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Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
Please note: All linked documents are in PDF format
| Objective |
SO Nunber
| FY 2004 |
FY 2005 |
FY 2006 |
| International Disaster and Famine Assistance (IDA) |
961-001 |
550,993 |
308,615 |
235,500 |
| Total (in thousands of dollars) |
550,993 |
308,615 |
235,500 |
|
The Development Challenge: The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is the lead coordinator of U.S. Government responses to disasters in foreign countries. OFDA works to minimize the human costs of displacement, conflicts and natural disasters. As the largest bilateral donor of humanitarian assistance, the U.S. Government has a unique role to play in shaping the nature of the assistance environment. Through close cooperation with other U.S. Government agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, host governments and implementing partners, OFDA's activities help maintain good relations and contribute positively to the United States' image abroad.
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. OFDA's mandate is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and reduce the economic impact of disasters. OFDA targets the most vulnerable groups with its emergency assistance: the malnourished, children, nursing and pregnant women, child- and women-headed households, the elderly, and the disabled. OFDA strives to reduce the economic impact of disaster while providing emergency assistance. 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.
OFDA draws on public and private sector resources, and maintains an in-house staff 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 USAID missions and other partners in disaster-prone countries to enhance regional, national and local capacity to plan, mitigate, and respond to disaster events. In Asia, for example, OFDA promotes preparedness to manage disaster events through incident command training, 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 County (California) urban search and rescue teams, either of which can be deployed within 48 hours 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 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.
Recognizing that OFDA's effectiveness is largely dependent on the success of the non-governmental (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.
In FY 2004, OFDA provided over $316 million in relief and mitigation assistance, responding to 70 declared disasters in 55 different countries, targeting an estimated 71.4 million beneficiaries. This compares to $550.993 million in the program summary table as total program funds. The difference of $134.9 million was managed by USAID country missions. Seventeen of those disasters were complex emergencies involving varying degrees of civic strife, economic hardship, famine or malnutrition, and a general breakdown of state services. OFDA's largest response was in Darfur, Sudan, where OFDA provided more than $71 million to address the needs of the internally displaced populations through programs focusing on food, emergency health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and shelter. Other major responses in FY 2004 include Sudan, Iraq, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Burundi.
OFDA's budget for FY 2005 is planned at $232.8 million. Here too the difference with the program summary table level of $308.497 million are funds managed by USAID overseas missions. Other funds appropriated for Iraq or as supplemental funding are also managed by OFDA. OFDA has planned obligations in FY 2005 for 41 countries. Of particular note in terms of anticipated funding levels are: Sudan; Iraq; Ethiopia; DRC; Liberia; Burundi. With these resources OFDA will continue to provide and improve upon its timely and appropriate humanitarian assistance to disaster victims. 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. The dire humanitarian situation in Darfur, Sudan, will continue to be OFDA's primary focus in that country as it provides assistance to internally displaced populations through programs focusing on food, emergency health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and shelter. OFDA will also support expanded essential services and rehabilitation in southern Sudan, where the long civil war has just ended. Additional International Disaster and Famine Account (IDFA) funds in Iraq, Liberia and Ethiopia for famine assistance, along with those for southern Sudan are administered by USAID field missions.
OFDA will use the requested $235.5 million of FY 2006 resources to continue providing quality humanitarian assistance to disaster victims, as well as expertise and resources for planning, preparedness, mitigation and prevention activities. The office will hone the professional skills of its staff and partner agencies through targeted training, and will continue to improve its monitoring, evaluation, and response capabilities for quicker and more appropriate regional disaster response. In addition to OFDA's baseline budget of $235.5 million USAID is requesting $100 million for Sudan to assist recovery in Sudan's war-affected regions, mainly the South, where the new peace agreement is fragile due to decades of war and inequitable access to resources. Sudan's abundant natural resources will eventually lead to economic recovery, but, in the short term, peace will need to be supported by continuing international assistance so that essential services and infrastructure are extended to Sudan's vast regions that have been isolated during the decades of war. IDFA funds will support programs of nongovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies in primary health care, water, sanitation, food security, livelihoods, and rural infrastructure, giving priority to the most isolated and under-served regions of the country. Also included in USAID's request is an additional $300 million of IDFA funds for cash procurement of emergency food aid and an additional $20 million has been requested for famine mitigation and prevention.
Other Program Elements: OFDA continues to cooperate closely with other USAID offices, the Department of State, the Department of Defense and other parts of the U.S. Government to provide timely and effective humanitarian aid to foreign countries wherever needed. USAID's Office of Food for Peace, Office of Transition Initiatives, regional bureaus, and missions are important partners. 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 of Population, Refugees, and Migration; and the Department of Defense's Office for Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs.
Other Donors: OFDA also collaborates with other donors and NGOs. Coordinating relief efforts is essential for bringing resources to the table and using 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 the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), and OFDA and ECHO work together to fund several country-specific Humanitarian Information Centers.
Please see the following list of major disaster responses, by country and region for FY 2003 and FY 2004. Also, please see the separate chapter on the full IDFA funding, in addition to OFDA-managed IDFA activities.
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