The Connecting Business initiative (CBi) Annual Event 2021 was convened online during the virtual Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW).
Overview of CBi sessions
This year, CBi organized four sessions, covering various aspects of private sector engagement in disaster management:
- Private Sector Engagement in Humanitarian-development-peace Collaboration
- Private Sector Engagement in Disease Outbreaks and Multi-hazard Scenario Planning
- New Technologies for Disaster Management – A Multi-stakeholder Approach
- Gender, Disaster Management and The Private Sector – Advancing the Field through A Multi-stakeholder Approach
Private Sector Engagement in Humanitarian-development-peace Collaboration
Session summary is available here
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The UN emphasizes the need to bridge the gap between humanitarian, development and peace silos and advocates for closer collaboration between the different actors. It calls for shared analysis, collective priority setting, as well as joined up planning and programming with the overall aim of reducing humanitarian need, risk and vulnerability. As part of the communities in which they operate, businesses have an innate interest to support before, during and after crises, often seamlessly moving across humanitarian, development and peacebuilding responses. This session discusses how and when do humanitarian, development and peace practitioners come together with private sector entities to leverage their comparative advantages. It makes a strong case that private sector actors should be encouraged to actively participate in the different elements of the nexus approach. Through an interactive panel discussion, speakers highlighted concrete examples of how strengthened collaboration and coordination with and among the private sector have benefitted vulnerable people.
Private Sector Engagement in Disease Outbreaks and Multi-hazard Scenario Planning
Session summary is available here
Watch the recording:
Recognizing the need to continuously build on the collaborative efforts between development and humanitarian actors, and the private sector for emergency preparedness, response and recovery, this session on "Private Sector Engagement in Disease Outbreaks and Multi-hazard Scenario Planning" aims to gather representatives from CBi member networks and other private sector networks, private sector coordinators from UN and other development and humanitarian agencies to discuss good practices, challenges and lessons learned from dealing with multiple disaster events.
Following this session, it is expected that participants will gain appreciation on how partnerships with the private sector can be initiated in order to enhance multi-hazard scenario planning capabilities and activities.
New Technologies for Disaster Management – A Multi-stakeholder Approach
Session summary is available here
Watch the recording:
The world is dealing with unprecedented challenges. According to the Global Humanitarian Overview, in 2021, 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection, which means 1 in 33 people worldwide - a significant increase from 1 in 45 a year ago. New ways of working are required to address the challenges we are facing, and technology can be a part of the solution.
The event is showcasing multi-stakeholder approaches for advancing the adoption of new technologies for disaster management. The interactive session showcases findings from recent studies and taking stock of further initiatives through audience participation in live polls and exchanges.
Gender, Disaster Management and The Private Sector – Advancing the Field through A Multi-stakeholder Approach
Session summary is available here
Watch the recording:
At the intersection of gender, private sector engagement, disaster management, and the nexus of humanitarian action and development work – there is a gap. CBi explored this space to better understand challenges and opportunities to integrate the gender lens into the work of the private sector disaster management, particularly what has been done so far and where the process is at. This session aims to present the OCHA-UNDP Connecting Business initiative´s (CBi) research on Gender, Disaster Management and the Private Sector. This research document provides an overview on how gender, private sector and disaster management interact, as well as to offer a consolidated view of different focus areas through the specific chapters, to facilitate bringing gender into private sector disaster management discussions. It offers an overview; a starting point for what will be an on-going conversation among several actors and stakeholder groups. This session therefore invites partners and actors to discuss the needs and ideas in bringing the theme further!
Introduction of OCHA response support tools to National Disaster Management Agencies (Asia-Pacific region)
OCHA has developed different technical tools and platforms to support sudden onset disaster response. Among others, in Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team and International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) are well known to governments, and National Disaster Management Agencies (NDMA) regularly participate in the meeting and training as national Focal Points and are aware of latest development of tools and methodologies.In 2020, during the pandemic, some of the response support tools of OCHA Emergency Response Section (ERS) were mobilized both physically and remotely and have been proven to be effective in the challenging environment. For example, OCHA-UNEP Joint Environmental Unit (JEU) provided environmental emote assessment and analysis for hurricane Eta/Iota response in Honduras. In 2020, in addition to fighting COVID-19, 9 Connecting Business initiative (CBi) Member Networks responded to a total of 19 crises. Among other things, they provided food and non-food items, sent early-warning messages, offered logistics support, conducted damage assessments and helped repair communication lines.This session is organized to introduce those tools to the NDMAs in Asia-Pacific to increase understanding of the available resources for localized response and remote technical tools to contribute to their preparedness and response measures of sudden onset disasters.
CBi networks in Vanuatu and the Philippines represented CBi and provide concrete examples of their work at the session.
About HNPW 2021:
The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) was held remotely from 19 April to 7 May. Over7,000 registrations from around 140 countries, including more and more countries from the global South, this edition has demonstrated the potential of a virtual event to include participants from all regions of the world.
Nine Priority Topics had been identified by the Leading Edge Program Strategy Group for this 2021 virtual edition, covering various aspects of humanitarian action. These are:
- Humanitarian Coordination and Localization
- Anticipatory Action
- Nexus
- Accountability to affected populations
- Climate Crisis
- Integrating Security Risk Management Across Humanitarian Action
- Emergency response in a pandemic
- Inclusion
- Organisational culture and power relations.
More information at: hnpw.org
