In brief
- IFRC and Somali Red Crescent report that unanticipated procurement challenges made the planned shelter and household item distribution inappropriate, so the response moved to unconditional cash transfers.
- The switch was published in an operation update on 22 June 2020, and the same initially targeted 9,000 people, 1,500 households, were the ones targeted under the cash transfer component, described as planned.
- The report does not establish individual engineering liability for any damaged building, and damage figures are assessment estimates.
Contents
The IFRC and Somali Red Crescent Society final report on the Qardho floods, issued 18 December 2020 for an operation with a start date of 27 May 2020, records that unanticipated procurement challenges for shelter and household items prompted a change of intervention. The same report states that the initially planned distribution of shelter supplies became inappropriate because beneficiary needs had changed.
What the source records
According to the IFRC and Somali Red Crescent report, heavy downpour on 27 April 2020 triggered flooding in Qardho. The report states that a DREF operation was launched on 10 May 2020, with an operation start date of 27 May 2020, initially targeting 9,000 people, or 1,500 households, with shelter and household items, water and sanitation, and emergency health care. It records that the shelter and household items response became inappropriate because of procurement challenges and the likely protracted repeat procurement process recommended by the Regional Logistics. Field teams and the IFRC Somalia Country Office resolved to change the intervention strategy to livelihoods support through unconditional multipurpose mobile cash transfers, published in an operation update on 22 June 2020.
What it means on site
For anyone planning shelter work after a flood, the report points to the supply chain as the schedule risk. The document records a procurement path that could not deliver within the window the needs demanded, and a decision to move the same households to a planned one-off unconditional mobile cash transfer of 100 dollars per household, which the report says the Cash Working Group set through the prevailing July minimum expenditure basket. Whether cash or materials suit a given recovery programme depends on local supply, lead times and what households can buy locally. Ask suppliers for written lead times before committing to a distribution schedule.
What the source does not establish
The report records an operational decision by IFRC and Somali Red Crescent, not a finding about any building or any firm. It does not establish individual engineering liability for damage, and its damage figures are assessment estimates, including 750 shelters reported destroyed. It does not state the present condition of Qardho's housing stock or how procurement capacity has changed since 2020. Only a current assessment, or the responsible authorities' records, would confirm present conditions.
What to do next
Request the 22 June 2020 operational update and the operation's final financial report from IFRC Somalia Country Office or the Somali Red Crescent Qardho branch. Ask for the beneficiary register and distribution records covering the one-off cash transfer if your work depends on the same households.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the Qardho shelter response change to cash transfers?
The IFRC and Somali Red Crescent report says unanticipated procurement challenges for shelter and household items, and the likely protracted repeat procurement process, made the planned distribution inappropriate. The intervention strategy was changed to unconditional multipurpose mobile cash transfers, published in an operation update on 22 June 2020.
Did the change alter who was targeted?
No. The report states the initially targeted 9,000 people, or 1,500 households, were the same people targeted under the cash transfer component. The report describes the transfer as a planned one-off 100 dollars per household, set by the prevailing July minimum expenditure basket from the Cash Working Group.
Sources
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Qardho and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.