NGOs establish a clearinghouse to share information on the Middle East and North Africa

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with relief and humanitarian projects and activities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have formed the Joint NGO Emergency Preparedness Initiative (JNEPI) which is to function as a clearinghouse for the exchange of information, assessments and experiences gathered by NGOs working in the region.

The JNEPI was established at the beginning of 2003 by five international humanitarian NGOs - International Medical Corps (IMC), International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Save the Children/US, and the World Vision - which have also funded the initiative together with USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).

The purpose of the initiative is to facilitate more effective information sharing and coordination, not only among the five NGOs themselves, but with all humanitarian agencies interested in working in the MENA. Information will include data on the health and nutrition situation in a given country or area within the MENA, issues such as nutrition and food security, water and sanitation, legal frameworks and legislation regarding transportation, visa, immigration, etc.

So far, the JNEPI has functioned mainly as a focal point for coordination and preparation of activities for a possible humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Representatives from the International Medical Corps (IMC), for instance, recently met with more than 14 other aid NGOs working in the region to share information on the health, nutritional and living status of the Iraqi people and their needs during a war situation - information which the IMC had gathered during a fact-finding mission to Baghdad in February 2003.

The JNEPI's main office is currently located in the Jordanian capital Amman but may eventually move to Baghdad.

For additional information on the JNEPI, contact: Tammie Willcuts at: twillcuts@dc.savechildren.org