START Network aims to transform humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding, early action, and localisation, and plans to build a risk financing system in the Philippines. The network believes that the humanitarian sector faces the biggest systemic problems–problems including slow and reactive funding, centralized decision-making, and an aversion to change–means that people affected by crises worldwide do not receive the best help fast enough and needless suffering results. In a short survey conducted with the members of Start Network in the Philippines, the shared experience of the network identifies severe winds and flooding caused by tropical cyclones as having the most impactful hazards that hit the country. Given the likelihood and severity of these hazards, the present study identified the following, first, the geographic and socio-economic extent of impacts of severe winds and flooding due to tropical cyclones in the Philippines; second, the vulnerability factors and cross-sectoral issues related to tropical cyclones, and third, the existing community-based coping mechanisms that the humanitarian sector can leverage on.
View and download the full document here.
Given its geographical location, the Philippines is one of the countries in Asia that is most prone to disasters. In fact, the Philippines placed 5th as the most vulnerable country on disaster risk implications for development capacity on the 2015 Global Assessment Report of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction while consistently ranking in the top 4 among the countries in the world hit by the highest number of disasters for over 20 years. Recognizing the adverse impacts of disasters in the economy and human capital, the Philippine government has predicted a yearly PhP 177 billion losses due to disasters.
START Network defined disaster risk financing as an integration of the elements of science-based risk modeling, contingency planning, and pre-agreed financing to prompt humanitarian funding in situations that meet the threshold. Disaster risk financing also entails access to reliable funds whenever a crisis hits which can result in an improved timing, coverage, and design of humanitarian action, and at the same time, support improved emergency preparedness measures.
In terms of gender equality, the Philippines, as compared with other countries in the world, ranks medium to high based on Gender and Development Index, and Gender Gap Index. Despite these achievements, during the onslaught of both climate and disaster risks, women, men, and other gender identities still tend to remain vulnerable. Thus, in disaster risk financing, it is essential to consider gendered needs and the contexts of populations that benefit from it. START Network recognizes the importance of experiences as a learning mechanism to devise ways to help in improving disaster preparedness, access to information, and early action given the gendered needs of people.
View and download the full document here.
Start Network started piloting disaster risk financing (DRF) approaches to move from reacting to crises, to proactively managing risks, so that we can ensure faster, more efficient, and more effective locally-led humanitarian action. Disaster risk financing as defined by START Network (2021) integrates the elements of science-based risk modeling, contingency planning, and pre-agreed financing to prompt humanitarian funding in situations that meet the threshold. This session was conducted with the aim of achieving the following objectives:
Background of the Sessions during the Webinar
Start Network supports inclusive locally-led structures to own, develop and implement financing strategies and systems in their contexts. In the Philippines, Start Network conducted studies to collect baseline information needed to establish a DRF system that is appropriate for the Philippine context. In this meeting, the outputs of three research studies on disaster risk management (DRM) financial flows, impact, vulnerability analysis, and gender mainstreaming will be shared to Start Network Members and local CSO partners in the Philippines.
Start Network is made up of more than 50 aid agencies across five continents, ranging from large international organizations to national NGOs. Together, our aim is to transform humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding, early action, and localization. Through the START Network, members and partners can quickly access funding for projects to save lives before a disaster strikes.
The need for disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures rises with more frequent and stronger disasters. Thus, disaster risk financing (DRF) systems should be prompt, adequate, and responsive to cater to the needs of the vulnerable sector, especially in the Philippines, being the ninth most vulnerable country in the world (Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft, 2020). However, disaster risk management (DRM) funding in the country is insufficient and unpredictable (Villacin, 2017), indicating deficiencies in the national DRF architecture. The development of a robust risk financing mechanism has been hampered by a lack of information on the nature, volume, and flows of funds from various sources.
This document showcases a three-year snapshot of Disaster Risk Financing in the Philippines.
View and download the full document here.
This session of the Resilience Knowledge Exchange Series (RKES) aims to disseminate the results of the post-project sustainability (PPS) evaluation of the Women Enterprise Fund initiative (WEF-PPS). The study findings, learning, and recommendations seek to enhance the gender responsiveness and sustainability of livelihood recovery in humanitarian-development nexus programming.
The WEF initiative was one of CARE’s largest women-targeted disaster response and recovery projects. A total of 929 women entrepreneurs from six provinces were assisted in the project to restore their household livelihoods devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. WEF’s supported the women’s microenterprises towards the development of more sustainable livelihoods that could rehabilitate or diversify household income sources to secure their access to basic needs. CARE, together with local partners, implemented three key interventions: the infusion of financial capital, capacity-strengthening activities, and linkage to relevant supply chain actors and service providers.
The WEF-PPS study assessed the women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and resilience outcomes that were sustained among WEF-supported women entrepreneurs four years since the completion of the WEF initiative. It not only explored the unintended and emerging impacts of the WEF project but also identified contributing factors to sustainable outcomes. The study also looked into the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on women’s livelihoods to determine their resilience.
In this study, sustainability is defined as the achieved state and benefits of women’s economic empowerment and resilience are maintained, and WEF beneficiaries continue adapting their situation to evolving conditions while achieving economic well-being. The CARE gender equality (GE), WEE and resilience frameworks guided the design of the evaluation. The harvested WEE and resilience outcomes were classified, analyzed and interpreted based on five WEE and resilience domains of change: economic advancement, access to skills development and job opportunities, access to assets, services and other support to advance economically, decision-making in different spheres, and reducing drivers of risks.
This WEF-PPS session of the RILHUB Resilience Knowledge Exchange Series is aimed at reaching the objectives below:
1. Share the findings of the study – what outcomes and benefits were sustained or have emerged four years after the WEF project closed.
2. Share evidence on WEE and resilience outcomes to support advocacy initiatives.
3. Inform future programming strategy and call for actions based on learning and recommendations
4. Acknowledge the successes of WEF entrepreneurs and the contributions of partners
This presentation on the WEF-PPS outcomes was created and presented by the research team composed of Ms. Maria Teresa Bayombong, Ms. Caitlin Shannon, Ms. Maria Adelma Montejo, and Ms. Tzuhsuan Peng.
To access a soft copy of this material, please click here.
This report was written by Andrew Hattle with contributions by Christopher Roy and Hans Peter Dejgaard of INKA Consult and by John Nordbo and
Bart Weijs of CARE.
The study was commissioned by CARE Denmark and CARE Netherlands, under the guidance of John Nordbo, Bart Weijs, Obed Koringo and Camilla
Schramek. Sven Harmeling and Inge Vianen provided input.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of CARE International.
The research and analysis used to produce this report are based on six national reports published by civil-society organisations partnered with
CARE in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal, the Philippines, Vietnam and Uganda. Sincere thanks to the following researchers and contributors: Sileshi Zewdie
(CARE), Neima Aliyi (CARE), Yonas Gebru (CCC-E), Yoseph Arega (CCC-E), Meskir Tesfaye (CCC-E), Alazar Daka (CCC-E), Abdul-Razak Saeed (Destreza
Consult), Elvis Oppong-Mensah (Civic Response), Jonathan Gokah (KASA Ghana), Vincent Awotwe-Pratt (Biodiversity Advocates), Chibeze Ezekiel
(Strategic Youth Network for Development), Godlove Otoo (Institute of Green Growth Solutions), Fati Seidu Tambro (SUNG Foundation), Albert
Katako (Civic Response), Raju Pandit Chhetri (Prakriti Resources Centre), Sneha Rai (Prakriti Resources Centre), Binay Dhital (Prakriti Resources
Centre), Athena Denise Gepte (ACCORD), Kairos de la Cruz (ICSC), Aarjan Dixit (CARE), Elainne Lopez, Danica Supnet (ICSC), Janssen Martinez (ICSC),
Isabella Mendoza (ICSC), Angelika David (ICSC), Nguyen Thi Yen (CARE), Vu Minh Hai (CARE), Vu Cong Lan (SRD), Nguyen Thi Tho (SRD), Thuan
Sarzynski (SRD), Robert Bakiika (EMLI), Christine Mbatuusa (EMLI), Jaliah Namubiru (EMLI), Zerubabeeli Naturinda (Consultant), Joshua Zake
(Environmental Alert), Gaster Kiyingi (Tree Talk Plus), Margaret Barihaihi (Consultant), Monica Anguparu (CARE), Annet Kandole (CARE), Robert
Otim (CARE), Emmanuel Musa Kyeyune (EMLI).
To view and download the full document, please click here.
by INCREASE
Recognizing women’s collective power
Bayanihan—the Filipino trait of communal unity, work, and cooperation to achieve a particular goal—has been present in INCREASE Project areas, Mapanas and Palapag, Northern Samar. Charita, 40, a woman farmer of Mapanas, said, “Ang prinsipyo na dinadala ko dito sa brgy., nangunguna ako sa paglilinis sa simbahan, pati sa mga kalye lalo na kung maulan, nililinis naming yung kanal kasi bumabaha. Ginagamit ko ito sa mga nangangailangan na mga tao, lalo na sa pagtutulungan sa mga gawain sa barangay, yan yung ginagawa namin, nagbabayanihan kami dahil sa hirap dito. (I bring the principle of volunteering and leading especially in cleaning our [public spaces] church, streets, and canals when it’s raining because it causes flooding. I apply this principle to those in need and during the implementation of community activities. This is what we do—we enforce bayanihan [we help each other] because we’re poor.)” While bayanihan is innately incorporated in Filipino culture and evident in low-income communities such as Mapanas and Palapag, both communities don’t have an active women’s organization. According to CARE Philippines Rapid Gender Analysis on Power (RGA-POW) (2020), women in Mapanas only come together to organize the annual municipality-wide “Women’s Day”, while only one barangay in Palapag has a non-accredited livelihood association of women.
With INCREASE Project taking in place, community members, especially women, have another chance to get together, while maintaining minimum health protocols, learn, and realize their capacities and vulnerabilities in facing natural hazards. Women’s participation in community risk assessments, disaster risk reduction and management, and contingency planning activities has increased their existing knowledge to make informed decisions in emergencies. This space has allowed them to use their voice and be heard by other community members. Maria Rose, 34, a barangay health worker in Mapanas, mentioned, “Importante ang pakikiisa ng mga babae sa mga gawain para maging lider ng komunidad kagaya ng pag-attend ng meetings. (It is important for women to participate in community activities so they can become community leaders, like attending meetings.)” Women, therefore, realized the importance of their participation in building their leadership skills and strengthening women’s voices. Along with this, they have also identified knowledge gaps. On the RGA-POW, a woman leader from Palapag said, “Para madagdagan ang impluwensiya ng kababaihan ay kailangan din ng karagdagang edukasyon para sa kababaihan sa usapin ng [kanilang] karapatan. (To increase women’s influence, knowledge and capacity building activities and women’s right education are needed.)”
Incorporating another project, Women Lead in Emergencies, in INCREASE, has also allowed these women to work on a project to solve a community problem they have identified together. These efforts have provided women with a venue to see and harness their collective power. It has resulted in women actively expressing their desire to organize. In focused group discussions conducted for RGA-Pow (2020), “the women have expressed their confidence in lobbying for rights or providing feedback to power-holders when they are part of a collective.” In addition, they have also confirmed that they will be formalizing their organizations in the future.
Resilient livelihoods encourage women’s participation
In RGA-Pow (2020), it is stated that “women’s influence in public life and decision-making is closely associated with women’s economic power especially during emergencies. Critical to increasing women’s influence on formal decision-making spaces is helping them gain and have control over their own assets and income and to have equal say in decisions about household finances.” KIIs conducted with women community members of Palapag and Mapanas “highlight strong community perceptions that in public decision-making spaces, motions forwarded by economically empowered women are treated with respect and have better chances of being taken into consideration by the community or decision-makers. Such insight is not to discount persons with less influence; rather, enabling women to engage in sustainable livelihood activities increases their control of resources, which in turn enhances their influence and boosts their capacity to support members of the community during emergencies.”
During the last quarter of 2020, INCREASE provided livelihood trainings to selected female-headed households. Sustainability measures were also put in place to ensure that women in the community benefit in the longer term.
INCREASE or Increasing the Resilience to Natural Hazards aims to increase the resilience of 45,000 women and men small-scale farmers and fishers, including 720 extreme poor female-headed households, to natural hazards and the effects of climate change. The project is supported by the SKala initiative. SKala is driven by the German entrepreneur Susanne Klatten in partnership with the think tank and non-profit consultancy PHINEO.
Originally Written: October 4, 2014
By Darwin Masacupan
It was so bright that day, and not just because of the noontime sun directly over our heads. It was another thing entirely: the dreams shared by the people of Barangay. Mag-aso in La Paz, Leyte.
Mag-aso is an hour and a half drive from Tacloban City proper. Access is through a rough road, which becomes slippery and muddy when it rains. Majority of the population depend on agriculture for their living.
Elvira Andrade, a livelihood group leader in the barangay, shared, “Before, we really did not worry about feeding our families. We had abundant abaca and coconut trees from which we derive our income. We even had time to play bingo. Yolanda changed all that.”
Indeed it did. Agina Gabreno, barangay secretary, said that “We thought it was the end of the world. The winds and the rains terrified us. We cannot see our surroundings. Our families and possessions were all drenched. We were cold and hungry.
With most of the abaca and coconut trees destroyed, the community faced a great challenge. But these people were not about to give up. Immediately after the storm, they set upon clearing roads so that supplies can get to them. They also redistributed and rationed what little rice and bananas they gathered and received.
ACCORD and CARE, with the support of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) and the Dutch Cooperating Aid Agencies, built on this display of bayanihan (mutual aid) with their shelter assistance. Neighbors helped each other and prioritized rebuilding the houses of the most vulnerable such as the elderly and those with disabilities. They did not only receive shelter repair kits and cash support but also technical assistance in the form of trainings on Build Back Safer techniques. Initial trainings on community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) also broadened their understanding of how socio-economic and structural conditions render them vulnerable to disasters like Yolanda.
For the livelihood recovery phase, ACCORD and CARE helped the people organize themselves into livelihood groups. The list of income-generating activities they came up with included raising livestock sari-sari stores, and planting crops. Many of them, for the first time in their
lives, picked up their tools and cultivated crops they were not really used to: cassava, gabi, mani, and corn.
This diversification of livelihoods and crops is part of ACCORD and CARE’s strategy to strengthen community resilience. According to Dolly Odo, treasurer of the livelihood group, “We were encouraged to plant different crops in our backyards and idle lots so that we can have an additional source of food.” By having a wide variety of activities, the community can be self-reliant especially during emergencies.
But the community wanted to go big or go home. Odo shares, “If we only utilized the cash assistance we received in individual activities, we cannot scale up. We want something bigger.” It was then that all 148 of their barangay’s beneficiaries decided to allot PhP 3,500 (around $81) each from the cash grants they received. It was with this amount that they set upon the construction of a cornmill for the barangay. Their neighboring barangays ask, “Why corn? And why a cornmill?” Andrade replied, “It only takes 3 months to harvest corn, and we are able to make rice from it. A cornmill here in our barangays would mean that we, along with other barangays in La Paz, would not have to go to another municipality to have our grains processed.”
But building a cornmill is not easy. The men have had to commit a set amount of time to help build the cornmill, despite also having to earn their livelihoods working the fields in the
area. The women also contribute by cooking the food, clearing the area, and devising budgets to guide project implementation. Andrade proudly shares that they have placed their order for the machinery and expect to open the cornmill this October.
Their planned cornmill is different from other businesses, where profits are divided among the members every month. “The earnings will not go back to us. It will be invested in the bank, and will go into the future purchase of a solar drier, and eventually a rice mill,” she says.
The people of Mag-aso do not have it easy. Life remains hard. Incomes are low. Most of them are tenants, with just a few families owning most of the productive land in the area. This would clearly be a challenge to recovery going forward.
But still, one cannot help but be proud of such strong women, who make things happen. Not content with merely standing behind their men, they have stepped up to the challenge brought by Yolanda. Now working hard from sunrise to sunset on their crops instead of idly chit-chatting, they still seem to appreciate the change in their community.
Andrade is nothing but thankful.
“We never dreamed of such things before. Thank you to everyone who believed in us and made us believe that we can scale up our dreams. “
Through the EU Humanitarian Aid, the Move Up Project has been able to reach out to the most vulnerable families affected by the social and economic impacts of COVID-19.
Cebu City, which has been under stringent community quarantine measures due to its increasing COVID-19 cases, is home to more than 900,000 people as of 2015.
To date, the Community Savings Groups which are established through the project, have been continuously finding ways to diversify their livelihood options given the uncertain circumstances.
Hear more about their stories in this Champions’ Vlog .
The MOVE UP Project is an urban resilience effort funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. It is implemented by Plan International Philippines, CARE Philippines, Action Against Hunger Philippines, and ACCORD Incorporated.
In the third installment of the Move Up Project vlog series, let’s get to know more about the journey of the Community Savings Groups (CSGs) in Cebu City. In one of the project training sessions, some key members of the groups were able to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats which are crucial to their enterprises.
Through the said exercise, the groups were able to plan ahead the mitigating measures and how to maximize solutions available given the existing threats to their businesses’ success.
CSGs are the entry point of the project’s Resilient Livelihood intervention. Using this social group, capacity building activities are made to diversify their livelihood options and help the existing ones become more resilient and sustainable.
The MOVE UP Project is funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid and run by a consortium of Plan International Philippines, CARE Philippines, Action Against Hunger Philippines, and ACCORD Incorporated.