Enhancing Humanitarian Aid Access Through Effective Security Risk Management (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Insecurity is a major barrier to reaching those in need of humanitarian aid. Unsafe conditions for aid workers are the biggest obstacle to humanitarian access, according to the majority of affected people surveyed in the 2020 Humanitarian Access Score Report. Nearly 500 aid workers were killed, kidnapped or seriously injured while working to protect millions of people from the effects of violent conflict, hunger and the effects of climate change in 2020. Frontline aid workers, predominantly national staff, are especially at risk. People in the most insecure countries or areas are underserved, as far fewer aid agencies are able to operate in these places due to the high risk. So even as needs increase, response to the most vulnerable people declines, leading to loss of lives and suffering. That's why Security Risk Management, SRM, is essential to address the risks that arise from this insecurity, so that we can keep aid workers safe and achieve sustainable access for vulnerable communities to assistance. SRM is not about being risk-averse or restricting programs, but understanding the threats in a specific context, how the organization, staff and programs are vulnerable to these threats, and mitigating the risks. This enables organizations to prepare for crises before they happen, respond effectively and recover and learn from them, allowing operations to continue. While we cannot eliminate risks entirely, we can often put measures in place to mitigate those risks. Managing risks is also about building relationships with local communities, staff and other key stakeholders who could affect an organization's operating environment to ensure the safe and effective implementation of programs. Collaboration among humanitarians is crucial as effective SRM requires understanding the context and working with different teams such as HR, finance, partnership and program staff, as well as having an appropriate budget. Because no one is safe until we are all safe, security is everyone's responsibility. The diverse populations we work with require diverse staff who need to be kept safe. Humanitarian workers' personal security is impacted by the interplay between who they are, where they work, and their role and organization. That's why it's important to take a person-centered approach to our security that is inclusive and embraces the diversity of our teams. All staff can be vulnerable to serious threats depending on their personal profile and the context. We can't eliminate all the risks, but we can work together to manage them effectively and keep aid workers safe. By investing in our safety and security today, we can help affected communities access the support they need. Join us in this mission, visit our website and learn more about humanitarian security risk management.