United Nations Thematic Clusters

This morning we headed back to Chuchepati to see how the residents were doing. It has been a long while since I've stepped foot in Chuchepati. The last time was the four day period of relief aid, where we conducted free clinics and relief goods distributions. This time, we have teamed up with both NCV (Noble Compassionate Volunteer) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) to help build latrines (toilets/communal trenches) for the IDP camp. We are very happy to be able to team up with such great partners and to help make the 6,000 plus residents lives a little bit more manageable.

We also took this opportunity to go check out the distributed multi-purpose beds! To see just how well they were holding up and how the residents were feeling about it! They were all so happy to have the beds and told us that the beds are their life savers at the moment, because with the raining season, flash floods happen in an instant, and with these beds, the water can go right through. So we see residents putting all their belongings onto the bed and it can stay dry. What a great relief! 

In the afternoon, we went to the UNICEF office to find out more about the Education, WASH, and Health Clusters. Clusters are groups of humanitarian organizations (UN and non-UN) working in the main sectors of humanitarian action. They are created when clear humanitarian needs exist within a sector, when there are numerous actors within sectors and when national authorities need coordination support. Clusters provide a clear point of contact and are accountable for adequate and appropriate humanitarian assistance. They also create partnerships between international humanitarian actors, national and local authorities, and civil society. 

In response to uncertain capacity and unpredictable response gaps, the UN has introduced nine thematic clusters for better coordination at both the field and global levels. Each field-level cluster is led by an UN agency functioning as "provider of last resort" and is accountable to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator. 

The nine clusters with their lead agencies are: 

1. Nutrition (UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund)

2. Health (WHO - World Health Organization)

3. Water/Sanitation (UNICEF)

4. Emergency Shelter (UNHCR- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees / IFRC-International Federation of Red Cross)

5. Camp Coordination/Management (UNHCR/IOM - International Organization for Migration)

6. Protection (UNHCR/OHCHR - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights / UNICEF)

7. Early Recovery (UNDP - United Nations Development Program)

8. Logistics (WFP - World Food Program)

9. Emergency Telecommunications (OCHA - Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs /UNICEF/WFP)

Clusters can be activated in response to both sudden emergencies as well as on-going emergencies. 

*I was super happy to walk into the United Nations House! Even more excited to walk into the UNICEF part! So we meet again.....