USAID sub · ORGANIZATION FOR REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN AMHARA ← CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES - UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS — $1.2M
Key claim: USAID channeled a $1.2M sub-award through Catholic Relief Services (CRS-USCCB) to the Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara for JEOP emergency food assistance in Ethiopia.
Abstract
ORGANIZATION FOR REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN AMHARA received $1.2M as a sub-award (pass-through) from prime recipient CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES - UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS (prime award 720BHA23CA00003), under Agency for International Development funding. SINCE 2012, THE CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES (CRS)-LED JOINT EMERGENCY OPERATION (JEOP) CONSORTIUM HAS CONSISTENTLY BEEN RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE IN DISTRIBUTING FOOD ASSISTANCE TO AN AVERAGE OF 1.6 MILLION PARTICIPANTS EACH YEAR. DURING THAT TIME, THE JEOP PILOTED AND SCALED UP THE USE OF CASH TRANSFERS TO ADDRESS FOOD NEEDS, ENABLING HOUSEHOLDS TO PURCHASE FOOD WHILE ENSURING THE HIGHEST-QUALITY FOOD ASSISTANCE. BUILDING ON THIS FOUNDATION OF PARTICIPANT-FOCUSED AND COST-EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY, CRS WILL CAPITALIZE ON ITS IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS’ DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL CONCERNS, LONGSTANDING RELATIONSHIPS OF TRUST AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY, AND GLOBAL EXPERIENCE TO INTRODUCE KEY INNOVATIONS. THESE ADAPTIONS WILL ENHANCE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND SERVICE DELIVERY, ESTABLISH CORE DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPS) IN SUPPORT OF A SINGLE PIPELINE, AND BETTER ANTICIPATE AND MEET THE TRANSITORY FOOD GAPS OF VULNERABLE PEOPLE AFFECTED BY SHOCKS.
THE EIGHT INCUMBENT CONSORTIUM MEMBERS ARE ALL PRIMES OR SUB-RECIPIENTS ON THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT FOOD SECURITY ACTIVITIES (DFSAS) WITH SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE PROVIDING CONDITIONAL CASH AND FOOD TRANSFERS TO CHRONICALLY FOOD INSECURE PRODUCTIVE SAFETY NET PROGRAM (PSNP) CLIENTS. THE CONSORTIUM HAS DEMONSTRATED A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF THE REFORMS NEEDED TO HARMONIZE HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT FOOD ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS IN A CONTINUUM OF RESPONSE. PARTNERS WILL ALSO DRAW ON THEIR DFSA EXPERIENCES EMPOWERING WOMEN AND YOUTH TO EXPAND THE AGENCY OF THESE GROUPS IN JEOP ACTIVITIES. IN ADDITION, CRS HAS TWO NEW TECHNICAL PARTNERS TO ENHANCE JEOP RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT: THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTH (DIH) AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH (JHSPH), AND PROJECT BALANCE.
POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN ETHIOPIA IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS INCREASED COMPETITION FOR POWER AND RESOURCES, SETTING THE STAGE FOR CONFLICT AND STAGNATION (OR REVERSAL) OF ECONOMIC GAINS. CRS EXPECTS THAT THE JEOP WILL BE CALLED ON TO RESPOND TO MORE COMPLEX EMERGENCIES, PARTICULARLY AS THE PSNP ABSORBS DROUGHT-AFFECTED FAMILIES INTO AN INTEGRATED CASELOAD PIPELINE. ANTICIPATED SHOCKS SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, CYCLICAL DROUGHT AND FLOODING WILL BE COMPOUNDED BY POLITICAL CONFLICT RELATED TO UPCOMING ELECTIONS, THE ONGOING CONFLICT IN TIGRAY, POCKETED TENSIONS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY AND NOVEL SHOCKS SUCH AS THE DESERT LOCUST OUTBREAK AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WHICH ARE LIKELY TO DISRUPT TRADE AND AGRICULTURE WITH POTENTIAL LONG-TERM ECONOMIC EFFECTS. THE JEOP WILL CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE USAID BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (BHA) IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THE USAID/ETHIOPIA MISSION, THE GOVERNMENT OF ETHIOPIA (GOE), THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM (WFP) AND OTHER INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE THERE IS A CONSISTENT FLOW OF INFORMATION, FURTHER FACILITATING RAPID AND APPROPRIATE RESPONSE. JEOP PARTNERS WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR JOINT TARGETING AND FULL FAMILY TARGETING, WORKING WITH GOE COUNTERPARTS AT ALL LEVELS TO PRIORITIZE SHOCK-AFFECTED HOUSEHOLDS FACING TRANSITORY FOOD INSECURITY. THE JEOP HAS SUCCESSFULLY INTRODUCED JOINT TARGETING WITH WOREDA-LEVEL GOE AND OTHER PARTNERS FOR THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPS) RESPONSE IN GEDEO AND WEST GUJI, A BREAKTHROUGH THAT REPRESENTS A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) TO INFLUENCE TARGETING FOR THE FIRST TIME. GOING FORWARD, THE JEOP WILL BUILD ON THIS PRECEDENT TO PROMOTE JOINT TARGETING AS THE PREFERRED APPROACH, IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND THUS PARTICIPANT CONFIDENCE, WHILE AFFORDING GREATER OPPORTUNITY FOR CAPACITY STRENGTHENING OF GOE PARTNERS. A NEW PARTICIPANT DATABASE WILL ENABLE STRONGER PARTICIPANT MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING AND WILL BE DESIGNED TO LINK WITH OR INTEGRATE BOTH HUMANITARIAN (JEOP) AND DEVELOPMENT (PSNP, RESILIENCE FOOD SECURITY ACTIVITIES [RFSAS]) CASELOADS FOR STRONGER TRACKING OF AN EVENTUAL S
Why this matters
USAID channeled a $1.2M sub-award through Catholic Relief Services (CRS-USCCB) to the Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara for JEOP emergency food assistance in Ethiopia.