Speaker 1: This is Ayana and this is Farouk. They work for two different humanitarian organizations that provide life-saving aid to communities in some of the most challenging places in the world. Helping people in these settings is not easy and always carries great risk. To make sure they're prepared for potential risks and can keep delivering critical humanitarian aid, Ayana and Farouk use a risk management process throughout all their projects. This helps them plan for events that could disrupt their work. The risk management process helps them detect and assess internal and external threats, analyze and prioritize potential risks based on likelihood and impact, treat and mitigate potential risks, monitor and review analysis and plans, learn from their actions to prepare for future events. This risk management approach helps teams prepare and adapt to new and evolving threats. It's important for Ayana and Farouk to regularly review risk assessments with their teams. They must evaluate and understand how threats are changing. Reviewing and updating risk assessments also helps them to understand how different risks interact. Let's take a closer look. Ayana and her team are responding to a cholera outbreak in a hard-to-reach area where 5,000 recently displaced families live. People urgently need safe water, sanitation and health services. Ayana and her team are ready to build 250 latrines and set up temporary water treatment stations with 50 tap stands. The first company they hired was not able to complete the work, so Ayana's organization had to end the contract. The initial selection process didn't find other suitable vendors, so they don't have a backup company to work with. The team is considering a new company recommended by local leaders. However, the donor that funds the program expects partners to use competitive processes for new contracts. Restarting this process could take months. Ayana knows that even a small delay could be devastating for the community. More people could get sick and die. Before they decide what to do, Ayana's team and the people they report to must weigh up the risks. One of these is fiduciary risk. This is the risk that money or materials are not used for their intended purposes because of fraud, theft, corruption or other reasons. It might also mean that more money is spent than necessary. Ayana and the team do not have the authority to change procurement processes. These processes help their organization to select suppliers based on cost, quality and expertise. This helps Ayana and her team deliver the best possible program and ensure funds are used responsibly. If they ignore some steps in the process, the donor might not approve the costs and could open a financial investigation. In a worst-case scenario, the donor could lose confidence and suspend the program and funding indefinitely. Both situations would cause delays or stop the program altogether. The team must also consider the operational risks. A delay in completing the project has real consequences. The cholera outbreak might spread. Ayana's organization might not be able to fulfill their promises to the affected community and other humanitarian organizations working in the area. Or the donor's contractual timeline may not allow an extension. A delay could impact the entire project. But using a vendor without verifying their capabilities or expertise could affect the goals for the humanitarian activities. The latrines and water treatment infrastructure might not meet the agreed timeline or quality standards. The project might fail to prevent the spread of the cholera outbreak. And then there are ethical risks. Is it ethical to delay the project if it means more people could get sick and die? Is it better to accept greater fiduciary risk, go around the policies and push ahead? Any of these risks could affect the organization's reputation with donors and partners and in danger of future funding and programs. It could damage the fragile trust between aid workers and the local community. This could affect other programs. Some of these risks could affect Ayana's whole organization, not just this one project or team. She may have to consult other decision makers in her organization to help make a quick decision. Just as Ayana is considering all the options, Farouk and his team are facing a new threat. They are halfway through distributing food to 10,000 families in a conflict area when a problem arises. The monitoring team collected feedback from the community and some families say the rice and lentils don't taste right. Farouk and the team want to stop the distribution to check that all the food is safe to eat. But the local authorities say they cannot stop the distribution because many children are malnourished and have no other food source. There are also rumors that there could be an attack soon, so the community might move to another area. If people don't receive food now, the team might not be able to reach them later. Many people could go hungry and many more children could become malnourished. If the team delays the program and conflict comes closer, safety and security risks could increase. If people move to another location, the team will have to travel longer, more dangerous and insecure roads to reach them. The team would also need to carry out new risk assessments and set up new logistics leading to more delays. Farouk's team also faces ethical risks. Poor quality food could cause harm if it does not meet people's nutritional needs. But this risk also exists if Farouk and the team stop distributing food, even temporarily. Many people may go without food and resort to negative coping mechanisms. There are legal or compliance risks too. Distributing poor quality food that doesn't meet food quality standards could create problems with local community leaders or with donors internationally. If this appears in the media, it could create reputational risks for the organization or affect their relationship and trust with local authorities and communities. Ayana and Farouk are on opposite sides of the world, managing different challenges. But they face similar and equally difficult choices. There are no easy answers. But if they identify the potential risks, they can make better decisions. This helps them deliver critical, life-saving aid to communities, while also reducing the risks to people in need and their own programs, teams and organizations. In crises around the world, other humanitarian workers are dealing with situations that are just as tough. You might be facing one yourself. Using the risk management process can help you outline risks, anticipate consequences and plan options. Remember, conduct and update risk assessments regularly, before and throughout projects. Evaluate and understand threats, vulnerabilities and potential impacts. Consider all the different and interconnected risks these threats carry. Seek expert advice in your organization and exchange information early and often. Your teams know what worked in the past, what's easy and what's hard. Following this process can lead to better solutions, so you and your teams can keep providing life-saving assistance to communities when and where it is needed most. www.cdc.gov.au