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| Field
Assessment and Coordination Teams (FACT) |
Field Assessment and Coordination Teams
are one of the global emergency response tools of the International Federation,
created in 2000 to ensure sufficient support to Red Cross
and Red Crescent National Societies during the emergency
phase of a response operation, allowing operations to begin
while longer term human resource support is mobilized.
Teams are composed of experienced
Red Cross / Red Crescent disaster managers from within the
Federation and from the National Societies – over
500 in 2006 – from about 70 different countries and
with different expertise in relief, logistics, health, nutrition,
public health and epidemiology, water and sanitation, finance,
administration, psychological support, as well as language
capabilities - have followed the ten days of training to
become members of FACT teams, able to support national Red
Cross or Red Crescent Societies in major disaster response.
They are ready to participate in a FACT team deployment
with 12 - 24 hours notice for 2 - 4 weeks anywhere in the
world.
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| How
does it work? |
In the case of a humanitarian emergency,
the National Society in the affected country may request
assistance from the International Federation. The Federation
Secretariat then alerts FACT members all over the world
using automated systems and requests their availability
within 12 - 24 hours. A team is composed by the Secretariat
and is deployed immediately to the disaster area. Along
with counterparts from the local National
Society, members of Regional Disaster
Response Teams as well as Federation regional and/or
country delegation and the ICRC,
and in co-ordination with local authorities, UN organisations
and NGO's, the FACT team carries out an assessment of the
situation and identifies the most urgent needs.
The team will compile an
assessment report, a plan of action, which recommends the
most appropriate Red Cross/Red Crescent intervention and
draft an Appeal, which is then launched by the Federation
Secretariat in Geneva to the member National Societies and
other donors. The FACT team will also facilitate and coordinate
the start up of relief activities. It may request Emergency
Response Units and coordinate their deployment, advise
on and request other human and material resources and coordinate
the assistance provided by the Red
Cross Red Crescent Movement in response to the disaster.
After assisting in the implementation of the plan of action,
the FACT team hands over the relief operation to the host
National Society, the delegation, and the delegates who
have been recruited to support them.
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| FACT
training |
FACT training is coordinated by the Federation’s
Operations Support Department of the Federation Secretariat.
It is an intense ten day course facilitated by various experts
of the Federation Secretariat: Operations Managers, media,
reporting, finance, logistics, telecommunications, organisational
development specialists and regional officers, as well as
representatives of the ICRC and external partners from UN
and other organisations. The training includes a comprehensive
module on the Humanitarian Reform and Cluster system as
well as the FACT role in cluster coordination.
Participants are selected
from experienced relief core staff of the National Societies,
Federation secretariat and field staff, and the ICRC. Through
the course they are trained in assessment and coordination
techniques, various aspects of logistics, shelter, relief
and recovery, reporting, start up of an operation and use
of modern telecommunications equipment. At the end of the
course, a one and a half day application exercise is conducted
in which FACT teams test their skills and expertise in the
context of a real life disaster situation.
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| FACT
deployments |
Between the year 2000 to 2007, more than 200 people have been deployed
in 37 disaster operations.
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Disaster management
