Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
The Development Challenge: The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is the lead responder and coordinator of the U.S. Government to disasters in foreign countries. OFDA works to minimize the human costs of displacement, conflicts and natural disasters, thus supporting sustainable development - the key to maintaining development gains, stability and prosperity - and U.S. national interests.
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As the largest bilateral donor, the U.S. Government has a unique role to play in shaping the nature of humanitarian assistance. As such, OFDA's programs influence the perception that people around the world have of the United States. Through close cooperation with other U.S. Government agencies, bi-lateral and multilateral donors, host governments and implementing partners, OFDA's activities can help maintain positive relations and contribute positively to the United States' image.
The USAID Program: Under the authority of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, the President has designated the USAID Administrator as the Special Coordinator for International Disaster Assistance. The disaster assistance program is implemented through OFDA and channeled through a range of U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, United Nations agencies, USAID field missions, other U.S. Government agencies, universities and institutional contractors. OFDA also utilizes various interagency agreements with several other U.S. Government entities.
The OFDA Office's mandate is to save lives and reduce suffering of those affected by natural or man-made disasters and complex emergencies. OFDA targets the most vulnerable groups with its emergency assistance: the malnourished, nursing and pregnant women, households headed by children and women, the elderly and the handicapped. OFDA's assistance must be received by its beneficiaries in a timely manner to avert further suffering and death, and it must be of a kind that helps victims regain their productivity and reduce their dependency.
The OFDA Office's management structure includes relief professionals trained to respond to disaster within 24-72 hours. The office is capable of drawing on public and private sector resources, and maintains a staff within OFDA with specific expertise in public health, sanitation, nutrition, shelter, agriculture, social sciences, hydro-meteorology and earth science to identify needs, coordinate appropriate emergency response and facilitate the flow of information. OFDA also provides disaster assistance response teams (DARTs), search and rescue teams, health and medical intervention, shelter assistance and water purification units as needed in response to a disaster.
In addition to its emergency assistance, OFDA works with its partners in disaster-prone countries to enhance regional, national and local capacity to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate disaster events. In Asia, for example, OFDA promotes preparedness to manage disaster events through incident command training (a disaster management system developed by the U.S. Forest Service), the application of technological advancements, e.g., flood forecasting, and early warning and hazard mapping for vulnerable and affected communities. Enhancing institutional and community capacities ensures a more timely, efficient and appropriate emergency response, which can reduce the effects of a disaster.
OFDA has partnerships with the Fairfax County (Virginia) and Los Angeles (California) County urban search and rescue teams, either of which can be deployed quickly in the event of an earthquake or other disaster requiring their expertise. The teams also provide support to their counterparts in several countries, focusing on the training of first responders (those first on the scene of a disaster), hospital preparedness for mass casualty events and improving capacities for regional collapsed search and rescue.
OFDA supports a number of rehabilitation and disaster prevention activities around the world, and collaborates with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other partners to improve regional climate forecasting. OFDA-supported mitigation activities reduce the impact of floods, and in drought-prone areas OFDA supports borehole and water-well rehabilitation and maintenance activities that improve the supply of potable water. To improve food security for drought-affected populations, OFDA supports the development and distribution of disease- and drought-resistant seed varieties. OFDA promotes earthquake-resistant construction in seismically active areas, and partners with the U.S. Geological Survey to provide communities with advance warning of impending volcanic eruptions.
The OFDA Information Support Unit (ISU) is the primary source of information and reporting on OFDA activities for the U.S. Government and the public. The ISU monitors information sources relevant to disaster management and prepares daily situation reports on current disaster-related activities when necessary. OFDA supports information dissemination through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), as well as country-specific Humanitarian Information Centers. Through its Geographic Information Unit, OFDA prepares and distributes geographic data of operational use for humanitarian organizations as well as maps depicting the scope of humanitarian crises.
Recognizing that OFDA's effectiveness is largely dependent on the success of the NGO community, OFDA provides funding for a disaster response committee at InterAction. With over 160 member agencies, InterAction is a Washington-based consortium committed to enhancing the effectiveness and professional capacity of NGOs engaged in international humanitarian and development work. OFDA also promotes the coordination and leadership function of the United Nations through grants and cooperative agreements.
Through its Military Liaison Unit, OFDA coordinates with the Department of Defense on issues of logistics, transport of relief supplies and outreach to units with which OFDA has a close working relationship. USAID field missions and the interagency community are often essential partners in any foreign disaster response, and their understanding the processes involved in providing disaster assistance affects OFDA's ability to ensure timely, effective and appropriate assistance. OFDA has developed numerous approaches and practices to enhance this collaboration.
With OFDA support, Tufts University provides humanitarian assistance-related training to the humanitarian community at large, technical assistance for OFDA staff, and a one-year professional master's degree program in humanitarian assistance.
In FY 2003, OFDA responded to 63 declared disasters in 53 different countries, targeting an estimated 44.5 million beneficiaries. Fifteen of those disasters were complex emergencies. OFDA's largest response was in Iraq, where the office provided more than $81 million to address needs in the areas of health, food and nutrition, water and sanitation, shelter and rehabilitation. Other major responses in FY 2003 include Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia and Sudan. Please see a list of OFDA major disaster responses in FY 2002 and FY 2003 following this chapter.
For FY 2004, the Administration plans $253,993,000 including $234.0 million for disaster relief activities and $20 million for famine assistance for Ethiopia. An additional $220 million has been appropriated in the FY 2004 Supplemental for Liberia ($200 million for Liberia and $20 million for Sudan). With these resources OFDA will continue to provide and improve upon its timely and appropriate humanitarian assistance to disaster victims. During the first quarter of this fiscal year, OFDA has responded to major disasters such as Iran earthquake and the complex emergency in Liberia. In attempting to help people reduce dependence on outside assistance, OFDA will also work to improve the response capacities of host countries and other humanitarian assistance providers in risk-prone countries. Enhanced capacities and improved capabilities for humanitarian responders at national and local levels can ensure more timely and efficient response and help graduate countries from the need for outside assistance.
OFDA will continue to support innovations in humanitarian assistance, information technology and knowledge management tools. It will study new models for assistance and promote cutting edge developments through a series of seminars, conferences and studies. OFDA will explore ideas such as improved shelter design and use, innovative seed and tool programs around the world, and how to better understand and target the needs of vulnerable persons, including the internally displaced. A humanitarian debate series that invites experts in humanitarian assistance is being developed to exchange ideas and provoke discussion on relevant issues for OFDA staff and others in USAID, other U.S. Government entities and the humanitarian community at large.
OFDA will use FY 2005 resources to continue providing quality humanitarian assistance to disaster victims, as well as expertise and resources for preparedness, mitigation and prevention activities. It will strengthen its response capabilities by honing the professional skills of its staff and partner agencies, and it will continue to improve its monitoring and response capabilities for quicker and more appropriate regional disaster response. For FY 2005, USAID has requested $385.5 million.
Other Program Elements: OFDA is assisted by other U.S. Government agencies in providing humanitarian aid to foreign countries, and it cooperates with them to provide timely and effective assistance wherever needed. USAID's Office of Food for Peace is responsible for administering P.L. 480 Title II emergency food aid targeted to vulnerable populations suffering from food insecurity as a result of natural disasters, civil conflict or other crises. USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives provides assistance to countries in transition from crisis to recovery. Equally important is the collaboration with USAID regional bureaus and missions that provide foreign development aid. Development aid can complement humanitarian relief programs when it serves as longer-term rehabilitation and recovery assistance; countries that have achieved sustainable development are less likely to require massive U.S. Government humanitarian assistance. Three of the biggest providers of U.S. Government humanitarian assistance are the Department of Agriculture, the Department of State's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration, and the Department of Defense's Office for Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs.
Other Donors: OFDA collaborates with U.S. Government agencies, other donors and NGOs in the international relief community. Coordinating relief efforts is essential to bring resources to the table and use them efficiently. For example, OFDA and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) co-sponsor a security training program for NGOs and other relief workers. OFDA and several international agencies, including DFID and the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), support the Integrated Regional Information Networks run by UN OCHA, and OFDA and ECHO work together to fund several country-specific Humanitarian Information Centers. At the field level, OFDA staff meet regularly with representatives of the United Nations, DFID, ECHO and other donor and implementing agencies to coordinate relief responses and avoid duplication of effort.
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