Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC)
Date: 18 May 2005
Overall analysis
To help the Armenian Red Cross achieve its objectives, as laid down in the
appeal 2004, the Federation raised CHF 1,226,269. The main donors were the
Norwegian Government, the Norwegian Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross and the
Federation’s Capacity Building Fund. The big advantage was that there were
funds available – 631 per cent of the appeal budget – from the beginning of
the year to start most of the planned activities. Additional funds – CHF
70,000 – arrived from the Federation’s Capacity Building Fund in April 2004.
The Norwegian Red Cross allocated another CHF 376,000 in June 2004. In
December 2004, a further contribution of CHF 93,500 arrived2 increasing the
appeal coverage to 157 per cent.
This was more than the Federation appealed for 2004. The income exceeded the
total appeal budget. There are two issues, however, that should be
considered: firstly, the funding was not evenly distributed among all the
projects; while some received over 100 per cent of what was required,
others – the integrated management of childhood illnesses, first aid and
population movement, for instance – did not have any income. These projects
have not received support from partners. As a result some of the important
activities were not implemented. The Armenian Red Cross has been trying to
fill the gap through bilateral partnerships, establishing contacts with
in-country organisations, national agencies and businesses, but the funds
raised locally have not been sufficient to cover the needs.
Secondly, the excessive contribution has been accepted with the provision
that the balance, CHF 412,983, will be carried forward to 2005 to cover the
continuation of activities until the end of May 2005. Hence, the percentage
of the expenditure, if calculated against the income, is low (66 per cent)
although the implementation and consequently, spending, in general, followed
the plan of action as designed from the outset. If we look at the
expenditure vis-à-vis the budget, it stands at 104 per cent.
Table 1. Appeal budget, income and expenditure per each project
Programmes/ProjectsAppeal budget (CHF)Total income (CHF)Appeal coverage
(%)Expenditure (CHF)Expenditure (% of the income)Expenditure (% of the
budget)Balance (CHF)
Health and Care programme186,793236,055126.3171,79072.89264,263
Prevention of HIV/AIDS40,54955,27613630,486557524,790
Prevention of TB14,46530,08020712,986438517,0933
Social services for vulnerable people131,779150,699114128,318859722,380
Disaster Management programme207,668168,34581119,063715749,281
Disaster preparedness and response142,361168,345118119,063718449,281
First Aid30,265000000
Population Movement35,042000000
Humanitarian values programme20,00151,35225732,3146316219,0374
Humanitarian Values20,00151,35225632,3146316219,037
Organisatio nal development programme365,716686,400188411,94961113274,449
Bran ch development194,478356,265183215,97361111140,291
Fi nancial management and development39,02069,94817944,2786311325,670
Youth development132,218260,187197151,69858115108,488
Field Management-84,114-78,16593-5,948
Total780,1821,226 ,269157813,28666104412,983
Despite funding gaps, the Armenia n Red Cross had remarkable achievements in
2004: about 30,000 children (10,000 more than in 2003) were reached with
messages on HIV/AIDS. Another 60,000 children and their teachers were
educated on disaster preparedness. Over 31,000 lone pensioners, refugees and
orphans were provided with social and health care.
Progress has been made in strengthening the National Society capacities too.
The Red Cross is better prepared now for disasters. Its response teams have
demonstrated that they can be quick and effective. The teams responded to a
number of alarm calls, many of which were about car accidents and fire.
National Society regional branches work better as well. They have stronger
links with the local population and have implemented responsive and relevant
programmes. Measures have been taken to improve volunteer management too.
The Red Cross has a viable plan on how to reorganise its structure so that
it can recruit more volunteers, better manage and retain them. Financial
management has also improved because procedures are now clearer and more
transparent.
Challenges, however, remain. The most acute one is how to ensure
sustainability in the environment of dwindling international support. The
national society has to continue to provide better services and explore more
local funding sources to break with the recent tradition of external support
that is set to decrease. It needs to priorit ise its work according to
pressing needs and the capacity of the Red Cross, strengthen links with the
communities, and improve planning and marketing. These are the issues that
emerged in a recent self-assessment. The National Society has started
addressing them, but more needs to be done. The Federation is committed to
support the Armenian Red Cross in achieving its objectives. Its support
strategy for 2005 has been designed to help the member national society
confront the remaining challenges in a consistent way (for more details ,
see the Federation’s Appeal 2005 at
Footnotes:
1 CHF 490,115, the balance from the 2003 operation, was carried over to
support the continuation of projects in 2004.
2 According to the internal procedures in the Federation, CHF 93,500, a
donation from the Norwegian Red Cross, was channelled through the 2004
accounts, although the amount was earmarked to support the projects in 2005.
Hence, the amount was registered as an income of the 2004 appeal increasing
the appeal coverage. If we deduct the December income from the equation, the
appeal coverage would stand at 145 per cent.
3 The amount will be reallocated to PAM 537, prevention of HIV/TB project.
4 The amount will be reallocated to PAM 540, the population movement and
PAM016, branch development projects to support the publication of a brochure
on the Red Cross work and public awareness campaign on human-trafficking.
For further information please contact:
Anna Eghiazaryan, secretary general of the Armenian Red Cross, email:
[email protected], phone: +374 1 538367, fax: + 374 1 583630.
Gun Raikkonen, Federation representative in Armenia, email:
[email protected], phone: + 374 1 539443; + 374 1 539217; fax: + 374 1
539217.
Sylvie Chevalley, regional officer, Europe department, Federation
Secretariat, Geneva email: [email protected] phone: 41 22 730 4276;
fax: 41 22 733 03 95.
The International Federation’s mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable
people by mobilizing the power of humanity. The Federation is the world’s
largest humanitarian organization, and its millions of volunteers are active
in over 181 countries. All international assistance to support vulnerable
communities seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, according to the SPHERE
Project. Please access the Federation’s website at
Full report (pdf* format – 530 KB)
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