Blog by Shukla Chattopadhyay, SI South Kolkata
On the third and final day of the SIGBI Conference, Robyn Knox, Director, Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership, British Red Cross gave a brilliant presentation on the Changing Context of Disasters and Emergencies in the current scenario. She has been associated with British Red Cross since 2015. In 2019 – 2020 a strategy on Emergency Response was devised under the Commissioner of Preparedness.
The Red Cross is a very vast movement with 15 million volunteers spread over 192 countries. The red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world’s largest humanitarian network made up of three parts:
- The National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Strategy 2030: To try and foresee and work to mitigate the negative effects of:
- Disasters and Emergencies
- Health Inequalities
- Displacement and Migration
- The British Red Cross focuses on the following: Disasters and Emergencies
In the UK
- Refugee Support
- Anti-human trafficking
- International Family Tracing
- Support at home
- Ambulance Support and home from hospital care
- Community Education
- Mobility Aids and Equipment Services
- Loneliness Services and Support
- First Aid Training
Internationally
- Chronic Hunger
- Cash and Voucher Assistance
- Migration and Displacement
- Local Capacities Strengthening
- Sexual and Gender Based Violence
- Community Engagement and Accountability
- Information Management
- Humanatarian Advocacy and Diplomacy
- National Society Development
However, Robyn emphasized that it is important to keep in mind that Emergencies are changing and sometimes changing drastically as they did during the Pandemic. Emergencies are becoming far more complex, community needs are changing, crises are often inter-linked, locally as well as globally. The pandemic taught us that at times the chances to recover are slim. The focus needs to shift from responding to a situation to building resilience in tackling distress and honing coping skills during natural, political or economic crises.
A typical disaster life Cycle should focus on Early Warning to Reduce Disaster Risk. There needs to be informed anticipatory action to prevent or mitigate apprehended disasters. The Response has to be focused on saving lives, meeting basic needs and preventing further losses or damage. The objective is to aim for recovery, and helping people cope with loss and damage and restore their faith and confidence.
A poignant video on the Power of Kindness was indeed very touching. In flood ravaged Pakistan, long lines of women and girls wading through water-logged areas to fetch a jug of water…the conditions are overwhelmingly difficult.
The British Red Cross, said Robyn, had the humble realization that nothing much can be done alone. VCS Emergencies Partnerships was formed in 2017 to share data, and make friends before we need the help of those friends.
British Red Cross is forming up partnerships with other humanitarian organisations to help vulnerable people better. 2020 -2021 saw COVID reach 4 million people in the UK alone. In Afghanistan, about 18 thousand people were evacuated in just 3 weeks. And in 2022, Ukraine Response has been able to reach out to 80 thousand people. With partnerships, the British Red Cross can coordinate with 300 local and regional centres across voluntary as well as government sectors to respond better to crises. These organisations share insights, make trusted connections and improve and enhance response capacity.
Today many emergencies are climate related. Forest fires, droughts, floods, extreme events like cyclones and hurricanes put people at enormous risk where bodies like the British Red Cross with its many partners provide the leadership and management to help affected people cope with the terrible conditions.
It was indeed a very inspirational talk by Robyn Knox.
As a Soroptimist, I felt very strongly, that there is much in common that SIGBI and the Red Cross share.
Perhaps a day might come when the Red Cross and SIGBI might work in partnership to alleviate the distress of vulnerable people.