Humanitarian Response Review

The failure of the collaborative approach led to a decision by the ERC to commission a comprehensive review of the response system. The Humanitarian Response Review of August 2005 found major shortcomings in humanitarian preparedness and response, finding that as a sector, protection requires special and urgent attention. Its recommendations focused on three key areas humanitarian leadership, funding, and coordination. These became the three initial pillars of the Humanitarian Reform process, later (p. 304) joined by partnership, linked to the development of the Global Humanitarian Platform Principles of Partnership. 

This chapter analyses the changes in the architecture for addressing internal displacement brought about by the Humanitarian Reform process initiated in 2005, and its subsequent evolution. It reviews ongoing debates about institutional mandates and responsibilities and examines its implementation in practice, drawing on field experience and recent evaluations of operations where elements of the reform have been applied. 

The United Nations Development Program administers the common humanitarian fund (CHF), and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) manages both the emergency response fund (ERF) and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). CERF was launched in 2006 with a grant of 450 million (GHA 2011). The CERF provides the donors the opportunity to pool their funds on a global level to enhance the effectiveness and reliability of humanitarian assistance. Project proposals are reviewed by a humanitarian coordinator before they are sent to the CERF. 

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