September 2024 — In the face of humanitarian crises, understanding community needs is crucial for effective response. Recent efforts by UNICEF Zambia, in collaboration with the Collective Service, have highlighted the transformative power of Rapid Qualitative Assessments (RQAs) in shaping emergency interventions. This innovative approach not only enhances the effectiveness of humanitarian efforts but also ensures that the voices of the affected communities are heard and prioritized.

Strengthening Emergency Preparedness

In 2024, UNICEF Zambia conducted six RQAs to inform community engagement strategies for pressing issues like cholera and drought. These assessments, supported by national partners, have been instrumental in adapting response actions to better meet community needs. As UNICEF Deputy Representative Nejmudin Kedir Bilal noted, RQAs play a vital role in understanding community perceptions during emergencies, ensuring that interventions are culturally relevant and effective.

The RQAs have provided critical insights into community behaviors and attitudes, allowing responders to tailor their strategies accordingly. For instance, the findings from these assessments have directly influenced the design of communication campaigns, ensuring that they resonate with local populations and address their specific concerns.

Training for Impact

The ‘Trainer-of-Trainer‘ has been a key component of this initiative. Recent training sessions in Lusaka brought together academic, government, and civil society partners, equipping them with the skills to conduct RQAs. The rapid uptake of findings has been remarkable, with results influencing policy discussions at high levels, including the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Trained assessors like Mungabo Chongo, a Master’s student at the University of Zambia, have expressed the immediate impact of their work. “It had barely been two weeks, and the findings of our RQA were already at the office of the Vice President,” he remarked. This swift integration of data into decision-making processes exemplifies the effectiveness of RQAs in driving timely and relevant responses.

Lessons Learned and Future Directions

The journey to implement RQAs has not been without challenges. The Collective Service has learned the importance of breaking down training into manageable segments and incorporating practical data collection exercises. This approach has proven effective in real-world emergency settings, as evidenced by the successful implementation of RQAs during the cholera outbreak in Malawi.

Moreover, the experience gained from these assessments has underscored the necessity of continuous learning and adaptation. The Collective Service is committed to refining its training modules based on feedback from participants, ensuring that future trainings are even more impactful.

Looking ahead, there is a critical need to institutionalize RQAs as a standard practice in emergency response. By investing in the long-term capacity of local stakeholders, the goal is to ensure that communities are not just recipients of aid but active participants in shaping their responses. This shift towards community engagement is essential for fostering resilience and sustainability in humanitarian efforts.

Sustaining Integration

Collective Service partners in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAR) are now looking to systematize the use of RQAs as a routine part of emergency response operations. There is a critical need to support country stakeholders in recruiting and retaining skilled anthropologists and social scientists capable of providing rapid and operational insights. However, this requires investing in long-term capacities and expertise at the national level to collect, analyze, and use community data systematically across multiple response pillars.

As the Collective Service partners continue to refine their approach, the focus remains on building a sustainable framework for integrating social science insights into emergency response. This commitment to community-centered solutions is paving the way for more effective and culturally competent humanitarian efforts across Eastern and Southern Africa. By harnessing the power of RQAs, UNICEF Zambia is not only improving immediate responses but also laying the groundwork for a more resilient future for communities facing crises.