The definition of a complex emergency is - “a humanitarian crisis in a country, region or society where there is total or considerable breakdown of authority resulting from internal or external conflict and which requires an international response that goes beyond the mandate or capacity of any single agency and/ or the ongoing United Nations country program.” (IASC, December 1994).
Such “complex emergencies” are typically characterized by:
extensive violence and loss of life; massive displacements of people; widespread damage to societies and economies
the need for large-scale, multi-faceted humanitarian assistance
the hindrance or prevention of humanitarian assistance by political and military constraints
significant security risks for humanitarian relief workers in some areas
From the perspective of an IMO, complex emergencies are especially challenging as they often last for many years with smaller emergencies within the larger emergency. For example, Afghanistan has frequent floods, landslides, and earthquakes throughout the country. Thus there can be an emergency response within an emergency response. collecting, organizing, and disseminating data and information on the "small" emergency can be complex.
Process
This needs more context ....
Questions to consider?
Is a new instance of HR.info needed?
Will there be new actors coming into the country?
Will the existing humanitarian architecture (clusters) be able to handle the new response?
Will a new response document be needed or will it be incorporated into the existing documents?
Outputs/Resources
Text should include: Essential Reading, Additional Readings, Templates. Examples, Tutorials