Guwahati: The Inter Agency Group (IAG), Jorhat, has organised a training programme on community feedback mechanisms and humanitarian programme planning to strengthen accountability and community participation in disaster response in Assam.
The programme was supported by Roots to Branches Foundation and UNICEF, in association with the Jorhat district administration. More than 15 organisations, including community-based organisations, civil society groups, humanitarian agencies and representatives of disaster-affected communities, participated in the training.
The programme focused on ensuring that the concerns, feedback and priorities of disaster-affected communities are incorporated into humanitarian assistance and recovery planning, particularly amid recurring floods and other disasters in Assam.
Tirtha Prasad Saikia, convenor of IAG Jorhat, delivered the welcome address and stressed the need for coordinated, accountable and community-centred humanitarian action. He highlighted the importance of collaboration among civil society organisations, government departments, development partners and affected communities in improving disaster response.
Ronney Rajkumar, district project officer of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Jorhat, facilitated a session on community feedback mechanisms. Humanitarian practitioner and researcher Nishant Buragohain discussed the links between community feedback, accountability and community engagement.
Andrio Naskar, technical consultant at UNICEF, shared practical approaches to establishing and strengthening community feedback mechanisms in humanitarian programmes.
Participants also discussed humanitarian programme planning and post-disaster recovery needs. Through group discussions and presentations, they identified community priorities, feedback and recovery requirements, while exchanging experiences and examining challenges in delivering humanitarian assistance.
A key focus was the need for accessible feedback and grievance-handling systems that allow affected people to raise concerns, seek information and contribute to decisions on assistance and recovery.
The training also highlighted the importance of coordination between humanitarian organisations and government institutions to ensure that community feedback informs programme design, implementation and monitoring.
The programme concluded with a reflection and feedback session, during which participants discussed action points and ways to strengthen community feedback mechanisms and locally led humanitarian initiatives.
The initiative is part of ongoing efforts by IAG Jorhat and its partners to improve humanitarian coordination and disaster response and recovery in Jorhat and the wider region.