Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Friday, 3 October 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 October 2008. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Monday, 6 October 2008 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Humanitarian Aid

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recommendations for improving humanitarian response resulted from the field mission to Democratic Republic of Congo co-hosted by his Department; and how many such recommendations have been implemented.

Answer: Numerous field missions have come to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the past year: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) donor Support Group, Pooled Fund Evaluation, Central Emergency Revolving Fund evaluation (CERF), and internal field missions undertaken by the in-country humanitarian team. Recommendations emanating from these missions include:"The need to strengthen the role of the Humanitarian Coordinator;""Better needs and gap identification;""Improved coordination between UN agencies and NGOs;""Donors to provide flexible, timely and unearmarked funding."The Department for International Development (DFID) is at the forefront of humanitarian reform internationally and within DRC. In DRC, this has translated into the establishment of a common Humanitarian Pooled Fund in 2006 ($120 million from eight donors in 2008) to provide the Humanitarian Coordinator with funds to target critical needs; support for the design of the yearly DRC Humanitarian Action Plan that better defines need and strategic priorities and is more measurable; and support for the Cluster Lead Agency coordination system that brings NGOs and UN agencies together to determine priorities and strategy under a common framework. Although work remains to improve the humanitarian response, all above elements, with DFID support, are improving the timeliness, effectiveness and quality of humanitarian assistance provided in the DRC.

Secondary information