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Sphere Project to assist ministry

by Florence Wickramage

The Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies has launched the Sphere Project which will assist the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees in providing basic minimum facilities in core areas of humanitarian assistance.

A spokesman for the Project said that accountability was at times lacking in work undertaken by certain Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the Sphere's aim is to enhance the accountability of the humanitarian system in disaster response.

Work undertaken by the Sphere Project has been based on the provisions of the Humanitarian Charter which is based on the principles and provisions of international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law and the principles of the Red Cross and NGO Code of Conduct. The Charter is followed by minimum standards in five core sectors - water supply and sanitation, nutrition, food aid, shelter and site planning and health services.

The Sphere Project has produced a nine minute video describing the project work using Sri Lankan Images. The Video available in all three languages could be used by resource personnel and field officers, the spokesman said. The Sphere Project has also produced a "Practitioners Reference Manual" which could be useful for personnel working on humanitarian assistance.

The Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees Dr. Jayalath Jayewardana said that among other NGOs working in this area, the Sphere Project renders immense assistance to the Rehabilitation and Resettlement of internally displaced persons undertaken by the Ministry in conflict areas.

The Sphere Project which was launched in 1997 envelopes a group of humanitarian NGOs, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent movements.

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