JP El Niño Dates

• Start Date:  August 2016

• End Date:   August 2017

Progress Report

• Narrative Progress Report 1 July - 31 December 2016

JP El Niño Key Documents

• Programme Document
• Memorandum of Understanding
• Standard Administative Arrangement

Overview

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Food Programme (WFP), have established a Joint Programme entitled “Support to the Humanitarian Response following the El Niño 2015/2016 in Lesotho”.

The joint programme encompasses a holistic package of humanitarian interventions to address the consequences of the El Nino drought in Lesotho. FAO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP are implementing complementary activities that respond to humanitarian needs in the food security and agriculture (i), WASH (ii), protection (iv) and coordination (iv) sectors. The joint programme follows a rights-based approach that considers the rights and needs of the population in a comprehensive way to cover multiple aspects of the droughts impacts. The Joint programme focuses on:

• Improving food security and resilience of vulnerable households through sustainable livelihood support whilst complementing agricultural production
• Increasing access to potable water and rehabilitation of water sources to vulnerable communities and in doing so reduce exposure of women and girls
• Proving an emergency cash top up to alleviate the impacts of the food price shock so that household budget allocated for health and education are not comprised
• Improving prevention, response and coordination of drought-linked GBV mechanisms at National, District and Community levels
• Improving the coordination of the humanitarian response in Lesotho

Assistance Strategy

The joint programme targets nine districts in Lesotho and aims to enhance livelihood security of drought-affected households through a multi-sectorial response. The joint programme will undertake the following activities:

• Rehabilitation and construction of 24 spring boxes and 10 new hand pumps, drilling of 5 high capacity deep boreholes, improve sanitation in 10 schools and 5 health centres and other rehabilitation
• UNICEF will provide Cash top ups under the Child Grant Programme targeting 3,681 households which include 11,043 children. WFP will target a further 5,600 households through cash grants.
• FAO will expand coverage of livelihood support networks to cover 3,500 households by distributing essential agricultural inputs to increase further household production. A further 15,000 households will be targeted to receive home gardening and nutrition kits
• UNFPA will aim to strengthen community and district level GBV protection structures through mapping and capacity building activities whilst training health facility staff on clinical management and work with survivors to improve livelihood skills.
• UNDP will support the inter-sector coordination of the response by ensuring humanitarian information management is adequate and ensure that monitoring and reporting functions are supported

Governance

The joint programme is managed using a pass-through funding modality. The programmatic and financial accountability rests with the participating UN organisations, which manage their respective components of the joint programme. The establishment of the Joint Steering Committee will ensure that activities of the organisations are coordinated and that humanitarian action is Lesotho is principled, timely, effective and efficient, and contribute to longer-term recovery. 

Administrative Agent  

The Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the Administrative Agent (AA) of the Joint Programme Support to the Humanitarian Response following the El Niño 2015/2016 in Lesotho. The AA is responsible for concluding Standard Administrative Arrangements (SAAs) with donors and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Participating UN Organisations. In addition it is responsible for the receipt, administration, and management of contributions from donors; disbursement of funds to the Participating UN Organisations; and consolidation of financial reports produced by each of the Participating UN Organisations and Participating Non-UN Organisations.