5 minute read
Corporate Social Responsibility
Laying the groundwork before disaster strikes
CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST THREATS FACING OUR PLANET. THE CHANGING CLIMATE MEANS MORE SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS AND DISASTERS OCCURRING, LEADING TO MORE PEOPLE DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES. FOR REDR AUSTRALIA, THE MOST VISIBLE RESULT IS INCREASED NEED FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
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Rather than waiting for disasters to strike, for the past four years, RedR Australia has focussed its efforts on supporting nations to reduce the risk of disasters and prepare for when they occur. This means drawing on our roster of nearly 800 skilled professionals to deliver expertise, ranging from legal and protection experts through to engineers.
Heidi Winder, RedR Australia’s Regional Manager in the Pacific, says that formalising national structures and procedures reduces the impact of disasters and the effects on vulnerable populations.
“If countries prepare well, the more effective and predictable their response will be.”
“Preparedness has been a global movement among humanitarians since 2016 when the Global Preparedness Partnership was initiated at the World Humanitarian Summit. It was acknowledged that we need to work across the whole humanitarian cycle and not just respond after critical incidents or crises.” “The goal is for countries to reach a level of preparedness so that most disaster events can be managed locally with a reduced need for international assistance.”
For the past three years (2017-2020), RedR Australia has worked in eight Pacific Island countries (PIC) and deployed 75 technical specialists to reduce disaster risk and build resilience.
These specialists have helped safeguard against food shortages, provided emergency management skills, filled critical technical gaps in Information Management, IT and logistics, established legal frameworks and enhanced gender protection and disability inclusion.
“It is really about modernising and standardising systems so when disaster strikes everyone knows what they need to do, who to liaise with, and can implement a response themselves rather than relying on the international specialists to fly in and do the work”. “This starts with modernising a country’s legal framework and how a government will coordinate their response. Most Pacific countries have endorsed or are in the process of endorsing new Disaster Risk Management Acts that specify how different governments will coordinate in a disaster. For example, this legislation indicates when a national emergency is declared and specifies how to request international assistance.
Once the legislation and framework are in place, policy and procedural documentation are needed, as well as standard operating procedures. Our specialists from the RedR Australia roster work alongside PIC Government officials to develop such critical documents.”
“Training, including simulation-based training exercises, is the next step to practically prepare those who will be responding to ensure they are equipped with the skills to respond. In the preparedness training we offer in the region, we introduce the various clusters such as the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and discuss the applicable international standards.”
As we have seen with the Covid-19 pandemic, when there is a crisis it is those who are the most vulnerable that are the most impacted. This is why RedR Australia has deployments focussed on listening and supporting those who are traditionally excluded - including women, girls, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Heidi highlights that Australian technical expertise is needed to prepare for effective disaster response, however, it is the soft skills that play a big part in an effective deployment.
“Soft skills, such as building relationships, listening and supporting local leaders are invaluable when working with communities.”
Bridget Moylan RedR
If you would like to find out more about becoming a humanitarian by joining the RedR Australia roster, building your skills through our training courses or donating to RedR Australia, visit redr.org. au.
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