Red Cross trains disaster response teams

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is training up a team of fast response experts aimed at tackling disasters in the Horn of Africa region and elsewhere. The 37-strong team will be used to combat crises such as the volcano eruption that devastated Goma in eastern DRC or droughts in the region. “Our goal is to build up a solid and reliable regional and national capacity to respond to emergencies like droughts, earthquakes or floods,” Mohammed Mukhier of the IFRC told IRIN. The experts have been selected from eight national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean. “Women are a key player in any activity and this is indeed a solid step towards achieving gender balance in the emergency response teams,” added Cecilia Brunnström, the IFRC representative in Ethiopia. The training includes "hands on" disaster response activities in the areas of health, relief, water and sanitation, logistics, media relations, finance and administration. The experts - from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia and Sudan - underwent training in South Wollo in Ethiopia for two weeks. “We are happy that we had the opportunity to host this Regional Disaster Response Training," said Dr Solomon Fisseha, head of Ethiopian Red Cross Society programme department. "Ethiopia is a highly disaster-prone country, and our national society needs to have staff and volunteers with a strong capacity to deal with emergencies.”