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| A member of an assessment
team amid the devastation following the eruption of the
Nyiragongo volcano, in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. |
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Disaster preparedness and response
Poor communities suffer most from natural
and man-made disasters. The Federation has developed a comprehensive
disaster management strategy, which includes integrated approaches
to response, recovery and preparedness.
Small teams, big results
Field assessment and coordination teams
(FACT) are groups of trained people capable of responding
quickly to emergencies. In just three years, the Federation
has trained 300 people from 71 National Societies in FACT
methodology.
Team members are trained during
a two-week intensive workshop. They are then on call for deployment
within 12 to 24 hours for up to four weeks anywhere in the
world.
The concept of emergency response units (ERUs) was devised
by the Federation in 1994 to speed up disaster response. ERUs
comprise pre-trained specialist volunteers and pre-packed
sets of standardized equipment ready for use "off the shelf".
In 2002, FACTs and ERUs were deployed for the Goma volcano
operation, the Nahrin earthquake in Afghanistan and for the
southern Africa food security crisis. Members participated
in relief coordination for disasters such as the European
floods and drought assessments in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
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In touch with climate change
Climate change will probably
be one of the 21st century’s greatest global problems.
Continued global warming – due to the emission
of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide – is
leading to growing concern within the Federation that
Red Cross and Red Crescent societies will be increasingly
confronted with the impacts of this phenomenon.
Extremes of rainfall or drought
arising from increasing global temperatures will lead
to more frequent and more severe disasters. Floods and
landslides will threaten more people; crop failures
could lead to an increase in malnutrition. Diseases
like ma-laria and dengue fever could reach places where
people are less resistant.
In June 2002, the Red Cross
and Red Crescent Climate Centre opened in The Hague.
Established by the Netherlands Red Cross, the centre
seeks to bridge the gap between me-teorological science
and relief aid.
Its first activity was a two-day
International Conference on Climate Change and Disaster
Preparedness where 150 meteorologists, policy-makers
and representatives of humani-tarian relief organizations
discussed ways of limiting the impact of climate change
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A fast-moving fund
The disaster relief emergency fund
(DREF) is the Federation's main tool for providing money to
start operations in times of disaster. It supplies immediate
funding for both major and minor disasters, enabling the Federation
and National Societies to react rapidly.
During 2002, the DREF made 52 grants. At the end of the year,
the fund stood at 6.6 million Swiss francs, about 70 per cent
of the 10 million Swiss francs target.
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| Foping
township, in southern Shaanxi, was washed away in a flash
flood during the night of 8 June 2002. |
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Pan-American assistance
The pan-American disaster response
unit (PADRU) provides assistance to vulner-able people affected
by disasters in the Americas. It does this by reinforcing
the capacity of National Societies and the Federation's secretariat
to provide timely and professional disaster response services,
before, during and after emergencies. In 2002, PADRU responded
to floods in Panama, Hurricane Iris in Belize, Hurricane Isidore
in Mexico and droughts in Paraguay.
Interactive planning
The Federation's disaster management
information system (DMIS) web site is an interactive support
tool for planning and decision-making.
Since its launch in November 2001, National Societies and
donors have had instant access to 400 operational reports
in real time.
The volcanic eruption near Goma (see page 5) was the catalyst
for DMIS to launch unedited information online.
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Community empowerment in Cambodia
Flooding affects more than 300
million people around the globe each year. In Cambodia,
the Red Cross has completed a process of community participation,
empowerment and problem-solving to prepare for and respond
to natural disasters.
With technical and financial support from the Federation,
the five-year programme was implemented in 266 villages,
through small mitigation projects.
An evaluation carried out in 2002 in seven villages found
that almost all the villagers reported experiencing a
sense of accomplishment and a new perspective of their
ability to initiate changes in their communities.
People had better access to evacuation areas and hundreds
of families lost fewer crops or were able to plant a second
crop. The project cost 11,200 Swiss francs of which 13
per cent was raised by the villagers themselves.
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Publications
