In order to address institutional, knowledge and capacity gaps that existed in the Kingdom of Cambodia relating to humanitarian response procedures and practices, the Cambodian Humanitarian Forum (CHF) was established in 2012 as a network of local humanitarian NGOs. The creation of the CHF was funded by USAID/OFDA and was assisted and coordinated by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) and their in-country partners, Partnership for Development in Kampuchea (PADEK), the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP).
The CHF network is designed to give a strong institutional platform for local NGOs to enable them to better participate and engage in the humanitarian architecture and response mechanisms operating in the country. The network is facilitated and managed by local NGOs supported and guided by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, the NCDM and USAID.
The CHF is expected to tap into global, regional, and national level humanitarian response networks in order to gather up-to-date, quality resources that can reinforce the humanitarian reform process within various stakeholder organizations. The CHF will create an enabling environment among field practitioners and policy-makers alike to have access to the great amount of information, knowledge and lessons learned for humanitarian response actors that became available in the aftermath of several previous disasters as well as providing increased access to local knowledge and resources. The CHF will also act as an advocacy body within the Cambodia DRR community in reinforcing the humanitarian reform process, while taking into account the demand for increased awareness and insight amongst all the local stakeholders involved in the dynamic field of provision of humanitarian response services.
The establishment of the CHF network aims at strengthening the capacity of the civil society in Cambodia to effectively respond to disasters by addressing key issues such as humanitarian coordination, preparedness for response and information management among CHF members. It also aims to stimulate their engagement as humanitarian response practitioners in the common humanitarian assistance framework, by sharing knowledge and resources among each other to help in better planning and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian response activities in the country.
The improvements in humanitarian response will provide a better result in saving the lives of people at the time of crisis, prevent unnecessary duplication of effort and facilitate early recovery from disasters. The activity is designed to bring Cambodian Humanitarian Agencies into a common forum and bridge the knowledge and information gap among international and local humanitarian actors with regard to the progress and direction of humanitarian actions.
This CHF Contingency Plan is aimed at CHF participant organizations and has been developed by them with input and assistance from the NCDM, CRC, PCDMs, HRF, RUPP and ADPC.