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Sphere Handbook revision: An Asian perspective

05 July 2017 | Sphere

Sphere Handbook revision consultation in Kabul. See more pictures here.

By Palwashay Arbab (*)

As a Sphere regional focal point, Community World Service Asia hosted consultations on the Sphere Handbook revision in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Thailand in June.

Organised in collaboration with partners in each country, the events involved nearly 180 users from international and national NGOs, government disaster-management bodies, UN agencies, civil society organisations and academia.

The consultations contributed to a widely participatory revision process, ensuring that voices from the Asian region are reflected in the new handbook. Sphere Executive Director Christine Knudsen was the keynote speaker at the events.

The consultation in Afghanistan was co-hosted by the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief and Development (ACBAR) at their office in Kabul. Some 40 representatives from 15 agencies engaged in an interactive session and lively session.

Working in groups and based on their experience using the Handbook, participants provided input on what works well and what they see as challenges. They made recommendations for the next edition of the Handbook, such as:

Shelter and settlement standards

  • Contextualise the shelter design and indicators as per the Afghan context, culture, climate and needs;
  • Engage with the government and private sector to make sure they understand the standards and apply them;
  • Focus on protecting women and children to avoid child abuse and domestic violence.

    • Using Sphere standards with national authorities

  • Use the Sphere Handbook 2018 edition as an opportunity to engage with the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) to ensure proper awareness of Sphere standards; 
  • ACBAR and other national and international NGOs should advocate with national authorities at high level, while considering training key government officials as well as developing a structured dissemination plan;
  • Translate the new handbook into Dari and Pashto;
  • The Humanitarian Relief Coordinator should endorse the use of Sphere and ask the Humanitarian Country Team to bring authorities on board.

    • Protection Principles

  • Introduce a mechanism to evaluate how humanitarian organisations mainstream and contextualise Sphere according to the culture and needs of the targeted population;
  • Monitor the mainstreaming of Protection Principles in the work of partner organisations through the cluster system; 
  • Make sur Protection Principles are gender-sensitive;
  • Give more focus to the advocacy of Protection Principles.

    • Two consultations in Pakistan gathered practitioners and stakeholders from all over the country.

    As Community World Service Asia works to promote learning on quality and accountably standards at academic level, one consultation involved some 18 faculty members of the University of Peshawar and the University of the Punjab – two leading institutions in the country. They shared best practices and challenges as well as recommendations for teaching and contextualising the standards.

    The other consultation, organised in collaboration with the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF) and the Accountability Learning Working Group (ALWG) in Islamabad, was attended by 120 humanitarian practitioners.

    “We are here today to see how the Sphere Handbook can be made easier and more practical to use for everybody in local and complex contexts,” said Nargis Khan, as she opened the event in Islamabad on behalf of the PHF.

    With such a large audience, the consultation format was kept simple. After an introductory address and a session to answer questions, participants engaged in group discussions on their experience in applying Sphere standards in the country. Some of their recommendations were:

  • Develop indicators for climate change (to which Christine Knudsen explained that climate change being a concern transversal to all areas of humanitarian response rather than having specific indicators, it informs guidance in every chapter of the Handbook); 
  • Contextualise the standards, keeping in mind limited resources;
  • Raise greater government awareness of the standards (since humanitarian interventions are only possible if there is coordination and collaboration with the authorities);
  • Technical experts should make every effort to craft the standards in simple language, accessible to practitioners on the ground.

    • Speaking to Community World Service Asia staff, Knudsen reflected on her visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan. “I’m delighted we have had such rich conversations, because getting voices from the field into the revision process is crucial. While experiences in a given country are specific to that context, there is so much that we can learn globally from one another.”

    (*) Palwashay Arbab is Head of Communications at Community World Service Asia.

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