Food Security Cluster Erbil - Iraq _____________________________________________________________________ Cluster Coordination Meeting Date: Venue: Time: Attendance: 28/01/2015 Erbil International Hotel 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM WFP, FAO, ACTED, BCF, Al Khanjar Institute (ASA), ZOA, UIMS, REACH, ACF, RISE Foundation, RWANGA Foundation, Al Rasd Foundation, Foreign Relations, Watani Office Agenda: 1. Standing Items i. Matters arising from minutes of last meeting ii. Syrian Refugee Response Update iii. Cluster updates / news • News from Sub-National Cluster • PDS Update • Partner updates iv. FS Assessment Working Group v. CwC Update 2. Governorate coordination: options 3. Cluster performance report i. Overview of feedback ii. Priorities for action iii. Formation of work plan reference group 4. A.O.B 1) i. Matters arising from minutes of last meeting  FSC coordinator is on break. New cluster coordinator coming next week. Jake Peters (ACTED) will be taking over from Yasmine Colijn as co-chair.  FSC IM met with six partners, had positive feedback on the new IM tool. Encourages partners to get in touch. Useful for analysis and performance monitoring. ii. Syrian Refugee Response Update  Extended voucher distributions this month, until Saturday: experienced problems with beneficiary data having implemented a new system. Have tried to address complaints. Have been able to re-print vouchers for people. UNHCR records will be updated for next month’s distribution.  Reducing voucher value from $28 to $19 effective from next month, for next three months. Across all four camps where WFP is currently providing assistance to refugees. Trying to be proactive in communicating with beneficiaries and key stakeholders on this issue. The voucher amount reduction is based on current funding situation.  Under extreme pressure to start looking at targeting. Expecting to get an expert from the end of February, who will work with UNHCR, to develop a work plan on how to look at vulnerability. Some organisations are providing assistance in parallel to WFP. In light of funding crisis, WFP cannot continue to provide for everyone at the same level. The experts will do a quick assessment, and come up with targeting criteria. They will probably propose to develop a targeted approach where the extremely vulnerable get a 1 Food Security Cluster Erbil - Iraq higher amount and those who are moderately vulnerable get slightly less. At the end of this process a committee will decide. Effective targeting may start before June. Will be calling upon partners to obtain data. Any suggestion and active participation in a consultative and democratic process will be welcome. iii. Cluster updates/news  Duhok: working on splitting response into three areas: 1- Zakho, Duhok and Sumel: 100% covered; 2 – Amedi, Akre, Shekhan and Bardrarash (gaps in Shekhan, reaching out to partners); 3 – Sinjar, Suma, alQosh, Rubiya and Aiyabiya – some agencies have been able to access the areas to assist returnees.  UNHCR livelihoods working group and UNDP social cohesion cluster are hosting first joint meeting on livelihoods. Looking at where the overlaps are and then to be expanded to the national cluster area.  BCF mentioned they were reaching Zumar and Sinjar directly when access was available and they are reaching Rabiya today. WFP is planning to distribute with DRC in Zumar and Telkaif with ACF at the end of the month.  PDS update could not be given  ACTED: continuing general food distributions in south, Duhok and Diyala. Expanded voucher programme to Duhok.  WFP: Reaching 1.6 million IDPs, 400,000 for vouchers, the rest in-kind. Planning to expand voucher assistance all over Iraq, looking at how to do that. Internal WFP review on mechanism being used. Some rations have been incomplete: rice at the beginning of the month and currently some oil is missing, due to supplier gap. Some of the partners exceeded planned distributions due to IDPs movements. This is acceptable as long as it comes within existing rations supplied. RRM is active and IRR will be distributed soon in Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah. Looking at 800 HHs in Debagh caseload. Will do an RRM, as they have not received any food assistance. Some testing at HQs level being done with Plumpy Doz supplier but WFP has requested that it be withdrawn for now. For Anbar WFP has the caseload in Ramadi and Fallujah. Would like to reach Haditha and al Baghdadi. The situation is being monitored in Salah al-Din. Food assistance gap is reported in Samarra (11,000 families) – looking at a possible intervention in the short term.  REACH has planned to distribute 500 parcels for vulnerable families over 6 months (300 to IDPs and 200 to refugees). Around Erbil area: non-camp Syrian refugees. In tender and procurement process. ACTION POINT: will share vulnerability criteria with FSC IM Officer. FSC trying consolidating and harmonising vulnerability criteria – will be reaching out to partners soon. iv. FS Assessment Working Group  Work has been proceeding. WFP & FAO doing rapid FS assessments, working with Relief International and Islamic Relief Worldwide in these areas: Anbar (data collected and in process of being analysed); Baghdad, Diyala and Kirkuk (more data being collected and analysed, publish mid-late February).  Will share Anbar data with partners for comments and feedback. Areas covered include Ramadi, Ana, Rawa, Al Qaim, Haditha. Planning WFP and FAO joint distribution for Anbar – a call for proposals will be circulated through FSC once plans are concrete.  Workshop on analysis and reporting for RI and IRW – would like to expand this to local NGOs to develop their capacities in this area. 2 Food Security Cluster Erbil - Iraq   Assessment planned for north, but negotiations are ongoing with respect to funding. Thinking of extending to Babil and Wassit also, in light of news of new displacements in these areas. v. CwC updates  Not possible as Phyza Jameel is absent this week. 2) Governorate coordination: options     Other clusters are using working groups to cover governorate level-issues and look for solutions together in regard to operational implementation issues. Options: national cluster covering everything, with working groups covering specific governorates/areas. FSC will send out a poll, and partners can vote on what their preferred system would be. FAO asked if is it possible to take some of our national FSC meeting discussions online. Leaving these issues to be addressed online may make them a lower priority for people; worries that internet may exclude southern partners. 3) Cluster performance report    Only 10 members completed the survey. Weak areas identified: - Informing strategic decision making of the HC/HCT for the humanitarian response (use of joint assessment tools, needs & gaps analysis). - Planning and strategy development: application and adherence to existing standards and guidelines. - Advocacy: Identification of advocacy concerns to contribute to HC and HCT messaging and action-lacking; advocacy on behalf of the cluster and affected populations. This may be a question of communication and feedback – what is not filtering down to partners? - Monitoring & Reporting: Monitoring and reporting of cluster achievements and strategic results. - Contingency planning/preparedness: Risk assessments and analysis; contingency planning for future disaster/displacement. - AAP: Feedback from affected populations being incorporated in programming. Partners provided with strategic objectives of work plan to provide feedback. A review group will be established (3-5 NGOs) to provide active feedback on the work plan. NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 11 February 2015, 11:00 a.m. – Erbil International Hotel 3