Individual Consultancy to Review Legal Framework and Institutional Arrangements for National Emergency Operation Center - Ministry of Finance Somalia

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (REOI)

Country: Ministry of Finance (MoF) - Federal Republic of Somalia

Project: Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (P173315)

Assignment Title: Consultant to review existing legal framework and institutional arrangements for National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC)

Reference No.: SO-MOF-448634-CS-INDV

Duty Station: Home Based, With Possible Travel to Somalia

Closing Date: October 21, 2024 at 11:00 hours (East Africa Time)

Background and Setting

Somalia is in the grip of a climate emergency, compounded by prolonged armed conflict and economic and institutional weaknesses that exacerbate the country’s vulnerability. The interlinkages between climate and environmental change, cyclical drought, poverty, fragility, severe food insecurity, and protracted conflict are arguably more pronounced in Somalia than in most countries. People are increasingly caught between deadly extremes – conditions are either too wet or too hot and dry – and those already on the run from violence may be uprooted again by drought or floods. With most Somalis dependent on agriculture (primarily livestock) and forestry, continued climate and conflict impacts wreak havoc with daily life and the ability of Somalis to recover is progressively degraded. The recent COVID-19 pandemic further strained ordinary livelihoods and an already-fragile healthcare system.

Given Somalia’s exposure to frequent and recurrent disaster, the strengthening of capacities within government both to prepare for and lead the national response to emergency-related needs, and to coordinate effectively with humanitarian actors already working in the country, is a government priority of the first order.

• Institutional context

Since the early 1990s, response to repeated cycles of crisis in Somalia has been conducted largely through the UN-led humanitarian response planning and coordination system, usually without the close involvement of national or local authorities. The system identifies and prioritizes humanitarian needs in 12 so-called “clusters”, within which humanitarian actors coordinate their responses. In recent years, government has become a technical participant in this system but it remains essentially UN-led.

Therefore, a priority of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) is to strengthen national crisis preparedness and response capacities and to link these strongly with nationally owned recovery and development planning processes. Following the coming to office of the new federal government in mid-2022, the decision was made to abolish MOHADM and to consolidate (still under Law # 17) the national emergency response and preparedness function in a re-constituted Somalia Disaster Management Agency (SODMA). Under the new arrangement, SODMA is responsible for the oversight and coordination of the entire national DRM function, including early warning, disaster preparedness, disaster response (including displacement), and the development of durable solutions to displacement. In this capacity, SODMA houses both the NEOC and the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Centre and is required to maintain active relations with relevant MDAs at the federal level and with disaster management agencies within the five Federal Member States (FMS) and the Benadir Regional Administration (BRA).

At the sub-federal level, the five FMS and the BRA maintain disaster management agencies or ministries. Capacities and experience vary, but most are assumed to be highly constrained in terms of their ability to operate as state EOC counterparts to the NEOC. At the regional and district levels, there are assumed to be few dedicated early warning and emergency response structures and capacities, although it is understood that local NGOs and the Somalia Red Crescent Society are often important in this respect.

The government’s federal and state-level DRM capacities interact directly with the UN-led humanitarian system, which through the humanitarian planning process coordinates the delivery of most emergency assistance in Somalia. In this way, SODMA is a member of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and federal ministries participate in various UN-led cluster (technical) working groups. Similarly, state level disaster management agencies are members of “Area HCTs” and technical ministries will participate in local cluster working groups. There are no equivalent coordination structures for early warning or preparedness.

At the time of writing, the NEOC is still at a relatively early stage in its establishment. This terms of reference is part of a package of operational support being made available to the NEOC by the Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (see below).

• The Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP)

Following the disastrous flooding of the Juba and Shabelle Rivers in 2019, the FGS recently received a USD 137.5 million grant in direct financing from the World Bank/IDA to support the Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP). The SCRP is a multi-sector operation that will strengthen Somalia’s recovery from the numerous and often recurring disasters to which the country has been exposed in recent years, and build resilience to similar shocks occurring in the future. An additional USD 50 million from the World Bank’s new IDA 19 Early Response Financing mechanism has also been approved for use by the SCRP to counter growing food security across the country as a result of the ongoing drought and recent desert locust outbreaks. The SCRP aims to promote a whole-of-government approach, incentivizing cooperation and enhancing state-citizen-trust through state-led responses to multiple crises confronting the country.

With quick impact and disaster risk management elements, the SCRP complements other key IDA-funded projects active in Somalia including the Shock Responsive Safety Nets for Human Capital Project, the Urban Resilience Project, and the Biyoole or Water for Agro-Pastoral Productivity and Resilience Project, all of which aim to build long-run resilience at the community level.

Responsibility for SCRP implementation rests with a Project Implementation Unit (PIU). The PIU is mapped to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and co-managed and staffed by personnel from the MOF and the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development (MOPIED). It is responsible for project management, and coordination and implementation support to Federal Member States (FMS). The PIU is supported at the FMS-level by State Project Teams (SPTs).

Component 3 of the SCRP focuses on building Somalia’s longer-term preparedness and disaster risk management capacities, an important part of which will be the NEOC. SCRP support to the NEOC is the subject of this TOR.

• Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) Assessment

To ensure the effective use of SCRP resources in relation to its intention to support the work of the NEOC, the FGS and World Bank commissioned an assessment of national emergency preparedness and response (EP&R). The EP&R assessment, which used the World Bank’s Ready2Respond diagnostic tool, aimed to:

• Using the World Bank’s Ready2Respond diagnostic tool, generate an assessment of the emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) capacity in Somalia to face all kinds of disasters, including health emergencies, flood, droughts, food shortages, and incidents of mass casualty violence.

• Conduct a detailed assessment of the institutional and operational needs of the NEOC, recommending priority areas of investment and support.

• Develop a Somalia Food Security Preparedness Plan (FSPP) in support of an ongoing capacity building process.

The EP&R assessment has been conducted by Preparedness International, which recommended a number of priorities for the NEOC that will need to be satisfied to ensure its quick and effective operationalization. These priorities include:

• Establishing a legal and institutional foundation

• Acquiring essential equipment needed for operations

• Mobilizing key personnel

• Strengthening organizational capacity for operations

• Establishing a minimum Information management capacity

• Ensuring the engagement of sub-federal institutions and capacities in national disaster risk management initiatives

While action on the second and third of these is already underway, this terms of reference concerns the first (legal and institutional arrangements) and fourth (organizational capacity). Another terms of reference focuses on the remaining priorities (information management and sub-federal engagement).

• Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this TOR is to request individual consultant assistance with the implementation of immediate priorities identified by the EP&R assessment of the NEOC as requirements for its quick and effective operationalization. These include the clarification of NEOC’s legal and institutional arrangements

Other TORs, to be executed following completion of the tasks described herein, will address the need for strengthening of NEOC operational and information management capacities and the engagement of sub-federal institutions in national disaster risk management.

Detailed technical proposals are therefore solicited from interested and qualified consultant for the delivery of activities and inputs that will result in the realization of this immediate priority.

• Scope of Services Required

The Consultant is solicited for the review of Somalia’s federal legal and institutional arrangements for emergency preparedness and response (EP&R). Proposals will explain how the consultant will conduct the following tasks:

• Review Somalia’s current federal and state-level legal and policy provisions for EP&R.

• Conduct consultations with federal and state-level MDAs with EP&R responsibilities to understand current mandates and identify gaps and actual or potential areas of overlap or duplication.

• Prepare a draft report outlining the findings and conclusions of the review as well