Samar Al-Gamal in Cairo, Egypt
Humanitarian needs in Gaza remain overwhelming, and the Red Cross Red Crescent is providing massive support to those affected.
There are more than 60 volunteers and 16 members of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society in El-Arish and Rafah, two small Egyptian towns on the border with the Gaza Strip.
“Their job is to record all the humanitarian aid that arrives via the airport, the port or overland and then sort it. Food supplies are stocked in the stadium before being shipped by the Al-Ouja terminal, while medical supplies pass directly through the Rafah terminal,” explains Dr Moemena Kamel, a member of the Egyptian Red Crescent’s governing board.
Outside the Rafah terminal, volunteers unload the boxes from the Egyptian lorries by hand and then load them onto Palestinian vehicles. “They record the details of the shipments for the purpose of meeting Palestinian needs and determining delivery priorities, but also to ensure transparency,” adds Dr Kamel.
Humanitarian needs
The humanitarian needs of the Palestinians in Gaza remain extremely urgent, as they lack shelter, water and food.
“We have just received an urgent appeal from the Palestine Red Crescent Society to provide shelter, blankets and hygiene items for 10,000 people. This is just a preliminary figure, which is very likely to increase. They also need medicines and medical equipment to treat those in need of medical attention,” explains Hossam Elsharkawi, the field coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Egypt.
“The aim now is to meet the needs of the people of Gaza in an organized manner. While the hostilities were in progress, a considerable amount of aid was getting through, but it was being handled in a rather haphazard way,” says Hossam Elsharkawi.
Crisis units
Logistic support is therefore required. “The IFRC has helped to set up crisis units at the Egyptian Red Crescent headquarters and the border posts at El-Arish and Rafah, in addition to a mobile post at Ouja. We have also worked with Egyptian Red Crescent field coordinators to improve coordination, optimize the distribution of the teams in the field and strengthen the capacities of the El-Arish committee.”
Forms have been established to record the movements of lorries, medicines and food supplies. Reports will then be published and shared with the United Nations operating partners (OCHA, UNRWA, WHO and WFP). This will improve stock management and ensure a rapid assessment of priorities. In order to facilitate these operations, Dr Moemena Kamel has asked donors to attach itemized lists to their relief shipments, particularly in the case of medical supplies. For further information, please see http://www.rcegypt.org.eg/.
Since 27 December 2008, the Egyptian Red Crescent has facilitated the entry into Gaza of more than 4,000 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies, nearly 5,000 tonnes of food and relief goods, 121 ambulances, two field hospitals and seven generators.
Necessary preparations
The IFRC has released the sum of 450,000 Swiss francs (300,000 euro/395,000 US dollars) from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to support the Egyptian Red Crescent’s efforts to make the necessary preparations in case the situation should worsen.
“A contingency plan has been drawn up in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent and the governor of North Sinai to prepare for an influx of people fleeing from Gaza and seeking refuge in Egypt. We want to be ready to assist the largest possible number of people, if this should occur,” observes Hossam Elsharkawi.
“In such an event, displaced people will need shelter, food, medical attention and psychological support. In short, they will be in need of everything”.