📋 Tender Overview
1. INTRODUCTION
The following Terms of Reference (ToR) have been adopted to guide the operations of the Honduras Education Sector Coordination Platform in Emergencies in the effective and efficient management of joint actions and the Secretariat of Education for the children and adolescents of Honduras before (emergency education planning), during (emergency response) and after sudden emergencies and protracted crises (sustainability and Nexus with development). The ToR are intended to be a dynamic tool to inform the Sector's operations, with regular updates to ensure continued relevance.
2. BACKGROUND
During the first two weeks of November 2020, Honduras was hit by two major tropical storms, Eta and Iota, which caused landslides and flooding that left 4.5 million people homeless, more than 95,000 people in shelters, and catastrophic damage to infrastructure and productive sectors. As a result of the catastrophic damage and devastating impact on communities, the Government of Honduras (GoH) declared a humanitarian emergency and specifically requested the support of the international humanitarian community to address the needs of the most affected people. It also called for international cooperation to support ongoing relief operations, with special reference to displaced people, including those still in temporary shelters. The convergence of the humanitarian crisis caused by COVID-19, pre-existing vulnerabilities, and the impact of ETA and IOTA have increased challenges in the education sector, protection risks, worsening food security, and the threat of vector-borne diseases. Since the beginning of this crisis, the United Nations System in Honduras has been working closely with government authorities and has put in place coordination mechanisms to respond to the emergency (e.g. local task forces, national and international organizations, and a humanitarian country team). Although the response is underway, the current level of assistance remains insufficient to meet needs. Enhanced humanitarian coordination is needed to ensure that needs are identified and a strategic response is provided accordingly. Based on the analysis of the ongoing emergency response and existing coordination capacity on the ground, and in consultation with the GoH, the humanitarian country team decided to activate the Shelter, Crisis Management, Water and Sanitation and Hygiene, Health, Protection, Education and Food Security clusters; to better respond to specific sectoral needs. In response, the Education cluster was activated in coordination with UNICEF and Save the Children with the Secretariat of Education (SEDUC) as the government counterpart.
