Proposed next revision: May 2019
Introduction
The Shelter Cluster is an emergency coordination platform that supports the Government of Nepal to meet the immediate shelter needs of people affected by disaster. The Shelter Cluster provides coordination support in three key areas:
● The development of an overall strategic direction for humanitarian shelter response;
● The development of agreed technical guidelines to ensure consistency of response across agencies and geographical areas; and
● Analysis of humanitarian needs and gaps through information management.
Specifically, the Shelter Cluster seeks to ensure coordination around each element of the humanitarian programme by:
● Supporting service delivery that is driven by the agreed strategic priorities and avoids duplication.
● Informing strategic decision-making of the HC/HCT for the humanitarian response through coordinated needs assessment and analysis.
● Planning and strategy development for the sector, in accordance with existing standards and guidelines and including clarifying funding requirements, prioritisation and the cluster’s contribution to overall humanitarian funding considerations.
● Advocacy, both identifying concerns and undertaking advocacy activities.
● Monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the cluster strategy.
● Contingency planning/preparedness/capacity building in situations where there is a high risk of recurring or significant new disasters (and where there is capacity to do this).
This document builds on existing contingency planning processes through the Government of Nepal and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office. The document outlines most likely disaster scenarios in Nepal, their likely impact on humanitarian shelter needs and how the shelter cluster will support the Government of Nepal in coordinating the humanitarian response. In this context, it is noted that the Government of Nepal is currently revising its federal structure and disaster management functions. The next revision is proposed for May 2019 in order to capture rapid changes in roles, structure, and responsibilities of government agencies in disaster management.
The target audience for this document is all humanitarian stakeholders in Nepal, notably regional, national and local NGOs, UN agencies, National Disaster Management Offices, donors and the Red Cross Movement. This guide is also a reference document for line ministries involved in disaster preparedness and response.
The contingency plan is maintained and updated by the Shelter Cluster lead agency: the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). This contingency plan is a living document updated regularly. Lessons learned from previous disasters are reflected and included in the updates. This contingency plan was drafted in August 2009, updated in 2011, 2014 and 2018. The next revision is scheduled for May 2019.
