2.2 Expectations for CARE participation in coordination mechanisms.

Country Offices are required to plan for sufficient capacity among senior emergency response staff to effectively participate in humanitarian coordination efforts during emergencies. CARE staff must engage in relevant coordination mechanisms, including UN-led ‘clusters’ and NGO coordination forums.

CARE COs are expected to engage with UN/IASC country teams, and participate in cluster meetings and activities in CARE’s core programming sectors (WASH, shelter, food security) and the logistics cluster. This should enable COs to coordinate activities with peer agencies, and secure access to financial and physical resources through the cluster system. For more information on how to engage with the cluster system, contact the CI Head of Emergency Operations or the CI Senior Sector specialists (see Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); Chapter 8.2 Shelter and camp management ; Chapter 8.3 Food security; and Logistics).

CARE has developed close working relationships with peer agencies in several NGO forums, such as the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR), the Interagency Working Group (IWG) and the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership International (HAP). Peer agencies that CARE has developed close working relationships with include (but are not exclusive to) Save the Children (SC), Oxfam, International Rescue Committee (IRC), World Vision, IFRC, ICRC, Mercy Corps, MSF, NRC, CRS, Caritas and LWF. Based on these relationships, we are striving to have closer collaboration in field operations and COs are encouraged to collaborate and coordinate with these international forums and agencies, as well as with local NGOs.