PHASE I, The Sphere Project
A Programme of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response and InterAction with VOICE, ICRC, ICVA
Project Progress Report Number 2
 
Project Team 

Nicholas Stockton 
Chair, 
Management Committee 

Peter Walker 
Project Co-ordinator 

Susan Purdin 
Project Manager 

John Adams 
Sector Manager, 
Water Supply and Sanitation 

Lola Gostelow 
Sector Manager, 
Nutrition 

Harlan Hale 
Sector Manager, 
Food Aid 

Joachim Kreysler 
Jean Roy 
Sector Managers, 
Health Services 

Philip Wijmans 
Sector Manager, 
Shelter and Site Management 

Project Office 

Street Address: 
17, chemin des Crêts 
Petit Saconnex 
Geneva 

Postal Address: 
P. O. Box 372 
1211 Geneva 19 
Switzerland 
 
 

Kofi Annan Lauds 

Sphere Project 

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has praised SCHR and InterAction members for work on the Sphere project, a year-long effort to draft a humanitarian charter and to identify a set of interagency standards and best practices in delivery of services to disaster victims. 

"At a time when the United Nations and its partners are working to better meet the needs of the victims of humanitarian crises, I am gratified to learn that your organization is working closely with InterAction", wrote Annan to the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR). "The contribution from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will indeed enhance the capacity of the international community towards an effective and coordinated response in emergencies." 

Networking 

In our last update, we described the first several weeks of the Sphere project. Since those early days, word has spread far and wide. We now communicate with people on every continent. The idea of setting international interagency standards for the provision of humanitarian assistance strikes a resonant chord for people everywhere.

The inclusionary nature of the process is generating even more enthusiasm. People from all collaborating humanitarian agencies are contributing substantively to the standards and momentum is building for universal compliance with the standards when they are finalized.

Articles in this newsletter provide glimpses of the work in progress and name some of the individuals and agencies who are cooperating on the project. Unfortunately, we don’t have space in this brief newsletter to name everyone involved nor to show all the work-to-date. For more detail please e-mail the relevant sector manager.

During September and October, the sector managers began an interactive process with technical working groups to compile sets of agreed standards. In keeping with Sphere’s collaborative nature, the sector managers’ solicit input — "For these standards to have any relevance and future application, it is vital that the experience and thinking of those who have worked in emergencies is harnessed. To this end, we request that people comment on drafts and suggest good case-study material to highlight "best practice". If you would like to be involved, please get in touch..."