Changing our thinking to cope with new crises
The need for aid is increasing worldwide. In order to get a grip on the growing problems, it is necessary to finally focus more strongly on disaster risk management.
The world is facing major, multiple crises. In 2022, more than 274 million people worldwide will need humanitarian aid and support - more than ever before.
The consequences of COVID-19 are particularly damaging and weakening for countries already struggling that can offer their populations little in the way of basic supplies and no social safety net. It is therefore high time to further strengthen disaster preparedness, risk management and resilience, so that international aid is not limited to sticking on plasters but makes a lasting difference.
With its work, the Austrian Red Cross encourages its sister societies abroad to develop a profile of activities that will bear fruit in the long term and make them disaster-ready. "We do this, for example, in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene or in the development of emergency medical services – where we have special expertise," explains Red Cross Secretary General Michael Opriesnig. "What's important to us is cooperation in all aspects - from disaster preparedness and risk management, which determine crisis resilience, to the ability to deal with crises once they're here."
How we help in Lebanon
The Austrian Red Cross has been active in Lebanon for many years and has helped strengthen the Lebanese Red Cross blood donation and emergency medical service, in addition to ongoing refugee support. When the country was hit by the explosion in the port of Beirut, it already had millions of refugees from Syria to care for, a financial and political crisis to contend with, and then the COVID-19 pandemic to add to the mix. Despite these multiple crises, the emergency medical service worked when it was needed - as an evaluation shows. But that evaluation also exposed problems. "Now these are being addressed through clear recommendations so that things will work better next time," Alexy Nehme, Head of Emergency Medical Services at the Lebanese Red Cross, sums up. "This shows the importance of comprehensive capacity building when developing services."
Other examples, from Austrian Red Cross's focus regions, range from Eastern Africa to the South Caucasus to Southeastern and Eastern Europe - as you can read in this annual report. Whether building up emergency medical services, a water supply system or strengthening volunteers, the decisive factor is always how well local capacities can be built up to not only alleviate need in the short term, but also have positive long-term effects for future crises and for efficient assistance. The Austrian Red Cross wants to increase the relevance of local actors in all phases of an emergency. Humanitarian aid and development promote stability, security and resilience of the population and thereby also prevent conflicts and crises. This ultimately promotes peace, because it is about inclusion of diverse population groups or about common, careful use of scarce resources such as water or about climate change adaptation and the environment.
In Rwanda, Austrian Red Cross has been supporting a women's cooperative at Lake Kivu for years, which has been able to create new livelihoods through sustainable agriculture. 240 families benefit from the project.
Once a week, the women meet to farm. On the narrow terraces of their steep field, they grow bananas, beans, pineapples, corn, and cassava and sell their crops at the local market. Each member of the cooperative gets a share of the profits, and the rest is reinvested. "The model is very successful because the women are reliable and manage well," says local Red Cross coordinator Aristide Uwayezu. "Now almost all of them also raise piglets, and 80 percent of the families save at least 10,000 Rwandan francs (10 euros) per month, from a maximum monthly income of 45 euros."
A cow for Valeria
In addition, the Red Cross also imparted business skills. Hygiene courses and health-promoting measures round off the village development program. Farmer Valeria Umgambe, for example, was able to afford a cow, and build new rooms for her house and and a roof of solid corrugated iron. Her monthly budget now also includes books and school uniforms for her three children. "And although we were often not allowed to go to the market because of COVID-19, we have managed to make ends meet," the 33-year-old says happily.
She is also convinced that the cooperative got the families through the COVID-19 pandemic because they had savings to fall back on. Then there are the social benefits for the community: "Psychosocial problems and violence have decreased significantly, while cohesion has grown," Aristide Uwayezu sums up. "Our goal is to prepare people for crises. That has worked." Follow-up projects will also strengthen the capacity of Rwanda Red Cross to increase its water supply assistance capacities. In addition, there are plans for climate change adaptation measures and to combat soil erosion, which has increased as a result of climate change.
Precisely because conflicts, scarce resources and the effects of climate change often come together in the same region and exacerbate hardship, a paradigm shift is urgently needed. Ultimately, this is about cooperation at the international level: Major crises can only be solved jointly and with a political agenda. Humanitarian aid, even if it is holistic and anticipatory, can only be part of a grand common strategy. The 'Agenda for Humanity' - i.e. the commitments made at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit on issues such as political conflict prevention, international humanitarian law, displacement and migration, inclusion, climate change and anticipatory, sustainable disaster management - is the compass that determines our common direction.
Early warning systems have improved greatly. Cyclone Chalane threatened Mozambique in early 2021. The Red Cross activated an "Early Action Protocol" and released money from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support thousands of families, for example with building materials and instructions on how to secure homes against storm damage and reinforce the roofs of schools. People were warned, volunteers activated, and relief supplies distributed - from mosquito nets to chlorine tablets to purify water in buckets and thus make it drinkable. Communication routes had already been checked in advance, evacuation routes identified, and gasoline supplies secured for transport. In the end, the storm was not as bad as expected. However, the damage was also limited thanks to good preparation.
In Mozambique, the involvement of female volunteers has also succeeded in making important information accessible to women, thus reducing the number of female fatalities in natural disasters. According to the Ministry of Disaster Management, the gender ratio of cyclone victims has been reduced from 14:1 female to male victims in 1970 to 1:1 in 2020.
However, natural disasters still cause thousands of internally displaced people, massive economic damage and loss of livelihoods. Globally early action - acting before a disaster happens - still hardly ever happens because of a lack of funding but also an inexplicable reluctance to do so. Yet anticipatory humanitarian action is often particularly effective. "But who knows," says Michael Opriesnig optimistically, "maybe the COVID-19 pandemic will bring about a change in thinking after all. Maybe countries can create globally sustainable and resilient health systems as part of their pandemic response. We have to at least aim for that."