Sphere Handbook roll-out continues: Zimbabwe

The Training of Trainers course is part of the roll-out of the Sphere Handbook 2011 edition in Zimbabwe, which began with a presentation in Harare on 1 September. The event was organized by Trócaire in collaboration with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It was attended by 40 participants representing 30 agencies, including the donor community, UN agencies, the Zimbabwean government as well as local and international non-governmental organizations.

“UNOCHA is happy with the revised version of the Sphere Handbook,” said OCHA Deputy Head for Zimbabwe Vedaste Kalima, highlighting features of the new edition, like “an increased focus on protection issues, new approaches in humanitarian response – like cash transfer – and an increased involvement of the private sector, to mention a few.”

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Regional Integration and International Cooperation T. T. Chifamba emphasized that “effective humanitarian response calls for all actors – government, UN agencies, civil society and local communities – to work together.”

“The European Commission (EU) will be inspired by the content of this Handbook in its financing decisions and in its evaluation and monitoring exercises,” said François Goemans, European Commission Head of Office for the Southern African and Indian Ocean Region.