An area that is not regularly accessible to humanitarian actors for the purposes of sustained humanitarian programming as a result of denial of access, including the need to negotiate access on an ad hoc basis, or due to restrictions such as active conflict, multiple security checkpoints, or failure of the authorities to provide timely approval. It also includes areas that as a result of the impact of a hazard resulted in isolated (e.g. obstruction, damage and loss of roads) and remote areas (e.g. high in the mountains) that are hard to reach even in normal conditions.[1]
A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.[2]
In terms of food security, a group of people who live together and contribute to a common economy, and share food and income. The average household size is different in each country and needs to be determined accordingly.
The household dietary diversity score (HDDS) is a qualitative measure of food consumption that reflects household’s economic access to a variety of foods, and is also a proxy for nutrient adequacy of the diet of individuals.[3]
Household livelihood security refers to adequate and sustainable access to income and resources to meet basic needs (including adequate access to food, potable water, health facilities, educational opportunities, housing, time for community participation and social integration).[4]
The HC, appointed by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, is responsible for assessing whether or not an international response to crisis is warranted and for ensuring the humanitarian response efforts, if needed, are well organised. The HC is accountable to the Emergency Relief Coordinator. HCs lead the HCT in deciding the most appropriate coordination solutions for their country, taking into account the local situation. Agreement must be reached on which Clusters to establish, and which organizations are to lead them.[5]In absence of a HC/HCT, the Resident Coordinator is expected to lead and coordinate the response of humanitarian actors, including possibly establishing a HCT.[6]
Entity composed by the representatives from the UN Country Team (UNCT), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), international NGOs, and the Red Cross/ Red Crescent Movement. Agencies that are also Cluster Leads represent the Clusters as well as their respective organisations. The HCT is responsible for agreeing on common strategic issues related to humanitarian action. Agreement must be reached within the HCT on which clusters to propose to the ERC for activation or de-activation.[7]
Humanitarian needs overview describes the impact and evolution of a crisis/disaster, provides and explains an estimate of which population groups and livelihoods have been affected, analyses their situation and gives an overview of the operational environment. The HNO captures both the current situation and the projected evolution of needs during the planning cycle. The HNO should support the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in developing a shared understanding of the impact and evolution of a crisis and to inform response planning. Within the FSC, the HNO includes an assessment of the food security situation, the impact of the crisis/disaster, the breakdown of the people and livelihoods in need and the required funds.[8]At minimum, one update should be done at least once a year.[9]
The principles at the foundation of humanitarian action are: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, in order to protect life, not to take sides, give priority to most urgent cases without discrimination and to remain autonomous. Therefore, they are central to establishing and maintaining access to affected people, whether in a disaster or a complex emergency, such as armed conflict.[10]
The HPC consists of a set of inter-linked tools to assist the HC and HCT to improve the delivery of humanitarian and livelihood assistance and protection through better preparing, prioritizing, steering and monitoring the collective interventions through informed decision-making. The humanitarian programme cycle provides a framework for the delivery of aid to meet the needs of affected people and livelihoods quickly, effectively and in a principled manner. This framework applies to all humanitarian crises and disasters, but the process, timeline, tools and documents can be used flexibly. [11]
Process that registers the aid delivered to the targeted population, as well as the achieved results set out in the objectives of the Humanitarian Response Plan. Each Cluster reports to OCHA on the inputs and the outputs of partners’ interventions and based on this information OCHA charts the outcomes of cluster activities and measures progress towards the objectives of the HRP. Frequency of Cluster reports has to be decided at country level. The FSC pulls from partners’ monitoring systems in place, thus it is useful to know which partners will be monitoring the FS situation.[12]
Set of practices carried out by partners to ease the collection and analysis of data on the response throughout the year, with the aim of producing reports with key findings at scheduled intervals (determined at a country level). The monitoring framework document includes the Cluster monitoring plans and should be released after the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).[13]
Humanitarian response plans (HRPs) are management tools for the HC and HCT, issued for a protracted or sudden onset emergency that requires international coordinated humanitarian assistance. It is carried out only when the needs have been understood and analysed through the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) or other joint needs assessment and analysis processes. The HRP can either include individual partners’ projects, or not.[14]The plan must specify the shared vision or strategy to respond to the assessed needs and serve as the basis for carrying out and monitoring the collective response. In addition, HRPs can be used to communicate the scope of the response to an emergency to donors and the public, and thus serve a secondary purpose for resource mobilization.[15]
The term hunger is used as being synonymous with chronic undernourishment, which means that a person is not able to acquire enough food to meet the daily minimum dietary energy requirements, over a period of one year.[16]
[1]Source: For more details and example please see https://reliefweb.int/map/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-overview-hard-reach-and-besieged-locations-30-june
[2]http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/terminology#letter-h
[3]Source: Guidelines for measuring household and individual dietary diversity http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1983e.pdf
[4]http://www.fao.org/tempref/docrep/fao/X0051T/X0051t05.pdf
[5]https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/about-clusters/who-does-what
[6]https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/hpc_reference_module_2015_final_.pdf
[7]https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/about-clusters/who-does-what
[8]https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations
[9]https://www.sheltercluster.org/sites/default/files/docs/hno_guidance_2015_final.pdf
[10]https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/OOM-humanitarianprinciples_eng_June12.pdf
[11]https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/hpc_reference_module_2015_final_.pdf
[13]Ibid.
[14]https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations
[15]https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/programme-cycle/space/page/strategic-response-planning
[16]http://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/indicators/211/en/