation by the Government of the over 5000 people displaced by the Bududa landslides to a camp in Kiryandongo district (with plans underway to do the same for Bulambuli victims), the approval of the Disaster Policy by Cabinet and the activation of National Emergency Operations and Coordination Centre.

Yet, as the study established, the primary problem has not been about lack of disaster response policy frameworks, but rather the implementation of such policies. Disaster management desk officers exist within key sector ministries, disaster management committees at district, sub-county and village levels, and a full Ministry of Disaster Preparedness exists as a coordinating body. Under it are Directorates of Relief, Disaster Prevention and Refugees. Most of these structures are active during emergencies but go into near oblivion once the event passes.

The Movement has a complex resource architecture that includes bilateral (direct funding between two elements of the Movement such as between National Societies) and multilateral pathways (when funds are channelled via a third party such as through IFRC) with resources mobilised from various sources – governments, multilateral organisations, private contributions and commercial enterprises amongst others.  Currently, the volumes and trends of resources within the whole Movement are not being captured as data on funding flows within the different pathways are not compiled into a single analysis.

Data on multilateral funds, produced by IFRC, as well as information from ICRC, has fed into previous Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) reports, yet this gives only a partial picture.  For example, in 2009 IFRC estimated that multilateral funding was only 30% of the total income to the Movement.  Although some National Societies detail financial statements in their annual reports, using these statements for analysis is extremely challenging as the data is not comparable.  IFRC is establishing a Federation-wide reporting system for National Societies and the Secretariat that includes total income and total expenditure as indicators.  In the long term, the IFRC is hoping to capture greater detail such as sources of income and patterns of expenditure.

The Global Humanitarian Assistance programme wants to add to the understanding of financing volumes and trends Movement-wide. We, therefore, contacted 12 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies and asked them to complete a template detailing their income and expenditure in 2010 and 2009.  Seven National Societies replied – Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom. All seven provided income data for 2009 whereas five provided it for 2010.  Four provided expenditure data for 2010 and five provided it for 2009.   National Societies vary in their strategies and funding patterns and, therefore, the data portrayed here cannot be extrapolated across other Societies, especially given the small sample size.  Despite this, the study does highlight the wider income and expenditure for seven National Societies as well as the complexities around how National Societies perceive their mandate and their expenditure behaviour.

Income

Combined data on the humanitarian income for 2009 and 2010 shows that private donations from individuals to the National Society in their country of residence made up the largest share of income (41%) while income generating activities (contracted and commercial services) made up the second largest share (24%).

Figure 1. Top three sources of humanitarian income in 2009 and 2010 combined

In comparison, the combined data on total income (development and humanitarian) for 2010 and 2009 shows that income-generation contribute the largest amount (36%), while governments make the second largest (26%) and individuals contributing to their own National Society the third largest (25%).

Figure 2. Top three sources of total income in 2009 and 2010 combined

Comparatively, other sources of humanitarian income represent a significantly smaller proportion of the overall funding.  The National Societies appear to receive only marginal volumes of money from other delivery agencies, for example from UN agencies or other multilateral organisations such as the World Bank or regional development banks. Funding passed from the UN system on to the seven National Societies only amounted to 2.1% of the total (see table below).

Table 1.  Sources of humanitarian income in 2010 and 2009 combined

If we assume that only contributions from individuals, trusts/foundations and corporate giving is classed as private income, then at least 44% of the income to the seven National Societies came from private sources. However, if the money raised through income generating activities, such as the sale of promotional items, first aid training, gaming and lottery and income from investments, is taken into account this share could reach 68%. In comparative terms, our previous research on implementing organisations has shown that the main non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receive on average 58% of their income from private sources.

Figure 3: Average private and institutional income for humanitarian aid for seven National Societies in 2009 and 2010 combined

However, the volume of private income, defined in wider terms for the purposes of our research as funding coming from individuals, corporations, trust/foundations and income generating activities varies extensively across National Societies. For example, this only made up 18% of the total income of Belgian Red Cross in 2010 and 2009 combined, whereas for the same period it was 84% of the total income of the British Red Cross. Similarly, income generation provides 2% of the total income to the Danish Red Cross in 2009 whereas it was 72% of the income of the French Red Cross in the same year.

Expenditure

Figure 4: Total expenditure of National Societies, 2009-2010

The majority of funds from our sample data were spent on long term services and development programmes – 52% in 2010 and 59% in 2009 – whereas disaster response and early recovery made up the second largest share, 35% in 2010 and 30% in 2009.  Furthermore, the majority of funds were spent domestically, 61% in 2010 and 58% in 2009.  The whole of Colombia’s expenditure is spent domestically, which is perhaps not surprising given it is a recipient National Society, but when the Colombia Red Cross is omitted from the sample, the domestic expenditure is still 60% in 2010 and 57% in 2009, which is more surprising given the other National Societies are from high-income countries.  Examples from the British Red Cross data show that domestic expenditure included event first aid and first aid training, fire and emergency support services, refugee services and care in the community.

In terms of international expenditure, more funds were spent multilaterally than bilaterally. In 2010, 27% of funds were spent multilaterally and 9% were spent bilaterally, whereas in 2009 17% of funds were spent multilaterally and 14% were spent bilaterally. While these shares are not in line with previous findings from IFRC that over two-thirds of the Movement expenditure is bilateral, our limited sample size does not necessarily mean that this difference in the results is significant.

Figure 5: Channel of expenditure of National Societies, 2009-2010

The table below illustrates the differences between how National Societies perceive their mandate.  For example, the British Red Cross states that all their activities are humanitarian even though it spends more on long term services and development programmes than disaster response and early recovery, and on disaster preparedness and risk reduction combined, and despite having a greater domestic (66%) expenditure than international (34%).  By contrast the Danish Red Cross reports that 93% of its income is development funding while 78% of its expenditure is on long term services and programmes and 59% is spent domestically.  The Colombia Red Cross spends all its funds domestically, 77% of which is on disaster response and early recovery.

Table 2: Trends across four National Societies 2010 and 2009

This analysis, however insufficiently representative to be extrapolated across all National Societies, provides an interesting insight into their financial structure. In terms of humanitarian income, it portrays an overall prevalence of private funding over governmental and other sources of income. More specifically, income generating activities appear to be a considerable source of financing for National Societies and an income strategy that clearly differentiates them from most other NGOs and civil society organisations. In terms of expenditure, the study shows that domestic activities outweigh the international aid programmes for all National Societies participating in the research. This finding, while not unexpected for the Colombian Red Cross, may be regarded with surprise for the other National Societies that are based in high-income countries.

Although this exercise gives an insight into the funding patterns of only seven National Societies, when replicated on a larger scale it could provide valuable information on volume and trends within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. While the global reach of the Movement – based on its worldwide presence and its network of volunteers – is well understood, a more complete funding picture will enable a better assessment of the full financial scale and weight of the Movement within the delivery system, thus emphasising its influence. It could also lead to improved coordination across the Movement, enabling better programmatical decisions and more effective assistance for those in need.

We sincerely welcome your input to make this information as up-to-date and accurate as possible, so if you have any additions or changes please email Georgina.Brereton@devinit.org.

The study was carried out in February 2011 and set out to map the sources and volumes of funding as well as the scope of the various resource flows.  In addition to this, the wider contribution of the KRCS to the country’s overall humanitarian response was explored, which included consideration of the Society’s auxiliary role to the Government, the extent of its autonomy, its role within the humanitarian system and its relationship with key stakeholders.

The report can be found here.

Out of the list of 187 national society annual reports covering the period 2007-2010 provided to us by the IFRC in November 2010, it was possible to access 131.  Of these, 68 showed data on income (covering 46 countries) and 62 showed data on expenditure (covering 44 countries).

The categories into which we grouped the income and expenditure data were not preset prior to the exercise, but evolved out of the ways in which the various national societies reported the data – there was no standardisation of reporting across national societies.  As such, the same income source or the same outflow could be categorised differently for the various national societies, according to the descriptions used.  This is particularly applicable for expenditure data which is reported less comprehensively than income data.  For example, bilateral spending to national societies may be described as ‘RC national societies’ in one report but as a ‘project sector’ in another report.

Income

Our findings show that income raised domestically decreases as the country-level income decreases (see figure 1).  National societies from high income countries raised 77% of their income domestically, whereas national societies from low income countries raised 11% of their income domestically.  National societies from low income countries were more dependent upon funds from within the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement (18%) whereas national societies from high income countries did not receive any funds from within the movement.

Figure 1. Sources of income for Red Cross/Red Crescent national societies, 2007-2010, according to country income levels

Expenditure

The largest proportion of funds spent by national societies from high income countries went towards blood/first aid/ambulance services (41%), (see Figure 2).  The largest proportion of funds (44%) spent by national societies from low income countries was on disaster preparedness and risk reduction (DPRR) whereas national societies from lower-middle income countries spent most of their funds on projects/appeals (54%).   However, as mentioned previously, reporting of expenditure data is relatively weak which poses limitations for data analysis.

Figure 2. Expenditure by Red Cross/Red Crescent national societies, 2007-2010, according to country income levels

Annual reports are used by some national societies as a way of reporting their financial information, however not every national society provides a financial statement in their annual report and those that do vary in the detail they give.  The lack of standardised reporting also means that data which is disaggregated by source or sector is not comparable across societies.  Nonetheless, with some improvements annual reports could be a good tool for Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies to provide transparent financial data.

• 40 of the 94 countries surveyed release no meaningful budget information.
• Mongolia and Uganda, while still not meeting best practices, have improved over time.
• There are also some geographic patterns: the United States and the countries of Western Europe tend to be more transparent while the Middle East and Africa tend to be less so.
• South Africa is the top performing country while India, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine all perform relatively well.
• Afghanistan scored 21 points higher than Iraq.

The findings of the Open Budget Index echo some of our experiences trying to obtain data for a number of governments on how much they spend on disasters.  Data is hard to come by.  We’ve been asked to attend meetings to justify why we want data and to write formal letters requesting data.  Trying to find the right person to ask is a large hurdle to overcome, and should you find them emails invariably remain unanswered and phone calls ignored.  Yet if an international organisation is having difficulty, imagine how impossible it is for the citizens of that country, let alone the poor and vulnerable.

I’ve already posted some of my thoughts on the conference here.  In addition to these, other interesting topics included the development of partnerships beyond the humanitarian system. Guidelines have been developed for foreign militaries operating in disaster affected countries during times of crises, through the Asia Pacific Conference on Military Assistance in Disaster Related Operations. A coming together of the humanitarian and private sectors was highlighted in the combined work of Mercy Malaysia and Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PWC) one that builds on the strength of each organisation to enable a more effective response.   PWC helps Mercy Malaysia to improve their organisational systems and develop their strategy, while Mercy Malaysia is helping PWC decide how to assist after a disaster and develop their Corporate Social Responsibility.  The next steps following the conference are here.

The study analyses the various domestic sources of humanitarian assistance and for each of these considers the type and volume of mobilised resources and what triggers the response.  We also looked at the impacts and benefits of domestic assistance, how resources are targeted, who has decision-making power, accountability mechanisms and the availability of information around domestic resources.

http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/report/domestic-response-in-uganda

Image credit: DRT

According to a World Bank factsheet, 91.5% of Indonesian migrant workers were female in 2001 although this dropped to 82.8% in 2004 (the total number of migrant workers in 2004 was 380,688).  During the 1980s, the migration of female workers, particularly in the domestic sector, increased significantly as a consequence of a new government policy promoting labour exports.  The top destination countries for female workers are Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan and in 2004 94% of the total registered Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia were female.

According to the Human development Report 2009, remittances to Indonesia amounted to US$ 6.2 billion (in 2007). Given that at least 80% of those abroad are women does that mean that at least US$5 billion is sent home by women?

Vintage image of Rosie the Riveter by J. Howard Miller. Courtesy National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution