Humanitarian emergencies are complex and chaotic. Careful, coordinated assessment of the situation and ongoing monitoring of the response and changing needs is critical to effective humanitarian action (Fig. 7).
This section helps you take a coordinated and structured approach to understanding the situation of the affected population, including service availability, and using these data to decide on priorities. It will help you to:
- Include child and adolescent health in initial health needs assessment
- Assess existing resources and capacity
- Prioritize CAH interventions.
Fig. 7 Humanitarian programme cycle (24)
This section deals mainly with initial assessment tools; these tools (and other tools) will be discussed again in the monitor, evaluate and review section (action area 4). Actions in this section build on the coordination structures (action area 1) and lead directly into how to respond (action area 3). Use the self-assessment progress tracker (Annex 1) to assess where you and your team (or organization) currently are, and track your progress over time.