MEDAIR

Aceh Project, Indonesia ‘Biting the Bullet’

Shelter Meeting 09a 7-8 May 2009

Geneva, Switzerland

MEDAIR

Medair International Overview

Medair brings life-saving relief and rehabilitation in disasters, conflict areas and other crises by working alongside the most vulnerable

• Created in 1989, a non-governmental organisation independent of any political, economic, social or religious authority

• More than 2 million beneficiaries served per year, 8 country programmes in 7 countries of operation: Afghanistan, Congo, Indonesia, Madagascar, Somalia, Sudan (N&S states), Uganda

• Head Office in Switzerland, 5 affiliate offices in France, Germany, The Netherlands, UK and the USA

• International Head Office in Switzerland with more over 70 staff; 120 internationally recruited staff in the field plus 980 nationally recruited staff

• ISO 9001:2001 certification worldwide, and Swiss ZEWO certification

• More than US$ 25 million total budget

• 85% of budget spent on humanitarian expenses

MEDAIR

Medair International Overview

Our values• Accountability, Compassion, Dignity,

Hope, Integrity and Faith

Our Core Competencies• Emergency Relief• Rehabilitation

Our Sectors of ExpertiseMedair employs a multisectoral approach:• Health Services• Water & Sanitation• Shelter & Infrastructure

Additional Competencies• Capacity building (‘Good Enough Guide’ contributor)• Beneficiary accountability (HAP-I founder member)

MEDAIR

Medair International Overview

Vulnerability Assessment• Is the region isolated, remote or hard-to-access?• Is the region impacted by a natural disaster, conflict or

crisis?• Is the region underdeveloped?• Is the region experiencing life-threatening poverty?• Is there a high percentage of refugees or internally

displaced persons (IDPs)?• Is there a high percentage of underweight children?• Is there a high mortality rate for children under five?• Is there limited or no access to humanitarian aid?• Has the crisis been largely forgotten?

Answers to the vulnerability assessment produce a measure of a population or region’s vulnerability, and help Medair determine whether it will launch an emergency relief and rehabilitation programme in the country

MEDAIR

Selected Shelter & Infrastructure Responses

• Kosovo, 2000-1: 130 houses + 278 roofs built, 497 windows + 1453 windows distributed using voucher system in builders merchants; cash for shelter, camp management in Albania

• Mozambique, 2000:     431 houses built with roads/ trees in new planned settlement, 52,000 hoes/ 6,500 household kits/ 9,600 mosquito nets distributed; 1 school, 1 clinic, 13 health posts

• India, 2001: 1,087 families assisted with semi-permanent housing in Gujarat State through self-build programme

• Sri Lanka, 2004:          3,000 transitional shelters constructed to ZOA design; latrines + access to clean water; boats + nets for 600 fishermen

• Iran, 2004-5:             633 earthquake-resistant houses constructed/ completed to government approved design; 4km of irrigation channels repaired; 34 classrooms in ‘Connex’ buildings

• Pakistan, 2005-6:  6,261 families received shelter kits, 1,273 tents distributed, 11,064 ppl trained in disaster mitigation; shelter kits for 14 rural health clinics; 11 schools

TOTAL: 11,600+ shelter units completed/ rehabilitated

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Project Review

Initial Context

• Asian Tsunami struck on 26th December 2004 causing major damage. Decision made to go into Sri Lanka, rather than Indonesia.

• Significant tsunami-restricted funds still available into 2006.

• Needs assessment carried out April/ May 2006.

• Main needs identifed as access to clean water and sanitation

• First phase of project began in July 2006.

Developments

• Earthquake struck Nias island March 2005 (3 months post-tsunami).

• Nias – very poor, under-funded Christian island off Sumatra

• Needs assessment carried out April & August 2006.

• Main needs identifed as access to health facilities & clean water.

• Project began in February 2007.

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Project Review

Initial Strategy• SO1 Support tsunami survivors to return to their permanent homes as

quickly as possible by enabling safe water and effective sanitation in Aceh

• SO2 Support earthquake survivors in Nias to not only recover to pre-disaster conditions but reduce future vulnerability with rehabilitation of water & sanitation and health facilities as well as sustainably improve the quality of health care

• SO3 A flexible emergency response capacity to respond to disasters and still unmet recovery needs in Indonesia

• SO4 Disaster mitigation and preparedness activities within each intervention

• SO5 Seek out other people in need of disaster recovery assistance who have so far received little help

Funding

Chaîne du Bonheur (Swiss Solidarity), Tearfund UK, Cedar Fund

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Project Review

Proposed household septic tank and treatment garden

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Project Review

Initial Project• Aceh project was set up in two phases:

• Phase 1 from July 2006 to August 2007

• Phase 2 from December 2006 to November 2007

• Total Expenditure: $2.7m

• Main objectives for Phases 1 & 2 combined: inc. 1000 watsan units, 4 rainwater fed systems, 3 gravity-fed systems, 60 shallow well rehabilitations

• Both 1 & 2 phases were run from two project bases (2 hours apart), by two Project Managers, who both reported to the Deputy Country Director.

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Project Review

Evaluation of initial project

• At the close of project, Medair’s survey indicated high beneficiary satisfaction

• However, an independent evaluation on behalf of one of the main donors, Tearfund UK, indicated serious water quality issues with a significant number of the 644 completed water treatment units

• A comprehensive study of all units was carried out by a Medair team and a repair programme developed using a new country team and a revised implementation approach

• Tearfund UK & Chaîne du Bonheur approved the new approach and agreed to fund these remedial works, due for completion in July 2009

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Project Review

New household water treatment unit nearing completion

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Lessons Learned

Approach 1 • Two bases, both reporting to

Deputy Country Director• Many contractors in many villages

• Sign off by IRS/ NRS, not specified

• Trained some villagers for them to train their neighbours

• Monitoring by IRS and NRS was not structured

• MoUs/ regular authority contact not followed up

Approach 2• One base, run by Country

Director• One contractor, in one place at

one time• Sign off by Construction

managers• Individual Training

• Daily Supervision, especially at key phases

• MoUs with local authorities in place and followed up

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Lessons Learned

Setting up with exit in mind • Important to use a good local lawyer from the start in setting

up contracts

• Important to ensure HR records are kept in order

• Important that good office set up, filing of beneficiary distribution lists, sign off sheets etc. kept in order from the beginning.

• Important to maintain relations with local authorities, not

only at the start and when there are problems.

MEDAIR

Indonesia Aceh Lessons Learned

Learnings

• Desk Officer (DO) continuity: the DO changed 4 times during the first year of the project. No HQ Operations field trip was made for over a year.

• Programme Selection and Mission Alignment: Was our intervention really responding to the most vulnerable or because Donor funding was available?

• Inadequate management: At several levels there were failures in proper management. From NRS to contractors, IRS to NRS and CD to PMs & HQ follow up.

• Contract Management: There was a lack of both construction and contractor management expertise; ensure the right staff are in place for the size/ complexity of project

• Pilot innovative technical ideas yourself without relying on the opinion of others: “Don’t experiment with the lives of the poor”

MEDAIR

Indonesia Programme ultimate aim…

“I really appreciate the time Medair takes on community relations. It is something they do really well.” Gregoire Labhardt, Funding Partner, Chaîne du Bonheur, during visit to Nias project

Children enjoying clean water source in Hilizaria