IHP Base Camp Working group meeting in December 2012

Despite harsh cold and heavy snowstorm participants from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Germany, UN World Food Programme and UNOCHA met in Stockholm to discuss the different aspects of joint office and accommodation deployments to emergency situations.

The Base Camp working group (BC WG) is one out of three IHP working groups. It is currently chaired by MSB, and the IHP Focal Points have assigned the WG to have a broad perspective on Base Camp issues, not only technical focus. The purpose of the WG is in brief terms to strengthen IHP operations (before, during and after deployment) through improving both hardware components (such as technical aspects of equipment) and also software components (trainings, operating procedures, coordination etc.).

Both strengths and weaknesses of IHP operations were highlighted by using examples from the recent IHP deployments to Ethiopia, Jordan and South Sudan. The meeting also condluded that the mapping of Base Camp resources was finalized and a matrix with all available resources have been established. The matrix will serve as a tool to improve planning for deployment of equipment during joint IHP operations. Moreover, an IHP assessment tool has been tested during a recent assessment in South Sudan and will be officially launched within the coming months. In addition, IHP will revise the Base Camp Management Course during the following months and the intention is to have the course running during the UNHCR Workshop in Emergencies (WEM) in Revinge, Sweden, in March 2013. Last but not least, the working group discussed a common way of establishing a new module, based on prefabricated structures. As a first step, a prefab reference group of interested IHP members and partners will start discussing minimum standards and requirements for establishing an IHP prefab capacity.

The next meeting will be kindly hosted by UNWFP during the mild roman spring.