December 14, 2011

“The report is based on an evaluation of the humanitarian response in south-central Somalia and is one of the most comprehensive evaluations of aid in Somalia ever conducted.” Mark Bowden, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia DARA publishes the report of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Evaluation of the Humanitarian Response in South Central Somalia 2005-2010.
Read the executive summary.

The evaluation has been described as one of the most comprehensive evaluations of aid in Somalia by Mark Bowden, Humanitarian Coordinator, and is DARA’s largest system-wide evaluation to date. The evaluation was undertaken by a team of seven evaluators between March and November 2011, and it was commissioned by the IASC and was funded by four bilateral donors: Danida, DFID, SDC and SIDA.

Listen to the podcast interview with Riccardo Polastro, Head of DARA’s Evaluations Department.

The humanitarian response was set against the backdrop of a very complex environment as Somalia experienced one of the world’s most protracted emergencies. More than two decades of conflict, combined with frequent disasters, have displaced millions of Somalis, and hunger and famine are recurrent.

Internally displaced women in Galmudug, Bole Note settlement, Mudug Province

Limited access and security have hindered the response. Nevertheless, in the period under review, the overall response was successful in key areas: food distributions, health, nutrition, water and sanitation.

Key recommendations include

• Donors should step up efforts to ensure the provision of unconditional funding that is independent from political objectives and coherent with Good Humanitarian Donorship Principles
• The issues of access, protection of civilians and impartiality should be addressed immediately
• Cluster activities should be aligned to Do No Harm Principles, and inter-clusters responses should be adapted to local realities on the ground
• A plan to improve multi-cluster humanitarian response should be implemented to prevent further displacement and promote the return of displaced populations
• Common assessment tools to carry out joint-needs assessments should be developed
• The humanitarian system must improve accountability to beneficiaries

Many of the recommendations have already been taken into account in the Consolidated Appeal, the humanitarian strategy for Somalia in 2012.

Download the report (pdf)