Glossary of terms

• Author: Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) (European Commission), Landell Mills International
• Pages: 10-10

Final Evaluation Report: Combined evaluation of the European Union’s humanitarian interventions in

Afghanistan 2014-2018 and DG ECHO's partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council

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Glossary of terms

Awaaz: a toll-free hotline in Afghanistan for disaster-affected communities to lodge complaints about

humanitarian response. Operated by UNOPS, the complaints are then forwarded to relevant agencies

for action and the caller is informed of the outcome/decision. Funded by DG ECHO, it is part of

beneficiary accountability system.

FCS: The Food Consumption Score (FCS) is an index that was developed by the World Food Programme

(WFP). It aggregates household-level data on the diversity and frequency of food groups consumed over

the previous seven days, which is then weighted according to the relative nutritional value of the

consumed food groups. For instance, food groups containing nutritionally dense foods, such as animal

products, are given greater weight than those containing less nutritionally dense foods, such as tubers.

Based on this score, a household’s food consumption can be further classified into one of three

categories: poor, borderline, or acceptable.

FichOp: The FichOp is a DG ECHO internal file with all observations, comments, and initial appraisals,

report of monitoring and final decision from Field and Desk staff on a project funded by DG ECHO.

Hawala: Hawala is an alternative remittance channel that exists outside of traditional banking systems.

Transactions between hawala brokers are made without promissory notes because the system is heavily

based on trust and the balancing of hawala brokers' books.

IPC Classification: The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a set of standardised tools

that aims at providing a "common currency" for classifying the severity and magnitude of food insecurity.

The IPC-Acute scale categorises the severity of acute food insecurity into Five Phases: Phase 1 –

minimal; Phase 2 – stress; Phase 3 – crisis; Phase 4 – emergency; and Phase 5 – famine.

1. Minimal. Up to 20 per cent of households must take drastic steps to meet basic needs, for example,

selling assets to pay for food or shelter.

2. Stressed. Households cannot get enough food without meeting other non-food needs through

unsustainable means.

3. Crisis. Households either experience stretches of acute malnutrition or must deplete assets to meet

food needs, leading to gaps in food consumption.

4. Emergency. Households experience long stretches of acute malnutrition and excess mortality or see

the extreme loss of assets.

5. Catastrophe/Famine. Households experience an extreme lack of food, leading to starvation and death.

When at least 20 per cent of households in an area are affected, this phase represents the minimum

threshold for famine. There are degrees of famine characterised by an increasing death rate and more

rampant starvation.

Petition System: In Afghanistan, the first step in identifying recently arrived internally displaced people is

through a petition system. Households submit a formal petition to the local Directorate of Refugees and

Repatriation (DoRR). The DoRR does an initial check of the legitimacy of claims and organises a

‘screening meeting’ with OCHA and NGOs active in the area.