Caritas Australia has be a strong advocate and supporter of Sphere since it’s inception and, like many international NGOs, has made efforts to institutionalise the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards into our policies, procedures and programs over the past 7 years.  While it is clear that Sphere has successfully influenced our policies and procedures in relation to disaster response, it is much harder to say that we have been able to effectively implement Sphere in our disaster response programs.  A key reason for this is that we work mostly through local partners and the ability for Sphere to be implemented in the field is very much dependent on our partner’s own understanding and capacity.

This was clearly highlighted in Pakistan when the earthquake devastated northern Pakistan in 2005 and Caritas Pakistan was one of the first agencies responding to the immediate needs of the affected communities.  At that time, Caritas Pakistan had substantial community development experience but little large scale disaster response experience.  The need to ensure local partners were supported and encouraged to implement an effective international response was a priority but at the same time conducting training and capacity building was not an option given the huge humanitarian need.  
 
Caritas Australia believed that the idea of establishing a Sphere focal point in Pakistan which would work with, and support, local partners would help strengthen partner programs without hopefully overburdening them. Along with a number of other Australian NGOs, Caritas Australia provided financial support for the Sphere program in Pakistan and at the same time encouraged Caritas Pakistan to actively become engaged in, and take advantage of, the Sphere Pakistan program.  This support and encouragement still continues with both Caritas Australia and Caritas Pakistan actively engaging with the work of the Sphere Focal Point.
 
The success of this initiative is perhaps best seen at the field level where staff and reports actively refer to Sphere in the implementation of programs as well as in the ‘common language’ that Sphere provides across agencies – in this case across Caritas partners.  It is yet to be demonstrated that the initiative has improved the quality of assistance provided to people in need but there is no doubt that it has strengthened the capacity of both Caritas Australia and Caritas Pakistan to respond to large scale disasters.  For Caritas Australia, the most challenging aspect of institutionalising Sphere is in program implementation and the Sphere initiative in Pakistan was integral to addressing this challenge.
 
Jenny Wells
Caritas Australia
Group Leader - Humanitarian Response
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