As tsunami recovery projects near completion, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society are concentrating efforts on developing a more sustainable and integrated approach to programming that addresses the needs of the most vulnerable communities.

Sectors such as health and disaster management will share programme components in order to have a greater impact on reducing vulnerability, while offering beneficiaries a wider range of services and involving them as active participants in programme planning and implementation.

This integrated approach is being piloted across three of the Red Cross Red Crescent's core programmatic areas - health, disaster management and organizational development. First aid training components are being integrated with disaster response search and rescue training programmes, likewise awareness-raising on humanitarian values can be combined with community level psychosocial support programmes.

Livelihoods programming

This approach can then be scaled up to bring together different healthcare components not only with disaster management and organizational Development, but also with water and sanitation and livelihoods programming.

Home gardening projects can be combined with awareness-raising for families on alternative income-generating methods, and also with nutrition and hygiene awareness education that benefits the entire family.

"Instead of a service-delivery programme that might only be geared towards addressing one particular issue, integrated programmes bring a more holistic approach," explains Nimal Kumar, national secretary of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.

Relevant to needs

"Linking programmes more closely will make our work more relevant to community needs and will be more effective in developing the capacity and resilience of the communities and local government structures that we work with," Kumar adds.

It will also mean that Sri Lanka Red Cross Society branches will have a greater sense of ownership over their programmes as they will take the lead in implementing this new approach.

Joint vulnerability capacity assessments will be conducted by local branches with the full participation of the communities in order to encourage accountability.

Versión en español: http://www.ifrc.org/sp/docs/news/09/09032301/index.asp

Version en français: http://www.ifrc.org/fr/docs/news/09/09032301/index.asp