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Consulting Matters Corporate Social Responsibility
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE:
HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN THE AGE OF COVID-19 WHEN THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC CHALLENGED ITS ABILITY TO DEPLOY PROFESSIONAL HUMANITARIANS AROUND THE GLOBE, REDR QUICKLY ADAPTED, INCREASING ITS SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT NEEDED IT MOST. Australia Assists deployee Viliami is supporting Tonga’s National Emergency Management Office to build resilience against cyclones, floods and other hazards.
Australia Assists deployee Viliami is supporting Tonga’s National Emergency Management Office to build resilience against cyclones, floods and other hazards
As an organisation that responds to crises and conflict globally, it’s in RedR Australia’s DNA to stand by those most in need in the face of unprecedented humanitarian challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has been no different. As communities around the world have struggled, learned and found new ways to adapt, RedR Australia has risen to the challenge, staging an agile and flexible response to ever shifting circumstances and increasing the level of humanitarian support provided. This hasn’t been without its hurdles. An independent review of RedR’s early response to the pandemic, in August 2020 found that the organisation initially faced difficulties deploying technical specialists around the world, a challenge which continues still, due to health and safety considerations, travel permissions and quarantine requirements. RedR’s risk and security team also had to negotiate additional insurance coverage to ensure roster members were adequately protected while on deployment.
Despite these challenges, RedR responded to growing humanitarian need, increasing the level of support provided globally throughout the pandemic. Between July 2020 and June 2021, RedR deployed 109 professional humanitarians through the Australian Government’s Australia Assists civilian deployment program, providing the equivalent of 523 months of support to 30 program partners in 26 countries across the Indo-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. This represented a15 per cent increase in deployment months compared to the previous year. In line with Australian Government foreign policy to support regional recovery from the pandemic, 44 RedR specialists were deployed to directly assist with COVID-19 preparedness and response. This focus included RedR’s first clinical deployments, with two emergency nurses deployed to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration field hospital in Bangladesh, as well as an Infection, Prevention and Control Technical Advisor deployed to Papua New Guinea.
