Why the Sphere community is growing stronger in Asia

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Photos © Hira Sajjad/CWS-P/A

Meeting in Bangkok 14-15 October, 19 participants representing 14 organisations from 11 countries participated in the second Asian forum of Sphere focal points. The first forum took place in 2011.

Focal points are organisations that work with – and promote the adoption of – Sphere standards among the humanitarian community in their countries.

“The Sphere community in Asia has grown,” noted Shama Mall, Deputy Director of Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A), the Sphere Project regional partner and forum organiser.

Pointing out that the number of focal points had almost doubled from six in 2011 to 11 today, Mall added: “The diverse nature of the Sphere country focal points, which include organisations, academia, networks and working groups, is certainly adding a lot of value to the whole Sphere community.”

An opportunity to share knowledge and experience among humanitarian practitioners, the forum allowed participants to identify emerging needs and challenges, strategize and formulate action plans for their countries.

Committed to developing a better and more accountable humanitarian response, the forum participants emphasised the importance of achieving local ownership and creating momentum among those who promote Sphere principles and standards in disaster and conflict-prone environments.

Most focal points have been able to increase awareness of Sphere principles and standards among their peers. From Korea and Japan to the Philippines and Indonesia, focal points note a growing interest among important humanitarian actors. However, there is still much to do in terms of mainstreaming humanitarian standards into programmes and more training, monitoring and evaluation work are required.

Almost all of the focal points present at the forum have organised trainings and translated Sphere material and tools into their respective languages. In countries like Pakistan, Korea and Japan, there is a growing demand for in-depth training. This demonstrates that many organisations are willing to move further ahead in application of the standards.

Focal points have also made efforts to engage with such stakeholders as governmental agencies, academia and the private sector.

Forum participants agreed that having both local and central governments on board is crucial in order to create incentives and mainstream the application of the standards. As expressed by the Indonesian representative, whose country has just incorporated quality and accountability standards into national policy, the challenge is to enforce such laws and make sure they are applied on the ground.

The private sector is seen as an important stakeholder to take on board, especially when it comes to fund-raising. The Japan Platform (JPF), a fund-raising consortium including non-profits, government and private sector, has integrated the standards as part of their application process.

Sri Lanka started working with the Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management to create a tripartite platform in order to improve cooperation in disaster situations, taking into consideration quality and accountability standards.

“To attract more funding, we need to tell the story beyond the standards and show how they improve people’s life and make concrete impact on communities,” said Jeanne Jantzi from the Mennonite Central Committee.

“We have not studied in depth the reasons for this growth,” says Shama Mall, “but a good guess is that several factors may help explain the phenomenon.”

On the one hand, Mall notes, “there are more disasters and more debates about how to make aid efforts more effective by improving quality and accountability”. On the other hand, in her experience, “Sphere is one of the most well recognised brands when it comes to quality and accountable humanitarian work”.

As a Sphere regional partner, CWS-P/A has been working hard to promote Sphere principles and standards in the region through a variety of activities, including the establishment of new focal points.

“However, the growth of the Sphere community is not just because of our efforts,” Mall says. “Rather, I think it’s our combined efforts, including country focal points, Sphere champions and the Sphere secretariat that are making the difference.”

(*) Attended the 2014 Forum.

Afghanistan
Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief

Bangladesh (*)
Sphere Community Bangladesh

Cambodia (*)
Cambodia Humanitarian Forum

China (*)
Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response

Indonesia (*)
Masyarakat Penanggulangan Bencana Indonesia / Indonesian Society for Disaster Management

Iran
International Consortium for Refugees in Iran

Japan (*)
Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation

Myanmar (*)
Radanar Ayar Rural Development Association

Nepal (*)
Sphere Nepal / DPNet Nepal

Pakistan (*)
Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan

Philippines (*)
Lutheran World Relief

South Korea (*)
Korean NGO Council for Overseas Development Cooperation

Sri Lanka (*)
Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies

Vietnam
Sphere Working Group