global strategy

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partnership for change in the world

global strategy 2013-2016

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The Global Strategy is the overall strategic tool to guide our international work in

the years to come. It addresses our development work, humanitarian assistance,

mine action and advocacy globally and sets the direction for future development

within programmes, geographical presence and partnerships. The organisational

development and capacity to implement this strategy is described in the work

plans within DanChurchAid Vision and Plan 2013-2016

challenges in a changing world

3 partnership for change

5 partnership strategic objectives

7 0ur goals

9 strategic change objectives

11 programme and project focus and overview

17 dca focus countries and regional perspective

19 right based development and gender equality

31 programme management

35 assumptions and risks

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The world in which we operate is undergoing dramatic change. Power is shifting to the rapidly growing economies of the global east and south and the power of governments to act as agents and change is eroding. In almost all nation states, internal in-equality is increasing as the world economic expands. It is now too simplistic to talk about a rich global north and a poor global south. The number of ‘poor’ countries is declining, but globally inequality is still rising. Across the 21st century world chronic poverty often exists side by side with grossly excessive wealth. Most people in poverty now live in middle-income, emerging economies. the richest 1 per cent today controls 40 per cent of the world’s wealth while the poorest 50 per cent own just 1 per cent.

Within DanChurchAid’s (DCA) five thematic areas of work, there have been improvements. As examples - 600 million people are no longer living in extreme poverty; women continue to gain representation in parliaments; and more people than ever are living with HIV - due to improved access to treatment for HIV and fewer AIDS-related deaths.

The beginning of the 21st century witnessed how coalitions and individual citizens in the Arab world mobilised and challenged repressive governments. In Myanmar, there has been a gradual opening of political space. However, despite these advances, the consolidation of democratic governance remains fragile. The shallowness of past reforms in formal democratic institutions is also increasingly evident - in the growth of restrictions to any form of opposition from citizens and civil society, the media and other actors. NGO framework laws have been introduced around the globe, north and south, threatening to filter out groups that are critical of government policies. There is a global decline in key areas such as press freedom, the rule of law and the rights of civil society. only 43 per cent of the world’s population lives in countries assessed as free by Freedom house.

Hunger remains a global challenge, despite the fact that the number of people living in extreme poverty and poverty rates have fallen in every developing region. Even at the current rate of progress, estimates indicate that about 1 billion people will still be living on less than $1.25 a day in 2015. Four out of every five people living in extreme poverty will live in sub-Saharan Af-rica and southern Asia.

Despite global food production continuing to exceed global food requirements, and increasing opportunities for communication, trade and transport at the global level, approximately 923 mil-lion women, men, and children are still denied access to a sta-ble supply of the most basic calorie and nutrient requirements. At the global level, food insecurity is thus a matter of unequal

distribution and unjust food systems, in addition to production constraints at the local levels. Food insecurity poses immense human suffering and seriously undermines the potential for uti-lising human resources. every night, one person in seven goes to bed hungry.

The HIV and AIDS agenda is changing rapidly as prevention ef-forts are reducing the number of new infections. Acquiring HIV is no longer a death sentence and a person with HIV does not need to ever develop AIDS. Access to treatment for people living with HIV has increased in all regions. At the end of 2010, 6.5 mil-lion people were receiving antiretroviral therapy in developing regions. This constitutes an increase of over 1.4 million people over December 2009, and the largest one-year increase ever. However, the 2010 target of universal access was not reached. For this to happen will require a concerted effort from all stake-holders to ensure sufficient funding, attention to key popula-tions and marginalised groups and not least to address the key social drivers of the epidemic - in particular gender inequality, discrimination and stigmatisation and lack of sexual and repro-ductive rights. only a third of those in need of treatment have access to it.

Climate changes lead to extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. This poses a particular challenge to poor countries and marginalized areas, and in particular the most impoverished in those areas. The impact of climate change and environmental decline is seen in both more frequent natural and man-made disasters - such as floods, droughts and famine. Their impact on poor communities can reverse years of progress in develop-ment. 70 per cent of disasters are now climate related, affect-ing some 260 million people each year.

Armed conflict and violence uprooted more than 4 million peo-ple in 2011, either inside or outside the borders of their countries. At the end of 2011, an estimated 42.5 million people worldwide were living in a place to which they had been forcibly displaced due to conflict or persecution.

Governments have provided a record level of funding to rid the world of landmines, and in 2011 more contaminated land has been cleared than ever before. But anti-personnel mines con-tinue to be laid by governments and non-state parties, and 72 countries are mine-affected, even though 80 per cent of the world’s nations have signed the Mine Ban Treaty. Cluster muni-tions are still being produced, transported and used with sig-nificant negative impact on local populations despite the 2008 Cluster Munitions Convention. 70% of all landmine victims are civilians.

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a partnership is based on mutual ownership, accountabil-ity and participation - a strong mutual relationship based on shared values.

Partnership is a founding principle of DanChurchAid - not just a way of working but fundamental to our values and identity. Our emphasis on working in partnerships is our most important comparative advantage. Since 2010, DCA has been a leading member of the global Action by Churches Together (ACT ) alli-ance. Our partners are on the front line, interacting with rights holders every day. Our partners are critical actors who imple-ment activities which turn our policies into every day practice. DCA partners enrich and inspire our work, and they enable us to understand the problems of poverty and marginalisation.

DCA recognises the need to be more systematic about our partnership approach in the period 2013-2016. We want to strengthen partners to become stronger civil society actors in their own contexts. We will be more transparent about whom we work with, why and for how long. We will work from baseline data and have minimum objectives for all partners. Beginning in 2013, Regional Offices will monitor activities against these objectives.

From 2013 onwards, DCA will prioritise joint programming, joint advocacy strategies and organisational development work, with 1-2 key partners annually in each focus country (10-12 focus countries in all). By the end of the period 2013-2016, DCA’s goal is to have at least 100 key partners. For each, we will have clear objectives and expectations for organisational development, and quality and accountability improvements reflected in ac-countability frameworks which go beyond project activities and funding contracts. All partner organisations will be supported, motivated and monitored on six benchmarks in accountability and quality management with the ultimate aim to significantly improve their organisational sustainability, quality and account-ability. Some partners may themselves also opt for external verification.

The commitment to the ACT alliance will continue to be strong and our added value as a faith-based organisation will remain central. Most people in developing countries engage in some form of spiritual practice and believe that their faith is impor-tant and enables them to relate to the world. Faith groups feel they are motivated by values which are grounded in their re-ligious beliefs and they can have a distinct understanding of development and a different relationship with poor people.

Of-ten there can be a lack of understanding between faith groups and governments, donors, secular development organisations and other parts of civil society. In the past, many development agencies have avoided the issue of faith and religion and its role in development.

However, DCA as a member of the ACT alliance believes that development actors need to have a basic understanding of what a faith group is and the role played by faith in development - in order to better achieve shared objectives. This includes an understanding of how faith relates to development issues, in the lives of communities, the role of religious institutions and leaders in public life, and faith-based development and relief organisations. An improved understanding helps to build trust and identify greater opportunities for collaboration on policy development and programming. It is important to acknowledge the crucial role of faith-based organisations and faith groups in providing services and relief to poor people, particularly to mar-ginalised communities and in fragile states. DCA will draw more on its particular access to Christian and other faith-based actors to help activate their potential as agents of active citizenship.

Many of the 100 key partners for DCA will be ACT partners. In the coming years, DCA will strengthen programmatic coopera-tion with other ACT members in all DCA focus countries and in humanitarian response activities. One benchmark for ACT alli-ance cooperation will be having realistic and up-to-date contin-gency plans in place for all humanitarian response partners in all DCA focus countries. We will ensure that resources are shared and used in the most effective and cost-efficient way, increas-ing the quality and financincreas-ing of programmes in the field. DCA partner interaction with ACT Forums and external sustainable advocacy networks will be increased to strengthen the analysis, strategic decisions and coordination of initiatives.

A DCA partner group (PG) consisting of elected representatives from DCA’s partners was re-established in 2011. The PG has an advisory function to the DCA Board as well as day-to-day man-agement (Senior Manman-agement).

The PG gives inputs to DCA’s overall strategic directions (Vision & Plan parts I and II), new policies, major revision of existing policies and other DCA key documents. All DCA partners in each focus country elect a representative to the DCA Partner Group. We will continue to seek critical, constructive advice from the PG in regard to all new policies and strategies.

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In the period 2013-2016 we will prioritise a revision of our Part-nership Policy, including a strategic plan for working with ners and a more systematic portfolio management of our part-nerships in each focus country.

partnership policy

To increase the transparency of DCA’s different relationships with partners, the Partnership Policy will be adjusted to catego-rise the range of relationships with partners, including defining the purpose, criteria and mutual requirements for these part-nerships. For all partnership relations DCA will work to strength-en, Rights-Based Commitments and Gender Equity standards, including the six benchmarks within the Humanitarian Account-ability Partnership.

2013 indicators

The current Partnership Policy from 2006 is revised to meet re-commendations from the Added Value evaluation (COWI, 2009); the HAP certification and the Thematic Review and Capacity As-sessment of DanChurchAid (Intrac, 2011). The Policy will be ap-proved by DCA’s Partner Group and Board in August 2013.

2016 indicator

Core partners cooperating with DCA in approved programmes have a signed long-term partnership agreement with DCA in ac-cordance with the revised Partnership Policy.

partner portfolio management

DCA will ensure that programmes have a strategic, balanced and mixed partner portfolio based on different criteria; a bal-ance between members of the ACT allibal-ance, or potential ACT members versus secular partners; human rights organisations and gender equity organisations; advocacy versus service deliv-ery partners; short term and longer term partners, etc. In each focus country the nature of the relationship with each partner is based on a systematic and mutual discussion between field offices and HQ staff, including regular assessments of partners’ organisational strengths and weaknesses, and relevant organi-sational development plans will be agreed upon.

In all DCA programmes, two annual partner platform meet-ings will be conducted to share learning and experiences with programme implementation, reviews and evaluation, capacity building training; advocacy campaigns, etc. Chairing of the part-ner platform meetings will be on a rotational basis.

2013 indicators

From 2013, at least one to two partnership agreements will be signed in each DCA focus country per year, including a long-term organisational development plan for each partner.

By July 2013 in each focus country, DCA will institute work plans and reports of activities to improve partners’ practice and

how to put relevant parts of the Humanitarian Accountability Framework into practice; and present a roll-out plan how DCA intends to work with its partners and how they implement and monitor their staff code of conduct.

2016 indicator

By 2016, all approved country strategies (with a regional focus) have clear partner relationship criteria and are monitored an-nually in twice annual partnership meetings against mutually agreed accountability benchmarks.

act alliance

In the period 2013-2016, DCA will strengthen programmatic co-operation with other ACT members in all DCA focus countries and ensure that resources are shared and used in the most ef-fective, coordinated and cost-efficient way, as well as increasing quality and financing of programmes in the field. DCA partner interaction with ACT Forums and external sustainable advocacy networks will be increased to strengthen the analysis, strategic decisions and coordination of initiatives.

2013 indicators

DCA is active in each in-country ACT Forum and we document number of meetings and activities each year.

2016 indicators

Within the ACT alliance, DCA has facilitated capacity building with one or more ACT partners in each focus country.

external coordination and networks

DCA facilitates strategic linkages with external networks and institutions beyond the ACT alliance in programme countries with the purpose of exchanging information and best practices, improving overall coordination and impact of technical and ad-vocacy activities. This will include theme-specific national net-works, NGO Forums, research institution and the UN, as well as international networks. DCA will strive to place resource persons on the governance bodies of SPHERE, HAP, NGO Fo-rum, ACT board, Aprodev (the Association of World Council of Churches related Development Organisations), ICBL/CMC (In-ternational Coalition to Ban Landmines/Cluster Munition Coal-tion), and LWF (Lutheran World Foundation).

2013 indicator

Conversion of humanitarian standards and accountability mechanisms (Joint Standard Initiative - JSI) through external consultation has progressed significantly against benchmarks.

2016 indicator

All DCA programme strategies specify the strategic relevance and type of network, and how DCA and partners can benefit from it.

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In the period 2013-2016, DanChurchAid will contribute to the ful-filment of the fundamental human rights of the world’s poor-est and most marginalised people. Five global goals outline the thematic focus where DCA will work to strengthen:

 the right to take part in and influence social, political and economic changes;

We will work to remove the barriers that prevent men and women from equal participation in society – at local, national and international levels. We aim to strengthen democratic structures and processes and further the implementation of civil and political rights, allowing poor women and men and civil society organisations to enjoy their equal right to participate. We focus on changing the institutions and ac-tors that abuse the participation rights of certain population groups, especially women, indigenous people, minorities and religious minorities.

 the right to food through better access to sustainable liveli-hood activities;

In all of our areas of activity, we will strengthen and secure the right to food. We commit ourselves to achieve a higher level of equality, food security and an increasing standard of living by changing the structures that cause hunger and malnutrition and prevent people from escaping from it. We promote sustainable and climate-friendly methods of agri-culture that are adapted to the new challenges caused by climate changes, and also to reduce vulnerability and mar-ginalisation by promoting microfinance, income-generation activities and access to markets. We support mobilisation and organisation to advocate for the right to food.

 the right to basic health services with particular focus on the fight against hiV and aids;

Our work focuses on the right to basic health services, in

par-ticular in relation to HIV and AIDS. We want to strengthen women and men’s access to contraception and support the rights of women and men to be able to freely decide when to have children, to be free from sexual coercion and from harmful cultural practices. As a faith-based organisation, we focus specifically on ensuring that other faith-based organi-sations fight against stigmatisation and discrimination, and address the gender inequality that is the main driving force of the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

 the right to a life in dignity and thus the right to humanitar-ian assistance and protection;

We work within existing international humanitarian law and standards in disaster response. When responding to a hu-manitarian crisis, we address basic needs, in particular food security, with a focus on gender issues as well as strive to eliminate the underlying causes of the crisis. We prioritise accountability to the local population and develop its re-sponse in collaboration with ACT partners, networks and the affected population. The response includes disaster risk re-duction, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. Wher-ever possible, we will link our response to ongoing develop-ment activities.

 the right to protection against the negative effects of land-mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war;

We conduct humanitarian mine action to remove the barriers that mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war pose to socio-economic development in post-conflict countries. The DCA response includes demining, survey, mine risk education, armed violence reduction and victim as-sistance.

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DCA will continue its work within five programme areas, includ-ing via local, national and global advocacy:

 Active Citizenship

 Right to Food

 HIV and AIDS Prevention

 Humanitarian Assistance

 Humanitarian Mine Action

advocacy

DCA works according to the rights-based approach. Comple-menting DCA’s humanitarian and development work, advocacy is seen as an equal and integrated activity. For DCA, advocacy means a series of actions strategically designed to increase the influence of rights holders on public policy decisions and implementation that affect their lives. The overall objective of DCA’s work with advocacy is to address power imbalances and increase achievements of rights for the most impoverished and marginalised. This implies addressing the structural causes of poverty and injustice and active support towards sustainable and equitable development.

the right to take part in and influence

social, political and economic changes

In 2012, DCA´s Political Space Programme policy was revised and the name was changed to Active Citizenship. The revised policy has a sharpened focus on the human right to participate,

including freedoms of association, assembly and expression, and the right to information. As with the previous programme, we will support work against discrimination. The new policy is centred on supporting poor men and women to engage in de-cision-making structures and processes, particularly at the lo-cal level; further their equal rights to participation in electoral processes. The policy will more systematically monitor and advocate for an enabling environment for citizen action, as per international human rights standards. While DCA is prioritising an engagement in local governance, we are also committed to addressing national level advocacy for changes in discrimina-tory laws, policies and norms that limit the participation of poor women and men.

Recent programme evaluations have pointed to the need for DCA to further build partner capacity on strategic advocacy, including facilitating improved skills in political economy and power analysis. Stakeholder analyses must therefore be stronger on assessing power and interests. Based on these analyses, DCA and partners need to be more strategic in taking opportunities within political processes for addressing govern-ance gaps. Experience also suggests that DCA must maintain a flexible strategic framework for these programmes, enabling them to adapt to different political contexts and quickly re-spond to changing political contexts. In view of the increased risks faced by partners, we will need to step up our networking with protection-specialised agencies (e.g. Frontline Defenders)

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and increase our support, where relevant, to human rights de-fenders mechanisms in its focus countries. DCA will also ex-plore making more explicit a focus on promoting dialogue and constructive engagement between conflicting groups. This will include supporting initiatives at the local, national and in-ternational levels for promotion of peaceful coexistence and reconciliation e.g. through interfaith dialogue and consensus building among ethnic and religious groups. We will continue to support work on access to justice as a cross-cutting inter-vention to respond to abuses and violations against women and discriminated groups, as an inhibiting factor to their en-hanced participation in their societies. DCA will undertake ad-vocacy activities at Danish, EU and global levels aimed at en-suring political space and enabling environment for civil society action with a special focus on the right to association and as-sembly. These activities will, to a very large degree, be carried out in cooperation with DCA partners, first and foremost in Aprodev, ACT alliance and Concord (the European NGO confed-eration for Relief and Development) in Denmark and Europe.

indicators

2013 strategy indicator

In 3 out of 10 fully-fledged Active Citizenship programmes, 60 per cent of partners have developed long-term advocacy strate-gies and report increased skills in political economy and power analysis in 2013.

2016 strategy indicator

In all Active Citizenship Programmes, 60 per cent of partners have institutionalised long-term advocacy strategies and show evidence of increased political analysis and strategic advocacy skills.

2013 effect indicator

Number of new laws and policies introduced with partner con-tributions and the documented increase in resources for more equitable service delivery and poverty-reducing programmes due to partner-supported lobby and advocacy interventions.

2016 effect indicator

Documented impact of the increased participation of women and men and representative civil society organisation within local and national decision-making structures and processes in terms of in-creased budgets and their effective disbursement, equitable ser-vice delivery, improved policies, laws and practices, etc.

the right to food through better

access to sustainable livelihood activities

DCA will upscale sustainable livelihood activities in rural areas and facilitate linkage at national and international levels. This entails working within the UN Global Strategic Framework and Guidelines In Agriculture, this entails i.a. capacity development and organisation of farmers and pastoralists; improved food production and storage; marketing of agricultural and other pro-duce; and advocacy to keep national duty bearers accountable to commitments to right to food.

DCA will work to mainstream climate change adaptation by including Disaster Risk Reduction in all Right to Food pro-grammes. It is our strategy to improve disaster resilience by linking humanitarian efforts more firmly to long-term develop-ment, through vulnerability analysis and vulnerability scenarios and strengthening local efforts where disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation are integrated. The local population, particularly the most vulnerable groups and the local authori-ties will be involved in prevention and preparedness to a much greater degree for maximum effect.

The rural poor hold great potential for contributing to the achievement of the right to food if given the opportunity to ac-cess resources and influence. We will continue to support the rural poor in improving productivity, generating income and gaining influence on the political processes that define the framework for their right to food. We will focus on reducing dis-crimination of vulnerable groups that may include farmers with little or poor quality land, marginalised pastoralists, landless labourers, girls and women with no land rights, HIV and AIDS affected and indigenous peoples. Giving women the same level of access to knowledge and natural resources as men would in itself lift 100 to 150 million people out of hunger.

DCA will strengthen poverty alleviation activities by facilitating the removal of barriers to access to sustainable and green liveli-hoods. We will focus on various aspects of agriculture (capacity building and organization of farmers, increased food produc-tion, food storage, food marketing and advocacy to keep na-tional duty bearers accountable to uphold food security laws), and other rural income generating activities to ensure house-hold food security including the most vulnerable e.g. landless and casual labourers. DCA will continue the strategic use of mi-crofinance to support the formation of village savings and loan groups. In relevant areas Advocacy issues in our Right to Food programmes will be climate change adaptation, land grabbing and integration of development and humanitarian aid policies. We will continue to focus on consumer protection and advocacy in connection to microfinance.

In areas where mines and Unexploded Ordinances (UXO)s hinder food production or access to agricultural land, DCA will integrate the work of Humanitarian Mine Action and Right to Food pro-grammes.

indicators

2013 strategy indicator

By 2013, more than 50 per cent of the partners in each Right to Food programme have included strategic work on struc-tural causes of food insecurity, disaster risk reduction and the effect and impact of climate change in their policies and plans, and show evidence of implementation of these policies in projects.

2016 strategy indicator

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to Food programme have included strategic work on structural causes of food insecurity, disaster risk reduction and the effect and impact of climate change in their policies and plans, and show evidence of implementation of these policies in projects.

2013 effect indicator

By 2013, the combination of agricultural production, income generation and accessing rights has contributed to a reduc-tion of food insecure months of 10 per cent within DCA pro-gramme areas.

2016 effect indicator

By 2016, the combination of an integrated approach to humani-tarian assistance, climate change adaptation and agricultural production, income generation and accessing rights has con-tributed to a reduction of food insecure months of 50 per cent within DCA programme areas.

the right to basic health services

with particular focus on

the fight against hiv and aids

HIV prevalence is declining in many countries and world focus on HIV is decreasing. However, the challenge of HIV remains huge. Still only a third of those in need of treatment have the access to treatment. The social and cultural issues around HIV is worsened by a real set back on sexual and reproductive rights in many countries, both in relation to women’s rights and sexual minority rights, making HIV prevention even more challenging.

A review of DCA’s HIV and AIDS programme will take place in 2014-2015. Based on its recommendations a new programme policy on HIV and AIDS will be developed. DCA has long experi-ence in combating the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Focus has been on supporting organisation giving care for people living with HIV and AIDS, support for orphans and vulnerable children and pre-vention. An important part of the work has been advocacy in Denmark, internationally and in the countries in the South. During 2013-2016, DCA will continue to focus on HIV and AIDS interven-tion but direct the work into high prevalence countries in Africa. Areas will include HIV and AIDS prevention, advocacy, empower-ment and changes of attitude towards people with the disease to reduce stigma and discrimination. DCA will shift focus away from service provision to more rights-based approaches with advocacy for increased government support in favour of the groups most vulnerable to the infection and strengthening of people living with HIV own organisations and networks. Supporting sexual and reproductive rights including sexual minority rights, and fighting against criminalisation of HIV transmission will be given more fo-cus in the programmes in the planning period. A strategy for Dan-ish, International and Danish advocacy will be developed in 2013.

DCA as a faith-based organisation will continue to work to sup-port the rights of the most marginalised and especially how to involve the faith-based community in creating an enabling and constructive environment for HIV prevention.

indicators

2013 strategy indicator

By 2013, all DCA HIV and AIDS programmes document active steps to strengthen advocacy focus on programme by capac-ity development initiatives or by including advocacy resource organisations in the partner base.

2016 strategy indicator

By 2016, all DCA HIV and AIDS programmes have participated actively in national level advocacy.

2013 effect indicator

By 2013, 2 out of 3 HIV and AIDS programmes document in-creased access to gender sensitive and rights based prevention and treatment of HIV for the most vulnerable women and men.

2016 effect indicator

By 2016, all DCA HIV and AIDS programmes document increased access to gender sensitive and rights-based prevention and treatment of HIV for the most vulnerable women and men.

the right to a life in dignity and

thus the right to humanitarian

assistance and protection

The priorities in our humanitarian work are: respect for hu-manitarian principles; protection of conflict and disaster affected people; greater inclusion of local civil society in conflict mitigation and peaceful co-existence activities at community level; and reconstruction work in countries and areas caught up in complex crises. DCA and our humanitar-ian assistance partners are firmly committed to the Humani-tarian Charter and the Sphere Project Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, both in principle and in action. DCA is like-wise committed to the benchmarks of the Humanitarian Ac-countability Partnership. Together, these two initiatives form the foundation for delivering humanitarian assistance that is accountable and of high quality. In this regard, the Rights- Based Approach plays a fundamental role in our approach to humanitarian assistance.

From 2013 and onwards, there will be increased activity by dCa and partners within the aCt alliance to advocate for local populations where core humanitarian principles and standards are not respected. DCA will work to strength-en partner staff knowledge of Sphere Standards and HAP benchmarks, especially the development of complaints mechanisms, the provision of adequate information, and the fostering of meaningful participation of disaster and conflict-affected communities. Through delivery of humanitarian as-sistance via local partner organisations, DCA plays a unique role in humanitarian actions. Our partners often have access to the most marginalised and vulnerable populations, and often have a unique perspective on the disaster and respons-es to it. DCA will continue our focus on beneficiary involve-ment in decision-making and improved visibility efforts to increase accountability and we will work to increase partner

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staff knowledge of SPHERE minimum standards and HAP benchmarks, especially the requirement to have complaints mechanisms for local communities which will be a valuable contribution to the humanitarian community at large.

We will continue to prioritise addressing food crisis response in the delivery of timely and effective humanitarian assistance. As mentioned above under the right to food, a revision of the Hu-manitarian Assistance Policy will take place in 2012-2013. during 2013-2016, DCA will develop medium to longer term strategies for all humanitarian crisis situations where DCA engages for more than 12 months and which are not covered under another programme strategic framework. The strategies will include disaster risk reduction with an emphasis on disaster prepar-edness measures, define exit strategies, and outline dCa’s role and added value in relation to the implementing partners and affected communities. We believe that disaster resilience can be strengthened considerably by linking humanitarian ac-tion with long-term development, through local efforts where disaster risk reduction measures and climate adaptation are integrated. Between 2013 and 2016, DCA will prioritise Disaster Risk Reduction by allocating specific funds to all five regions to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Apart from the recommendation to secure a stronger link be-tween humanitarian assistance and development, the review will take into account, the experience and lessons learned from the Cash and Risk Conference in 2011. During the period 2013-2016, DCA will increase the use of cash programming in its ac-tivities. Additional emphasis will be given to understanding and supporting local protection skills and methods.

DCA will utilise the findings of its local to global protection project through awareness raising and training for partners, in particular in Myanmar, Sudan, South Sudan and the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as through developing and imple-menting methods which reflect the findings in our humanitar-ian work generally and within the ACT allhumanitar-iance. DCA’s research and experience demonstrates that local populations’ capacity to survive and protect themselves is often more important than external protection. Local communities’ capacities will be pri-oritised through increased support for local self-protection ac-tivities. One important element is to protect civilians from war remnants and large quantities of weapons through humanitar-ian mine action and mine risk education.

DCA will work proactively with the ACT alliance in order to cre-ate synergy and increased international funding to ian response between ACT donors and ECHO. DCA’s humanitar-ian response funds will be used strategically to attract funding for emergencies. Further, emphasis will be placed on strength-ened cooperation with the ACT alliance, CONCORD, VOICE, and with Nordic ACT Organizations to increase international fund-ing from ECHO and USAID specifically. DCA accountability and procurement specializations will be further promoted within the ACT alliance, demonstrating DCA added value.

indicators

strategy indicator 2013

By 2013, all ACT alliance forums in DCA focus countries and countries with significant DCA supported humanitarian re-sponse have realistic and up-to-date contingency plans in place.

strategy indicator 2016

By 2016, all DCA supported humanitarian projects provide ad-equate information, ensure meaningful participation by rights holders and actively use feedback from complaints mechanisms to ensure quality improvements.

effect indicator 2013

By 2013, medium to long term strategies are in place for all humanitarian crisis situations where DCA works more than 12 months and which are not covered under another DCA pro-gramme strategic framework.

At least three humanitarian project evaluations document re-duced vulnerability and increased resilience among rights hold-ers as a result of strengthened focus on self-protection; disas-ter preparedness and cash programming.

effect indicator 2016

By 2016, all DCA humanitarian projects document reduced vul-nerability and increased resilience among rights holders as a re-sult of strengthened focus on self-protection, disaster prepar-edness and cash programming.

the right to protection against the

negative effects of landmines,

cluster munitions and other

explosive remnants of war

DCA’s Mine Action programme will expand the scope of engage-ment in south east Asia, with focus on Myanmar and Laos. Ex-isting activities in Africa and the Middle East will be maintained and strengthened where funding allows. DCA’s Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) programme will also diversify activity, by strengthening our risk education expertise and expanding our engagement in Armed Violence Reduction (AVR). DCA HMA will strive to make mine clearance activity more efficient, through use of innovative technology and effective land release tech-niques. DCA will ensure better understanding of beneficiaries needs and our impact by systematic use of task impact assess-ments and the establishment of a robust operational database. Future focus for HMA will centre on developmental impact: where explosive ordnance and mines affect freedom of move-ment and right to a life with dignity/right to food. This approach will focus DCA HMA prioritisation at the global level, and inform work at Regional Offices to ensure mine action enables other DCA focus country programme activity and output.

DCA, being one of only five major mine action organizations worldwide and the only ACT alliance member with this capac-ity, will continue to strengthen collaboration where possible with ACT partners, including significant work to combine

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cho-social support with mine action, and will remain the only ACT alliance member with humanitarian response capacity in mine action. DCA HMA will continue to advocate for universal accession to both the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In addition, DCA HMA will advocate for ef-fective wording within the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

indicators

strategy indicator 2013

AVR and Psychosocial elements have been introduced in two programmes, supported where possible by ACT partnerships for delivery.

strategy indicator 2016

Publically accessible annual programme reporting per country has been instituted, documenting goals, progress, and overall output, and including the developmental and humanitarian im-pact of DCA HMA and Armed Violence Reduction activity.

effect indicator 2013

The effect of HMA interventions has broadened beyond clear-ance to introduce protection of those most threatened by pro-liferation of small arms and light weapons, and strengthened support to those traumatised by the effects of conflict.

effect indicator 2016

Clearance efficiency increased by 10 per cent over 2011 levels, development effect ( including improved livelihoods through release of land for farming) and contribution to sustainable national capacity demonstrated for all DCA HMA interventions.

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From 2013 to 2016, the number of programmes under each pro-gramme policy will be changed to reflect an increased focus on the right to food and a shift towards working with HIV and AIDS only in high prevalence countries in Africa.

The right to food programmes will be scaled up and adjusted ac-cording to the new policy. The programmes will ensure that re-gionally connected disaster risks are systematically integrated when developing (regional) right to food and/or humanitarian assistance programmes in Asia, Africa and Central America.

 Currently DCA has nine approved food security programmes either as stand-alone programmes or integrated into coun-try programmes: India, Cambodia, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia and Central America (regional). Moreover, food security is in-tegrated into the country programmes in Palestine, South Sudan and Zambia. In 2013, a Myanmar food security pro-gramme will be approved, and in the longer term Kyrgyzstan will also focus on food security. If it is decided to establish Zimbabwe as a DCA focus country, a food security pro-gramme will also be developed here.

 In 2013, work on the right to basic health will focus on HIV and AIDS prevention only in high prevalence countries in Africa. Separate HIV and AIDS programmes are approved in Malawi, Zambia, Ethiopia and Uganda. HIV and AIDs programmes in Kyrgyzstan and Cambodia will be phased out. It is not envis-aged to increase the number of HIV and AIDS programmes in Africa, but closer cooperation with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) managing the Zambia country programme is planned. This will clarify future ambitions in regard to HIV and AIDS.

 We will continue the current level of democracy building with a focus on access to justice and citizens’ participation as de-scribed in the revised Active Citizenship policy. For the time being, DCA has Active Citizenship programmes in 12 coun-tries, either as separate programmes or as integrated com-ponents in a country programme: Ethiopia, Malawi, South Sudan (country programme), Uganda, Zambia (as a part of a Norwegian Church Aid country programme), Myanmar, Cambodia, India, South Asia (regional), Palestine (country programme), Honduras and Kyrgyzstan. Should Zimbabwe

be defined as a DCA focus country, an active citizenship pro-gramme/programme component will be developed.

 Humanitarian assistance and protection will continue to be a strong component in DCA’s international work. With an increased emphasis on disaster risk reduction measures, linkages to longer term right to food programmes will be strengthened. Moreover, based on the findings of the local-to-global project, support to local self-protection building will increase. Currently, DCA has Humanitarian Assistance programmes in South Sudan (country programme) and in South Asia (regional disaster risk reduction programme). Disaster risk reduction and emergency response is also ad-dressed under the Right to Food programmes in Ethiopia and Cambodia and the country programme in Palestine.

 In addition to these programmatic interventions, DCA’s hu-manitarian assistance is responding to huhu-manitarian crises through shorter term stand- alone projects. In 2011, DCA had approximately 27 humanitarian projects in 13 countries out-side a longer term programme framework. In the medium term, DCA foresees a need to continue humanitarian assis-tance in 8 of these countries (Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Thai-land, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) and in 2013, medium term humanitarian strategies will be developed for these countries. The scope of DCA’s humanitarian assistance in terms of people targeted and projects implemented will depend on the need to respond, but it is foreseen that at a minimum the scope will remain the same as in 2011.

 Humanitarian mine action and mine risk education is cur-rently taking place in seven countries. By 2013, we will com-plete our work in Albania. In the future, we will explore op-portunities to increase co-operation with ACT sister agencies who are working with development in mine contaminated areas.

We will continue the current level of our work with our cross-cutting commitments to the rights-based approach, including gender equality and special attention on accountability towards rights holders (HAP certification).

programme and project focus and overview

year aCtiVe Citizenship programmes right to Food programmes hiV and aids programmes humanitarian assistanCe programmes and projeCts outside programmes humanitarian mine aCtion programmes total 2013 2016 12 13 10 12 4 4 2 programmes 27 projects 4 programmes 27 projects 7 7 35 27 40 27

The number of programmes in 2016 indicated above is based on an assumption that Zimbabwe will develop into a DCA focus country. The future number of humanitarian stand-alone projects outside programmes is difficult to predict. 27 projects is the 2011 level of engagement.

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geographical focus

DCA´s international engagement is based on strategic and sustainable support in focus countries with a regional perspec-tive. The principles and rules for DCA engagement are outlined in DCA’s Regional Policy and made specific in individual strat-egies for all our focus regions. The commitment to work with a regional perspective comes from experience that issues are interlinked across borders and sometimes require a broader re-sponse. Other issues can be purely national in nature and are therefore more focussed.

DCA could work with a much larger geographical spread and greater technical reach. But we have made a conscious choice to harness our significant resources behind local partners in a lim-ited number of programme types (5), focus countries (10-12) and regions worldwide. Important selection criteria include: levels of poverty and food insecurity, freedom of movement, power im-balances, and levels of discrimination, HIV and AIDS prevalence and disasters. These factors are then assessed against the windows of opportunity for influencing decision-makers, avail-ability of funding and most importantly, availavail-ability of strong local partners, legitimately rooted in local society and able to make a difference in improving livelihoods, enjoyment of basic human rights, freedom of movement, and access to basic social services.

In 2012, DCA was engaged in 11 focus countries: ethiopia, south sudan, uganda, malawi, zambia, india, myanmar, Cambodia,

Kyrgyzstan, honduras and palestine. In the strategic period 2013-2016, DCA will increase its activities in Zimbabwe with a view to establish it as a new focus country.

A focus country is where a DCA Regional Office is located and is the centre of DCA’s engagement in the focus region. This focus is maintained to ensure that long-term and substantial sup-port is maintained within the country to facilitate sustainable institutional and social changes. Together with a focus country the focus region can consist of countries in the region where the mandate and engagement is more limited, be it Programme Country, Humanitarian Response Country, or Humanitarian Mine Action Country.

The rationale behind a focus country with a regional perspective is to secure:

 a flexible but strategic framework for combining different types of donor funding in countries in the focus region;

 a framework which can help identify and strengthen linkages between different countries and partnerships in the focus region for learning and advocacy;

 a framework for responding to cross-border issues e.g. cli-mate change, certain disasters, regional-level advocacy, etc.; and

 long-term commitment.

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DCA will further intensify our interventions in Africa. Assess-ments should identify the opportunities to strengthen and in-crease our interventions in Zimbabwe based on a close coopera-tion and coordinacoopera-tion with ACT alliance members present in the country.

Overall, and as part of a general DCA strategic drive to enhance the work on disaster risk reduction, specific plans are being implemented to coordinate such efforts between the DCA Re-gional Offices in Ethiopia, South Sudan (also covering Kenya) and Uganda, in particular as regards the more or less nomad-ic pastoralist groups that all three offnomad-ices work with in these countries. In the southern part of the continent the focus will be placed on reducing the effects of the recurring droughts on the rural insecure households. The plan is to increase programme synergies as well as possibilities of additional fundraising.

ethiopia

DCA’s activities in the long-term focus country Ethiopia are fo-cused in two clusters of districts in the small-scale agricultural-ist eastern highland parts of the Amhara region (Wag Hamra, N&S Wollo, Oromia), and in the mainly pastoralist lowland southern parts of Oromiya region (Bale, Borena).

Ethiopia has approved programmes for both Active Citizenship and HIV and AIDS (2012-16), and for Food Security (2011-15). By increasingly focusing in the same geographical areas we hope to enhance synergy effects among the different programmes.

The Active Citizenship programme faces special challenges because of the restrictive Ethiopian NGO legislation. The pro-gramme focuses on enhancing female participation in decision making at all levels (household and upwards). The HIV and AIDS programme aims to empower vulnerable groups, particularly among women and youth, to better protect themselves from HIV and AIDS infection.

The Food Security programme, DCA’s largest in Ethiopia by far, aims to enhance food security at community and household level as well as to build resilience to climate induced hazards. Thus, this programme also provides the strategic framework for humanitarian interventions with a risk reduction perspective, which vary according to the situation in individual years. Linked to this, DCA further closely supports international and domestic climate change advocacy of Ethiopian partners, both financially and technically.

The programme objectives for Ethiopia for 2013-2016 are:

 Target communities’ food security enhanced through com-munity and household level interventions to increase food availability, access, and utilization.

 Resilience of vulnerable communities built and strengthened - through disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, and emergency response.

 Empowered target communities and enhanced collaboration among communities, local government, and DCA partner or-ganizations.

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 Dialogue on poverty issues and policy alternatives at local and national levels promoted.

 Partners’ capacity for project implementation, collaboration, and networking strengthened.

 Enhanced female participation in decision making at all lev-els (household and upwards).

 Empower vulnerable groups, particularly among women and youth, to better protect themselves from HIV and AIDS in-fection.

south sudan

The new country of south sudan is a DCA focus country. We continue working mainly in Jonglei state, Central Equatoria state, and in Eastern Equatoria state. However, when the ef-fect of programme activity as well as partner impact can be enhanced, broadening the geographical area of operation will be considered. Also volatile relief situations are likely to re-quire humanitarian interventions, which also includes human-itarian mine action, e.g. through the ACT network, in other parts of the country as well, in particular near the northern border with Sudan.

The situation in South Sudan, including the geographical vast-ness of the country, calls for an integrated approach. The Hu-manitarian Assistance country programme strategy which has guided DCA’s work since the peace agreement between north and south in 2006 is in the process of being revised for the period 2013-16. Within the frame of humanitarian response and protection, the programme will focus on the right to food with an emphasis on linking protection, relief, rehabilitation and development. Furthermore, the programme has strong cross-cutting priorities, with components on peace building and conflict mitigation with gender and conflict sensitivity, and accountability and capacity development of partners and local government, as well as community and church leaders. Programme activities will target vulnerable agricultural and pastoralist communities, vulnerable women and girls, youth, returnees, IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and refugees.

Working conditions in sudan are now such that many years of development as well as mine action activities have been wound up, and at present only humanitarian relief activities are being implemented in different parts of the country – with consider-able and increasing difficulties. The links between the two Su-dans are, however, so strategic that if and when working con-ditions in Sudan improve DCA expects to resume some longer term development activities there as a regional extension to the South Sudan programme.

DCA activities in Kenya are an extension to the South Sudan programme in terms of focusing on the Kakuma refugee camp with its Sudanese and South Sudanese refugee groups which are now again increasing; and in terms of working with the Toposa-Turkana conflicts across the South Sudan-Kenya border. This latter aspect is also linked to the regional disaster risk re-duction effort referred to above.

To a modest extent, DCA also supports humanitarian relief in somalia and for Somali refugees in Kenya through the ACT al-liance network.

The programme objectives for south sudan for 2013-2016 are:

 Target communities’ food security enhanced through com-munity and household level interventions to increase food availability, access, and utilisation.

 Lives are saved through the promotion and provision of ef-fective humanitarian intervention. To work with partners to deliver timely and effective humanitarian response accord-ing to international quality and accountability standards.

 Human security and conditions for safe and sustainable live-lihoods for war affected populations in South Sudan is im-proved through clearance and survey of land contaminated by Explosive Remnants of War (ERW).

 Empowered target communities and enhanced collaboration among communities, local government, and DCA partner or-ganisations.

The Kenya programme objectives for Turkana West District in 2013-2016 are:

 To contribute towards durable solutions for displacement through improved access to basic services, protection, and empowerment for refugee and host communities in Turkana West District, Kenya.

 Enhanced community resilience to drought disaster through im-proved access to and management of community resources.

The sudan programme objectives for South and West Darfur in 2013 are:

 Relieve human suffering and mitigate the effects of armed conflict and displacement on IDPs and communities in South and West Darfur most affected by the violence and unrest and in doing so develop the capacity of national partner agencies.

 The most vulnerable war-affected population in the SPLM-N (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North) controlled areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile are able to meet basic priority needs through a combination of relief, local capacity develop-ment and improved national and international protection.

 Targeted advocacy contributes to safeguard human security and conditions for the most vulnerable war- affected population.

uganda

uganda has been a DCA focus country for many years and will remain so in the foreseeable future, with a further increase in activities and funding expected. The strategic focus of activities in Uganda is on the mainly pastoralist/agro-pastoralist region

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of Karamoja in the northeast of the country (with a small re-gional extension into Kenya) as well as the neighbouring mainly agriculturalist Teso-Amuria area. Within PT4 some activities re-main in the Rakai and Lyantonde districts in the southwest near Tanzania where the HIV and AIDS epidemic first erupted some 30 years ago.

Recently approved programmes are in place for Active Citizen-ship and Food Security (2012-16) as well as for HIV and AIDS (2011-15). The Active Citizenship programme aims at increas-ing political participation of the poor, with special emphasis on women and youth, as well as anti-corruption and transparency for public resources. The Food Security programme focuses on groups whose livelihoods are threatened by cyclical weather-re-lated disasters and protracted food shortages and will thus also participate with Ethiopia and South Sudan (with Kenya) in the regional Disaster Risk Reduction initiative. The HIV and AIDS programme works more strategically than before on empower-ment of groups that are particularly vulnerable to the HIV and AIDS epidemic as well as on improving the response of relevant duty bearers.

In 2013, DCA will further investigate possibilities for establish-ing a close cooperation with other ACT members in Burundi in order to remain in close contact with this country, which is considered strategic in terms of humanitarian and development needs in the region. In any case, both Burundi and rwanda are potential humanitarian response countries.

Within the Great Lakes region but in practice unrelated to the focus country Uganda, DCA is further planning to conduct hu-manitarian mine action activities in South Kivu, dr Congo for some years to come.

The programme objectives in uganda in 2013-16 are:

 Policy, legal and administrative frameworks are reformed to further electoral accountability and the political participation of women and other excluded groups.

 Increased participation and influence of marginalised rights holders, particularly women and other excluded groups in Karamoja and Teso, within the social, political and economic decision-making processes.

 Partner organisations are strengthened and capacities en-hanced.

 Rights holders in vulnerable situations, in particular orphans and vulnerable children, young women, girls and people liv-ing with HIV in target areas are empowered to challenge un-equal gender roles, harmful practices, stigma and discrimi-nation that predispose them to HIV infection and further vulnerability.

 Rights holders in vulnerable situations, in particular Oral Vaccination Campaign, young women, girls, fishermen and people living with HIV in target areas have increased access to information, prevention, care and other support services in relation to HIV and SRHR (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights).

 Duty bearers are taking appropriate actions to address struc-tural (social, economic, traditional), political and legal barri-ers to food and nutrition security.

 Vulnerable rights holders in target areas are supported to use available resources in a more effective and efficient manner.

 DRR (Disater Risk reduction)/emergency response.

The programme objectives in dr Congo where work will be con-centrated in South Kivu area are:

 Land cleared of threat of Mines and ERW, released and made accessible for community use and reduced threat of mines and ERW.

malawi

malawi has been a focus country for many years. Within Ma-lawi, DCA has no exclusive geographical focus. It is worth men-tioning, however, that the Southern tip of the country (Shire Valley) is particularly prone to suffer from extreme climate events (flooding and droughts), hence humanitarian relief aid is often directed this way and it is a focus for disaster risk reduc-tion intervenreduc-tions.

In Malawi, DCA has programmes in Active Citizenship, Food Se-curity, and HIV and AIDS. A new Active Citizenship programme will be approved by the end of 2012, with a main focus on local governance, both at the level of promoting more participation friendly laws and in relation to budget monitoring. Women’s participation will be specially emphasised. Because of its re-cent history, Malawi has figured prominently in DCA’s broader advocacy for attention to the importance of an enabling envi-ronment for civil society organisations; despite promising new developments, attention to this aspect will continue to be high on DCA’s agenda.

The Food Security programme focuses on rural food insecurity and pilots new approaches in savings and loans associations. This programme is up for evaluation and re-direction in 2013. The recently approved HIV and AIDS programme, like in other DCA countries, has a strong focus on empowerment of women and youth in relation to the epidemic.

DCA further closely supports the international and domestic cli-mate change advocacy of Malawian partners, both financially and technically. Through support from Bilka, DCA, NCA and our partner CHAM will continue to cooperate to improve health in-frastructure at primary health facilities in rural and small towns of Malawi. Emphasis is on maternal health and health care for children under 5 years of age. The future aim is to use the five

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health centres completed in 2013 to further strengthen and im-prove the nutritional and health of the people of Malawi. The Project will work with the Health facilities to integrate nutri-tional activities within the existing outreach clinics.

The cooperation with Grundfos in providing water for irrigation on small farmers’ land will continue and is expected to develop further. The project is based on solar powered pumps. Focus will be on securing improved agricultural production and nutrition for a larger group of small and marginalised farmers.

In the region, DCA is exploring ways of increasing activities in Zimbabwe in cooperation with the ACT network. Concretely and in the short term, democratisation activities will be supported in cooperation with Dutch ICCO as a regional extension to the Malawi Active Citizenship programme.

The programme objectives in malawi for 2013-16 are:

 The poor, especially rural women have increased their repre-sentation in decision making structures and are empowered to challenge repressive cultural beliefs and practices that limit their participation.

 The poor, especially women, have increased access to justice from discriminatory and negative cultural practices.

 Rural food insecure households have increased access to food and improved nutritional status.

 The rights of girls and young women on their sexual repro-ductive health are protected through increased empower-ment and access to improved services.

 Churches active role as responsible agents for reduction of stigma and harmful cultural beliefs and practices is strength-ened.

The programme objectives for angola, where activities are pri-marily in Moxico Province, are:

 Release high and medium impacted land through technical and non-technical survey, manual and mechanical demining and EOD (Explosive Ordenance Disposal) spot tasks.

 Continue to reduce the risk to the mine-affected population through community liaison activities, Mine Risk Education and Task Impact Assessments.

 Contribute to building long-term national capacities for mine action.

Zambia

In zambia programmes will focus on the poorer provinces and provinces where good partners with good impact have been identified: southern, eastern, western and north west-ern.

Positive experiences with joint programme work between three agencies (DCA, NCA, Christian Aid) can be documented in Zam-bia since the beginning of 2011. Five programmes are being im-plemented based on NCA’s programme policies, that all three partners have agreed to follow:

1. Climate Change Adaptation, with a focus on alternative en-ergy sources in rural areas;

2. Livelihoods and Trade with a focus on land rights, micro-fi-nance groups and small-holder farming as a business;

3. Resources Finance and Accountable Governance focussing on accountable governance of public resources and increased revenue from Zambia’s rich extractive industries channelled to poverty reduction;

4. Social Mitigation of HIV and AIDS with a focus on children affected by HIV and AIDS;

5. Women in Governance with a focus increasing women’s par-ticipation in governance issues and structures.

However, it is to be tested whether it is sustainable to maintain five programmes in Zambia. This will at least require that more funding is secured.

In 2013 or 2014 there will be a need to engage in an assessment of how the model of joint programming under the management of a sister agency has functioned in practice, both in terms of programmatic impact and in terms of management and coop-eration under a joint MoU (Memorandum of Understanding).

Important advocacy issues which link Zambia programmes with HQ efforts are in the field of climate change, land grabbing and ensuring political space. DCA will continue to base information work and volunteer work on its involvement in the Joint Country Programme.

The programme objectives in zambia for 2013-16 are:

 Increased women’s participation in national decision making processes.

 People living with HIV, in particular women, benefit from legal social and economic assistance from Joint programme partners.

 Orphans and vulnerable children benefit from social, psychoso-cial and physical support from DCA partner JCPZ and partners.

 Faith-based organisations and targeted communities in-creasingly adopt HIV prevention measures.

 Rights holders are organised and empowered to secure sus-tainable livelihoods especially in rural Zambia.

 Poor households and communities have adjusted land use practices for increased resilience and food security.

 Poor communities have implemented DRR to increase resil-ience to natural disasters.

 Democratic practices and legal frameworks that are respon-sive and uphold the rule of law.

 Partners’ capacity strengthened in analysis of policies gov-erning resources finance and accountable governance.

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With the majority of the world’s poor people living in Asia, DCA works to support their participation, food security and protection against disasters in three focus countries across two of the sub regions. The economic growth in some of the countries in Asia, espe-cially India, means that focus will be further intensified on se-curing that the poorest groups in the societies get access to the resources and influence. Thus during 2013, it will be decided whether to up scale the partner portfolio and activities in Nepal and reduce and further focus activities in India. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are humanitarian response countries managed from DCA HQ in close cooperation with ACT alliance partners.

india

India is one of DCA’s focus countries in south Asia with sub of-fices in nepal and Bangladesh. In India, the geographical focus is on Rajasthan and Orissa for Active Citizenship and Food Se-curity and on Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam for the Hu-manitarian Disaster Risk Reduction programme. In Bangladesh, the geographical focus is on the North West with the partner RDRS and the south-west and north-east with DSK. In Nepal our interventions are disaster risk reduction in the far-western, western and eastern districts.

The programme focus is on four approved programmes man-aged by the South Asia Regional Office (SARO) in Delhi: One Ac-tive Citizenship programme and one Food Security programme – both operating in India; a regional South Asia Humanitarian Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Programme that operates in India as well as in Nepal and Bangladesh; and finally an Asia regional Active Citizenship programme on Migrants’ Rights which is led by the DCA office in India and co-implement-ed by Cambodia, Nepal and Bangladesh plus several other south east Asian countries.

All programmes except the last are under normal revision for approval of new programme phases. The plan is that out of the three programmes to make two south Asia regional pro-grammes for India, Nepal and Bangladesh: an Active Citizenship programme and a Food Security programme with a livelihood and resilience focus including elements of Climate Change Ad-aptation measures.

DCA’s south Asia work focuses on India, but includes other countries in the region: Nepal and Bangladesh are development programme countries, each with a sub-office.

The programme objectives in india, nepal and Bangladesh for 2013-16 are:

 Discriminated groups have increased access to justice sys-tems and legal resources.

 Food and employment rights from state run schemes are re-alised by the targeted right holders.

 Targeted rights holders have increased access to and control over productive resources (land, water, forest and capital).

Target right holders practicing low risk sustainable, equitable and diversified use of productive resources, and accessing agricultural extension services.

 Facilitate strengthening and empowerment processes of targeted rights holders and their associations to take for-ward issues of the right to food.

 The Food Security programme brings added value into the Food Security programme partnerships and DCA global, i.e. gradual learning, quality of work, coordination and linkages to wider ‘circles’ ensured.

 Migrants make informed choices based on relevant avail-able information, increased recognition and space for social, economic and political rights of informal workers of migrant background.

pakistan

Because of significant natural emergencies and prolonged con-flict in Pakistan, and political sensitivities between India and Pakistan, DCA Humanitarian Response activities in Pakistan are currently supported directly from DCA HQ. DCA’s main geo-graphical focus is currently centred in Khyber pakhtunkhwa and sindh provinces following previous natural disasters (earth-quake and floods). Especially in the north-west, on-going activi-ties from the past two years have focused on linking relief, reha-bilitation and development (LRRD). It is envisioned this support will continue within this period.

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