Jean-Noel meets with humanitarian staff at an internally displaced persons camp in Dire Dawa City in Ethiopia in his work with IOM.

Africa

Program Summary

Icon representing deployments
6
Deployments
Icon of a calendar
23
Deployment Months
Icon of a globe
4
Countries
Icon of a house
5
Host Organisations

In a region grappling with emergencies new and old, the program remained responsive to immediate needs as well as gender equality and disability inclusion priorities, while supporting recovery efforts. From western Africa (Liberia) to the Horn of Africa (Somalia) and into Uganda, deployees have worked on initiatives to optimise inclusion. In FY21, six Australia Assists deployments supported humanitarian response within five UN Agencies.

‍

Download Snapshot ReportShare
“[Claire] coordinated very well even though she was not physically in-country. She was instrumental in providing a consolidated source of information on education actors at both an operational and national level. The steps taken by [Claire] to implement her duties were remarkable. She was instrumental in convincing the operations team on the importance of continuous education and refugee children having access to learning and instruction materials.”
— Head of Field Office, UNHCR Liberia

‍

Ethiopia, including Tigray

The eruption of violence in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray state in late 2020 required the program to move rapidly to respond. The results highlight the program’s ability to address both immediate needs as well as longer-term drivers of insecurity – sometimes within the same crisis. Civil-Military Coordination expertise helped OCHA address significant access constraints that actors face as they try to respond to spiralling humanitarian needs. The work progressed, despite severe restrictions on movement, communications and resources. A Programme Officer with IOM Ethiopia worked on a coordination platform to help prevent future inter-communal violence and displacement across Ethiopia.

Leaving no one behind

Australia Assists deployments have responded to overlapping crises in Africa that are both compounding and creating new inequalities. Addressing the needs of marginalised groups has been central to deployment priorities. Melissa worked with OCHA Somalia to develop guidelines, conduct training and ensure gender and disability inclusion in the UN Somalia Humanitarian Needs Overview and Humanitarian Response Plan. In Liberia, Claire implemented best practices for the inclusion of refugee education at a national, district and country level. Meanwhile, in Uganda, engineer Valeri oversaw the construction of Infectious Disease Centres and in doing so, ensured ramps were included to improve physical accessibility.

Program agility – COVID-19

Pandemic-related travel restrictions to Africa meant 33 per cent of deployments were moved to remote roles.

Program Snapshots

Close up of a woman’s hands in blue latex gloves, drawing liquid from a vial into a syringe. A person’s shoulder is visible in front of her, and two more people are out of focus in the background.

Partnerships for Recovery

Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation

A man is standing faced away from the camera. He is wearing a blue vest with a logo on its back that says “IOM OIM”. He is in a large outdoor space, with mountains in the distance. Between him and the mountains there are hundreds of round fabric tent structures, some other small buildings, and some trees. People are visible among the tents and near the man.

Peace and Stability

A woman sits at a desk with a laptop, a monitor, a keyboard and a notebook in front of her. She turns toward the camera and smiles. She is wearing a cap with logos that say “Australia Assists” and “redr”. A logo that says “Australian Aid” is embroidered on the back of her shirt. There is a red water bottle on her desk with a logo that says “redr australia”.

Gender Equality

Five people sit around a table. One person is talking and gesturing, and the others are looking at him. People have documents and notepads in front of them, and hold pens. On woman is wearing a dark blue work shirt with logos that say “redr australia” and “Australia Assists”.

Disability Inclusion

A man stands on the right of frame, smiling at the camera. Out of focus behind and below him are some large buildings, a very large tree, and a street with cars, in front of a large body of water.

Localisation

A group of people are standing or seated in rows, smiling at the camera. Some are wearing army or emergency service uniforms. They are outside with a large body of water behind them. On the left there is a pop-up banner that says “PacIMS enhances interoperability for agencies responding to disasters”. On the right there is a pop-up banner that says “PIEMA” and is covered in smaller text and images.

Pacific

A group of people of a range of ages stand or sit in rows, smiling at the camera. They are outdoors, with some buildings and trees behind them.

Asia

Four people face the camera and smile. Two wear shirts embroider with a “redr australia” logo. Behind them is a building with a cane frame.

Myanmar and Bangladesh

A man stands in front of a parked bus, smiling at the camera. He wears a grey polo shirt embroidered with logos that say “redr australia” and “Australia Assists”. “UN” is written on the front of the bus.

Middle East

Africa

Download FY21 Deployment Data
FY21 Supplementary Links (Annexed)
1. Australia Assists’ Support to Pacific Disaster Preparedness 2017-2020
2. Australia Assists’ Support to Global Disaster Preparedness 2017-2021
3. Pacific Essentials of Humanitarian Practice (EHP) Training Course - Pilot
4. Career Trajectories of RedR Australia Trainees
5. Localisation Action PlanReview of Australia Assists’ Support to the Rohingya Crisis 2017-2020