TACLOBAN CITY- Bias, favoritism and duplication.
These are but just few of the feedbacks received by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) about aid distributions in the communities.
Worst, these concerns are usually listed under high frequency category basing on the number of queries by the typhoon-affected.
Adding also are questions about how the criteria for choosing a beneficiary is being chosen.
With these complaints and feedbacks, OCHA sees the need to incorporate its accountability to affected populations (AAP) working group not just what it did during the early stages of Yolanda Humanitarian Response but also in creating a more sustainable mechanism that will focus on effectiveness, learning, quality and accountability in aid distributions.
Veronika Martin, UN OCHA AAP officer, said that this measure will effect change to ensure that communities are heard in the decision-making.
The AAP will play a critical role to promote community perspective, thus the need to systematically gather, hear and integrate their view points, she added.
Aside from “checking” the system of aid distributions, AAP will also become the avenue for pointing out the gaps in assistance and a follow-up arm for unmet needs. Thus, it may also play a role in formation of future strategies in humanitarian aspects, Martin added.
Meanwhile, initial surveys under AAP perspective reveals that most asked for availability of construction materials from the humanitarian aid groups.
A clear indication that the people are now more into the rehabilitation stage and may have recovered from the early effects of the calamity like fear for lack of food supply. (REGIN OLIMBERIO, COMMUNITERE)
