Emergency Preparedness & Response
Recent years have seen a multiplication and acceleration of humanitarian crises in the world, conflict continued to fuel much of the humanitarian needs, with protracted violence and unrest continuing in many countries, including Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, DRC, Yemen, or Venezuela. Many complex crises also involve a combination of conflict, climate change induced disasters and forced displacement such as Ethiopia or Afghanistan. The trend is unlikely to change in the near future, with the number of people in need of assistance still rising. Our humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation programmes aim to save people’s lives, reduce suffering and help the affected people to build back even stronger.
In recent years, we continue to provide assistance to people caught in conflicts, forced displacement and complex crises in Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bangladesh or DRC. At the same time, we repeatedly provided assistance to victims of droughts in Ethiopia, flooding in Cambodia, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Earthquakes in Nepal, typhoons in the Philippines or extreme winters in Mongolia.
A successful rescue of people suffering from an acute crisis depends first and foremost on speed, good on-site assessment of the situation and the availability of sufficient funds in the very first phase of assistance. We have been able to respond successfully and quickly in particular thanks to the contributions donated by the community of supporters, partners and Club of Friends.
We intervene strictly based on needs, focusing particularly on the most vulnerable and underserved population and especially in hard-to-reach areas. As a consequence, rather than targeting a specific sector, we address emergencies comprehensively based on the given context and the added value we can bring. Our interventions typically focus on:
• Food Security & Livelihoods;
• Water, Hygiene & Sanitation;
• Shelter and NFIs;
• Education in Emergencies;
• Disaster risk reduction;
• Supporting camp coordination and management.
Following the emergency phase, we place the emphasis on local economic recovery (community work programmes, restoration of sources of livelihood), and then on the rehabilitation of basic infrastructure (repairing destroyed schools, health centres, houses etc.).
Aside from emergency response, we consider it essential to work in the long term before a disaster ever strikes with the most vulnerable communities and build their resilience and ability to withstand disasters with the least possible loss of life and damage to health, livelihoods and property. We also keep enhancing our capacity to react in timely manner to emerging crises through systematic emergency preparedness planning.
During all phases of assistance, maximum involvement of local people is of the essence to ensure that the disaster victims are not just passive recipients of aid, but rather those who, first and foremost, help themselves. Humanitarian assistance is provided solely on the basis of need, without any bias against members of a particular ethnic, religious or political or other groups or against any one of the parties to a conflict while respecting essential humanitarian standards.
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