UNFPA now considers emergency response to be an essential part of assistance in the transition phase from an emergency to reconstruction.

On 30th and 31st October, representatives from 18 Japanese NGOs, including umbrella organizations and JOICFP, took part in a UNFPA and MOFA-supported workshop for training on emergency response at UNU Tokyo.

Eriko Hibi, Program Specialist, Humanitarian Response Unit, UNFPA, spoke about strategies in implementing emergency relief, emphasizing the need to take women's issues into consideration, such as situating toilet and water facilities in safe areas.

Security can be a real problem
when many people are living together like this

Reproductive health (RH) services, she said, need to be integrated into health issues in emergency situations, and need to be as sophisticated as possible. UNFPA has developed MISP (Minimum Initial Service Package) for RH, and is training trainers to disseminate it.

UNFPA, in line with other UN organizations, recognizes the need for ready funds to be available for emergency situations, rather than having to ask donors before relief can begin.

UNFPA also wants to develop stronger links with UN country teams and NGOs for accurate data and information gathering, and resources assessment, and is working with NGOs on capacity development, promoting cooperation among NGOs, UN organizations, and governmental organizations.

After the Asian tsunami in Bandah Aceh

Yasuhide Nakamura, Representative, HANDS, spoke about cooperation with UNFPA, and gave an example from Afghanistan. He stressed the need to "gather information first," especially as the data NGOs can obtain is different than that gathered by national organizations.

Gathering accurate data on people
like these living in a remote area
of Afghanistan is a job for NGOs

As an example, he showed how the ratio of men and women who contribute to society through work in Afghanistan ranged from 2:1 to as high as 60:1 between areas, and that national data could not reveal this.

NGOs, he said, also had a valuable role to play in resource assessment for reconstruction.