Specialised personnel

An ERU is made up of between three to 20 professionals – doctors, nurses, engineers, logisticians and technicians – who have received additional training from one of the sponsoring National Societies. The units are self-sufficient for one month and can stay up to four months in the country.

Every unit has its own survival equipment, including food, beds, tents, electricity generators, mobile telephone and office equipment, which is stored in light, easy-to-carry containers. On arrival, local professionals, employed through Red Cross and Red Crescent offices, supplement the ERU's core technical staff. Each member has to operate in the agreed working language as well as adhere to Federation rules of conduct.