ActionAid International Annual Report 2006

Progress towards our strategic objectives

The Right to Human Security in Conflict and Emergencies

The rehabilitation work from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was our largest on-going emergency operation during 2006. We focused our attention on helping people to go back to school and work, and to resolve their long-term needs for housing and land. ActionAid-trained counsellors helped survivors to deal with the less visible, but equally harmful emotional, effects of the tsunami through on-going psychosocial care.

Disaster response

Thousands of poor people were killed and many more had their lives turned upside-down by disasters and emergencies in 2006. We responded to floods in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Asia, and a typhoon in Vietnam, by distributing medicines, mosquito nets and other essential items. In all of these situations, we focussed on working with women to ensure that their rights were recognised and protected.

Story of Change in Thailand:

The moken people keep opportunistic developers at bay.

ActionAid has supported tsunami-affected communities across Thailand to protect their land and homes in the face of hostile government policies and advance from developers. Moken villagers, who have lived on Phuket for generations, were already fighting developers’ attempts to evict them from their traditional lands before the tsunami struck. Since the tsunami, and the loss of many of their houses, pressure to remove them has increased. Nen’s community were given 15 days to find another place to live. Even campaigning for 46 days at city hall didn’t help them secure the land where their homes once stood. Small victories have enabled Nen and his village to stay on their land. But they are still without deeds and have only five years of secure tenure.

But now the struggle of the Moken is attracting attention and solidarity nationwide. One year after the tsunami, a small celebration turned into a massive land rights rally with participation from all over the country. Pleaw, an NGO worker, said "the tsunami helped to raise the issue of land rights across the country."

By the end of 2006, 4,200 families, in some of the most inaccessible and neglected areas affected by the South Asia earthquake, were living in shelters provided by ActionAid. We insulated shelters and provided fuel-efficient stoves in preparation for the heavy snows. In India, we continued to implement a large-scale 'cash-for-work' project which provided income for thousands who were left destitute by the earthquake.

The 2005 East Africa food crisis, which left millions in Kenya and Uganda hungry, was still a priority for ActionAid in 2006. We worked with partners to to build resilience to future drought by construct cereal banks, irrigation systems, early warning systems and develop skills. In Niger in West Africa, our work to support farmers to produce and sell vegetables has reduced seasonal migration and pressure on women, made the local economy more vibrant and given the community more confidence and resources to cope with future emergencies. We also campaigned for governments and international bodies such as the UN to address the underlying causes of recurrent food crises.

We have also been improving our systems to deal with future natural disasters. New data collection and analysis mechanisms will enable us to be better prepared, and we have put in place new structures to ensure fast, appropriate responses. We lobbied key actors, such as the UK Department for International Development, the Pakistan government and the UN humanitarian affairs department, to improve the quality of their humanitarian responses.

Story of change in Bangladesh:

Schools in Bangladesh are prepared for Disaster

In 2006 ActionAid began a project in schools in Bangladesh, where there is high risk of floods and earthquakes. In the flood-prone chars, more than 2000 schools that double as cyclone shelters have been built. Community volunteers have been equipped with radios, and trained in first aid and rescue techniques, and the villagers have worked together to plan for such an eventuality. In Chittagong, a high risk area for earthquakes, a puppet show was performed to share information on how to prepare for, and cope with, an earthquake.

Disaster reduction

ActionAid is a leader in the field of disaster risk reduction, which encompasses work to prevent, mitigate and prepare for natural disasters. We specialise in supporting community groups and schools to identify local hazards and reduce risks through participatory vulnerability analysis (PVA), a method we have developed to help people analyse local risks and draw up action plans. It has been the basis of a project for disaster-preparedness in schools in Bangladesh, and was used in Nigeria to analyse the risks of bird flu. In Niger, it was used to better understand the recurrent food crisis and find solutions to it. During the year, we also started to see the impact of earlier work on disaster-preparedness.

Throughout the year, ActionAid lobbied the UN and governments to comply with the Hyogo framework, an action plan to build the world’s resilience to disasters. In 2007, we hope to collect more evidence and stories to support our arguments.

We also worked with communities across the globe to understand and respond to the growing threat of climate change. In Malawi, we studied the link between changing climate and increasing rural poverty, finding that smallholder farmers are forced to plant crops at different times of year as the rains come later and later, with poor returns on their harvests. This research was presented to the UN’s intergovernmental panel on climate change to raise the voices and concerns of the world’s poorest people, for whom climate change is a threat to their basic rights such as food and livelihoods.

Conflict

In 2006, we highlighted the accountability of UN peace-keeping forces to the communities and countries they serve. Four reports, on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Haiti and Liberia, paid particular attention to the protection of women’s rights. One of our specific recommendations was for programmes to be adapted to local realities and contexts. This was included in revised UN peacekeeping mandates.

We made good progress throughout the year in clarifying how our rights-based approach translates to work in conflict situations, where human rights abuses are commonplace. Our approach focuses on empowering communities, particularly women, in conflict areas to claim their rights and address the causes of conflict.

Home Introduction Mission, Vision, Values Message from Chair and CE Message from Treasurer Strategic Overview Strategic Objectives Women's Rights Education Rights Food Rights Human Security HIV/AIDS Governance Other Initiatives Organisational Objectives Governance & Audit Financial Review Review Auditors' report Policies Financial Accounts Income statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Note 1 Notes 2 & 3 Note 4 Note 4c Notes 5 & 6 Note 7 Note 8 & 9 Note 10 Note 11 Note 12 Note 13 Note 14 Note 15 Notes 16 & 17 Board-Trustees/Directors Photo Galleries Get on board 2006 South Asia Earthquake Global Action Week Video Gallery Contact Us		Progress towards our strategic objectives The Right to Human Security in Conflict and Emergencies The rehabilitation work from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was our largest on-going emergency operation during 2006. We focused our attention on helping people to go back to school and work, and to resolve their long-term needs for housing and land. ActionAid-trained counsellors helped survivors to deal with the less visible, but equally harmful emotional, effects of the tsunami through on-going psychosocial care. Disaster response Thousands of poor people were killed and many more had their lives turned upside-down by disasters and emergencies in 2006. We responded to floods in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Asia, and a typhoon in Vietnam, by distributing medicines, mosquito nets and other essential items. In all of these situations, we focussed on working with women to ensure that their rights were recognised and protected. Story of Change in Thailand: The moken people keep opportunistic developers at bay. ActionAid has supported tsunami-affected communities across Thailand to protect their land and homes in the face of hostile government policies and advance from developers. Moken villagers, who have lived on Phuket for generations, were already fighting developers’ attempts to evict them from their traditional lands before the tsunami struck. Since the tsunami, and the loss of many of their houses, pressure to remove them has increased. Nen’s community were given 15 days to find another place to live. Even campaigning for 46 days at city hall didn’t help them secure the land where their homes once stood. Small victories have enabled Nen and his village to stay on their land. But they are still without deeds and have only five years of secure tenure. But now the struggle of the Moken is attracting attention and solidarity nationwide. One year after the tsunami, a small celebration turned into a massive land rights rally with participation from all over the country. Pleaw, an NGO worker, said "the tsunami helped to raise the issue of land rights across the country." By the end of 2006, 4,200 families, in some of the most inaccessible and neglected areas affected by the South Asia earthquake, were living in shelters provided by ActionAid. We insulated shelters and provided fuel-efficient stoves in preparation for the heavy snows. In India, we continued to implement a large-scale 'cash-for-work' project which provided income for thousands who were left destitute by the earthquake. The 2005 East Africa food crisis, which left millions in Kenya and Uganda hungry, was still a priority for ActionAid in 2006. We worked with partners to to build resilience to future drought by construct cereal banks, irrigation systems, early warning systems and develop skills. In Niger in West Africa, our work to support farmers to produce and sell vegetables has reduced seasonal migration and pressure on women, made the local economy more vibrant and given the community more confidence and resources to cope with future emergencies. We also campaigned for governments and international bodies such as the UN to address the underlying causes of recurrent food crises. We have also been improving our systems to deal with future natural disasters. New data collection and analysis mechanisms will enable us to be better prepared, and we have put in place new structures to ensure fast, appropriate responses. We lobbied key actors, such as the UK Department for International Development, the Pakistan government and the UN humanitarian affairs department, to improve the quality of their humanitarian responses. Story of change in Bangladesh: Schools in Bangladesh are prepared for Disaster In 2006 ActionAid began a project in schools in Bangladesh, where there is high risk of floods and earthquakes. In the flood-prone chars, more than 2000 schools that double as cyclone shelters have been built. Community volunteers have been equipped with radios, and trained in first aid and rescue techniques, and the villagers have worked together to plan for such an eventuality. In Chittagong, a high risk area for earthquakes, a puppet show was performed to share information on how to prepare for, and cope with, an earthquake. Disaster reduction ActionAid is a leader in the field of disaster risk reduction, which encompasses work to prevent, mitigate and prepare for natural disasters. We specialise in supporting community groups and schools to identify local hazards and reduce risks through participatory vulnerability analysis (PVA), a method we have developed to help people analyse local risks and draw up action plans. It has been the basis of a project for disaster-preparedness in schools in Bangladesh, and was used in Nigeria to analyse the risks of bird flu. In Niger, it was used to better understand the recurrent food crisis and find solutions to it. During the year, we also started to see the impact of earlier work on disaster-preparedness. Throughout the year, ActionAid lobbied the UN and governments to comply with the Hyogo framework, an action plan to build the world’s resilience to disasters. In 2007, we hope to collect more evidence and stories to support our arguments. We also worked with communities across the globe to understand and respond to the growing threat of climate change. In Malawi, we studied the link between changing climate and increasing rural poverty, finding that smallholder farmers are forced to plant crops at different times of year as the rains come later and later, with poor returns on their harvests. This research was presented to the UN’s intergovernmental panel on climate change to raise the voices and concerns of the world’s poorest people, for whom climate change is a threat to their basic rights such as food and livelihoods. Conflict In 2006, we highlighted the accountability of UN peace-keeping forces to the communities and countries they serve. Four reports, on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Haiti and Liberia, paid particular attention to the protection of women’s rights. One of our specific recommendations was for programmes to be adapted to local realities and contexts. This was included in revised UN peacekeeping mandates. We made good progress throughout the year in clarifying how our rights-based approach translates to work in conflict situations, where human rights abuses are commonplace. Our approach focuses on empowering communities, particularly women, in conflict areas to claim their rights and address the causes of conflict.


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