Institutional capacity gaps analysis of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management

This report attempts to provide a picture to the humanitarian stakeholders working in South
Sudan of the main challenges and needs of the government humanitarian institutions, the Relief
and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster
Management (MoHADM). It offers options mapping the way forward on how to improve their
capacity to coordinate humanitarian interventions and disaster management.
The government of South Sudan is faced with recurring humanitarian needs and the competing
fund-raising requests. This report is expected to be a simple tool that can ease efforts to plan
capacity building activities and prioritize fund raising attempts. It also aims at facilitating the
Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) members and donors’ decision-making process when
articulating their support pledges for an improved and more efficient MoHADM and RRC,
which will help to reach and direct the aid more effectively to those most in need.

In view of the enormous challenges these two government agencies are facing (financial, human,
resources, etc.) in March 2011 the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) agreed on the need to
increase its support to RRC and MoHADM1
. The humanitarian partners highlighted three broad
steps needed to develop this coordinated approach to engagement and assistance: a) A strategic
analysis of government humanitarian ministry functions; b)a Common needs assessment; and
c)the development of a common work plan. As a follow up action, UNICEF funded a consultant
for a 6 months period tasked to produce, i)a capacity gaps analysis of both institutions, ii)an
indicative work plan for the consideration of government, and iii)a funding proposal.

The main findings of this Institutional Capacity Gaps Analysis draw attention to three major
areas that need to be dealt with: i) an urgent need to clarify the policy framework and
organizational set up, roles, and responsibilities between these two government entities
responsible for humanitarian assistance; ii) the inadequacy of human resources base, in terms of
numbers, as well as the level of knowledge, experience and skills on disaster management and
iii) the limited resources available to carry out their tasks.