|
Disaster Management
Background
Over the years the Jordan Red Crescent has
gained wide experience in responding to
emergencies as it has unfortunately witnessed
numerous natural and man made disasters. The
Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967; Iraq's
occupation of Kuwait in August 1990 when
hundreds of thousands of migrant workers fled
from both countries and the adjoining Gulf
States. Due to Jordan's geographic position and
its willingness to maintain open borders, the
majority poured into Jordan, sometimes at an
average rate of 10,000 a day. More than one
million finally passed through the country. Both
the international community and Jordan were
unprepared for this massive influx.
President of the UN General Assembly said ‘The whole world owes Jordan thanks and
gratitude for the immediate humanitarian
response to help the evacuees’ The Jordan Red Crescent played a significant
role in setting up camps and running programmes
to help the unprecedented number of third
country nationals needing repatriation to their
home countries. They gained vast experience in
how to support a government in handling a
disaster and how to manage camps and cooperate
with other agencies.
When the 2003 crisis in Iraq started, some of
the lessons learned in 1990/91 and the
continuous building on that experience enabled
the JRC to take a leading role. This was a
unique situation, as the Red Cross/Red Crescent
Movement usually has to react to disasters
rather than plan for something that may never
occur.
The JRC maintains strong links with the
Jordanian Government and other National
Societies, especially with those in the Middle
East and North Africa, to facilitate exchange of
experiences and resources related to disaster
management.
Role of The Jordan Red Crescent in Times Of
Disasters
The Jordan Red Crescent plays a vital role in
helping victims, displaced persons and evacuees
by being a significant partner in running the
relief operations, organising evacuee’ camps and
providing all aspects of humanitarian
assistance.
As a member of the Higher Council for Civil
Defence, which is the national committee
responsible for disaster response, the Jordan
Red Crescent plays a lead role in mobilization
and coordination of response, as demonstrated
during the two Gulf Wars of 1990 and 2003.
The role of the JRC includes the execution of
duties assigned to it according to the national
disaster plan of the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan. These comprise raising the preparedness
level of JRC branches to enable them to respond
efficiently as well as networking with the other
national organizations to raise awareness and
reduce the impact of any possible disaster.
The JRC also provides training at its National
Centre for First Aid and Risk Prevention,
located in Amman. The centre contributes to the
Society's capacity building in disaster
management by training staff and volunteers,
focusing on the mission and principles of the
Movement, first aid and risk
awareness/assessment. The JRC has been
designated as a centre for Disaster Management
Diploma Studies by correspondence in
co-operation with Wisconsin University in the
USA.
Several JRC staff and volunteers have also
participated in international training
programmes on disaster management, and some of
them have been working as delegates,
contributing within the wider International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The Society also has close working relations
with the UNHCR, especially in areas related to
refugee assistance.
The JRC has a warehousing capacity for the
storage of strategic supplies to be used in
times of emergencies.
Top Jordan Red Crescent Disaster Management
Policy
The JRC is continuously updating and re-defining
its level of preparedness by building up its
Disaster Management Framework (policies,
planning, information, human and material
resources). It integrates DM, health,
organizational development and humanitarian
values through adopting a comprehensive
programme based on clear organizational
structure.
It also continuously upgrades its human
resources through the creation and strengthening
of the national intervention teams, developing
logistical systems to manage procurement
procedures, tax exemption and external donations
from various organizations.
A need was identified to introduce a
systematical long term DM programme to expand
the NS activities, and to sustain the practical
experiences and trustworthy relations with
governments which the JRC had built up
throughout the years.
To achieve the above mentioned DM policy a
Disaster Management Unit was established in
collaboration with the British Red Cross.
JRC Disaster Management Unit
In line with the Jordan Red Crescent strategic
plan 2003-2007 which is in the framework of
Strategy 2010 of the International Federation of
the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the
JRC established a Disaster Management Unit (DMU)
in 2003.
The mission of the DMU is to prepare manpower
and resources and to increase the capacity of
the Society by providing and coordinating a DM
programme.
Duties and responsibilities of the DMU includes
training courses in DM programmes, public
awareness, developing and maintaining
partnerships and coordinating with other
organizations. It also defines the needs and
implements logistic policies and programmes, as
well as ensuring the sustainability and updating
of DM programmes.
To reduce the risk and impact of disasters the
DMU gathers information (risk mapping) on
potential hazards and weaknesses and determines
capacities.
The DMU is also responsible for developing the
JRC contingency plan, and advising the
Secretariat of the Higher Council for Civil
Defence of new developments.
Top
|
Programmes & Activities 
