2017 Rohingya Emergency Response: Information Feedback Centers strengthen accountability to affected communities
Summary:
Since August 2017, over 730,000 Rohingyas, including 400,000 children, have fled from violence in Myanmar and settled in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. When Rohingya refugees began arriving to Bangladesh in August 2017, they either had limited knowledge of what services were available to them or how to access these services. It was clear that the affected communities needed to receive this essential information. In addition, UNICEF acknowledged that two-way communication between the humanitarian community and the people they serve is critical to ensuring the accountability and efficacy of the system. It is in this context that the Information and Feedback Centres (IFCs) were set up as part of the Rohingya Emergency Response within the first three to four weeks of arrival.
Background/Objectives:
UNICEF Community Accountability Mechanisms - Creation of Information Feedback Centers in order to:
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
These Information Feedback Centres provide the following services:
Staffing the IFCs with volunteers/outreach workers who are from the community themselves has greatly increased credibility, acceptance and trust of information dissemination and service referrals. Nevertheless recruitment strategies have to be carefully considered taking into account gender and the local socio-cultural milieu of the refugees. For instance in Cox's Bazar the majority of the volunteer mobilisers and outreach workers are female. This can sometimes create pushback in the community where women are not allowed in certain spaces, or men find themselves without jobs. Similarly, if female adolescents are recruited, their safety and security need to be carefully considered.
Abstract submitted by:
Naureen Naqvi - UNICEF
Since August 2017, over 730,000 Rohingyas, including 400,000 children, have fled from violence in Myanmar and settled in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. When Rohingya refugees began arriving to Bangladesh in August 2017, they either had limited knowledge of what services were available to them or how to access these services. It was clear that the affected communities needed to receive this essential information. In addition, UNICEF acknowledged that two-way communication between the humanitarian community and the people they serve is critical to ensuring the accountability and efficacy of the system. It is in this context that the Information and Feedback Centres (IFCs) were set up as part of the Rohingya Emergency Response within the first three to four weeks of arrival.
Background/Objectives:
UNICEF Community Accountability Mechanisms - Creation of Information Feedback Centers in order to:
- Meet the gap in information provision and engagement with Rohingya communities
- Receives queries, complains and feedback from the community
- Refer the community members to the proper services or take action to respond to their issues
- Generate real time information for sectors to take action
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
These Information Feedback Centres provide the following services:
- Receive and respond to community feedback, queries, grievances and complaints
- Provide information and referrals on available services in the catchment area using social maps indicating locations of service points and accompany the service seekers to the service points
- Mobilize communities and volunteers
- Provide demonstration sessions for practicing key life-saving behaviours
- Conduct community consultations and meetings
- Mobilize communities during campaigns
- Contact details of service providers inside the catchment area
- Disseminate public service announcements (PSAs)
- Participate in the CIC meetings to be informed on different services and instruction on the ground
- Disseminate culturally appropriate and user-friendly Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials including answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- "IFC staff reach 100,00 households, or approximately 60,000 total population, through model mothers and youth volunteers that are linked to each IFC.
- Over 70,000 CFQs were synthesized and forwarded to Sector colleagues to support interventions across Health, Wash, Nutrition, Child Protection, and Education. The digitization enabled these sectors to access the information.
- Linking the info hubs with adolescent engagement initiatives, religious leaders and radio listener groups ensured consistent messaging and encouraged referral to appropriate services as well.
- Regular capacity building for the Information Service Providers who staffed the IFCs enabled a more robust programming and quality assurance. These covered training on interpersonal communication and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) among others.
- Standardization of response systems is essential to maintaining quality of information dissemination and service referrals across all IFCs. Investments have to be made early on for systematic recruitment and training of IFC"
Staffing the IFCs with volunteers/outreach workers who are from the community themselves has greatly increased credibility, acceptance and trust of information dissemination and service referrals. Nevertheless recruitment strategies have to be carefully considered taking into account gender and the local socio-cultural milieu of the refugees. For instance in Cox's Bazar the majority of the volunteer mobilisers and outreach workers are female. This can sometimes create pushback in the community where women are not allowed in certain spaces, or men find themselves without jobs. Similarly, if female adolescents are recruited, their safety and security need to be carefully considered.
Abstract submitted by:
Naureen Naqvi - UNICEF
Source
Approved abstract for the postponed 2020 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. Provided by the International Steering Committee for the Summit. Image credit: ©UNICEF/Bangladesh/2019/Kiron