Improving the quality and accountability of humanitarian response in Pakistan remains a challenge

The July 2010 floods in Pakistan, that affected about 20 million people, have been taken as a case study for exploring the question of what works and what does not work in pursuit of quality and accountability in disaster-related intervention.

The research, commissioned by Sphere Project partner Church World Service – Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A) focuses on the level of observance of quality and accountability principles, with specific focus on the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) and the Sphere Project.

Researchers Mansoor Raza and Irfan Khan looked at what factors enable or discourage the observance of quality and accountability principles. They discovered that raising awareness about quality and accountability concepts, methods, language and procedures remains challenging.

According to Raza and Khan, there is a gap between the importance donors give to the concepts of quality and accountability, and the possibilities of putting these into practice at field level. They suggest that the rights-based approach at grass-roots level needs to be strengthened. Quality and accountability need to be located at the heart of organizational value systems and not be understood merely in terms of activities.

Raza and Khan conclude that the overall level of observance of quality and accountability principles across the humanitarian sector in Pakistan is low. Applying quality and accountability principles depends upon an organization’s values and ethos. Some organizations could become role models for others, but realising this potential takes time.

The authors recommend stronger advocacy with donors in order to make technical and financial resources for quality and accountability available, as well as extensive capacity-building in pre-disaster periods.