Pan American Disaster Response Unit Appeal No. 01.18/2002 programme update No. 2

This Programme Update is intended for reporting on Annual Appeals.
Appeal Target CHF 1,916, 067 (USD 1.27m/ EUR 1.3m)
Period covered: I June - 30 September 2002

"At a Glance"

Appeal coverage: 71.5%
Related Appeals: 01.19/2002 Central America; 01.22/2002 South America; 01.23/2002 Caribbean
Outstanding needs: CHF 546,526 (USD 362, 000/ EUR 371, 000)

Update: The Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) ensured contingency and response planning for the 2002 hurricane season which was quiet until late September when hurricane Isidore hit the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. A disaster management delegate was immediately deployed to Mexico and participated with the Mexican Red Cross in the damage and needs assessment and the drawing up of a plan of action to assist the most vulnerable affected by the passage of the hurricane. In June, a disaster management delegate worked as regional coordinator of the drought and food insecurity operation in Central America and assisted in the planning of response activities in northern Nicaragua. During the reporting period, a virtual warehouse was established by the regional logistics unit (RLU) whereby relief goods are available through agreements with suppliers. The PADRU web page was created in August and once launched, will provide a forum for knowledge-sharing in disaster response and preparedness in the Americas. PADRU has carried out a number of training initiatives, including a regional intervention teams (RITs) refresher course and has hosted significant meetings in the Americas.

PADRU's role in the Federation's response to hurricane Lili which hit Cuba in early October will be described in programme update 3 to be issued in December 2002.

Operational Developments:

On 28 and 29 September, PADRU hosted the Inter American Regional Committee (CORI) and the health advisory group meetings in Panama City, in preparation for the Inter American Conference that will be held in Santiago de Chile in April 2003 and which will focus on the improvement of health of vulnerable people affected by disasters. The meeting was attended by 14 presidents and representatives of 9 National Societies from the Americas and the Caribbean as well as Great Britain and Spain, the head of the Federation's Americas Department, specialists in health and water and sanitation and delegates from the Federation Central America and South America regional delegations, PADRU, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and representatives of PADRU's regional logistics unit has implemented intensive response and contingency activities, providing logistics management advice and purchasing relief goods and rescue equipment for the National Societies of Cuba, Haiti and Cayman Islands' British Red Cross branch, in coordination with the regional delegation in Santo Domingo. Meanwhile, the RLU is closely cooperating with the American Red Cross in the installation of a relief Emergency Response Unit (ERU) in Panama.

Disaster Response

Objective 1: To coordinate and, as necessary, participate in rapid disaster response at the request of a National Society facing a situation beyond its capacity.

In early June, a PADRU disaster management delegate, on loan to the Federation's regional delegation in Guatemala, supported the Federation country delegation, the Nicaraguan Red Cross and the Netherlands Red Cross with action planning for a drought and food insecurity operation in the north of Nicaragua, an area severely affected by lack of rainfall. This was a part of a regional coordination strategy to ensure the success of ongoing agricultural rehabilitation programmes for 10,000 families living on subsistence agriculture in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, until the first harvests took place in August.

During the last three months, the regional logistics unit has supervised the purchase of 300 hygiene kits, 275 cleanup kits (6 plastic bags, 1 kg of detergent, 1 bar of soap, 1 mop, 1 sponge, 1 plastic bucket) 300 plastic tarpaulins, 55 tool kits (1 wheelbarrow, 1 hammer, 2 shovels and 1 bar), 12 water containers of 2,000 litres, 6 tents, 6 portable latrines and 3 generators for the relief container programme of British Red Cross branch in the Cayman Islands. Supporting the Federation's regional delegation in Santo Domingo, the RLU has organized the deployment of 120 first aid kits and 3 sets of rescue equipment including backpacks, stretchers, helmets, pulleys, torches and different kinds of ropes to the Cuban Red Cross, and 300 reinforced plastic sheets, 300 kitchen sets, 300 hygiene kits, 300 jerry cans, 100 flashlights, 100 cots, 400 blankets, 50 pairs of rubber boots, 50 sets of rain gear, 20 first aid kits, 24 tents and 2 generators to the Haitian National Red Cross Society.

PADRU has supported National Societies, at the request of the Federation's regional delegations, with advice on procurement. This includes assistance to the Jamaican Red Cross in its investigation of the availability of relief goods to respond to the flooding caused by recent storms and hurricanes and to the Honduran Red Cross, in researching the availability of specific products to mitigate the dengue fever epidemic in Honduras during July and August.

In June, as the situation remained relatively calm in the Americas, a PADRU disaster management delegate participated, for three weeks, as member of the Federation's field assessment and coordination team (FACT) that made a first assessment of needs in several Southern African countries severely affected by drought and food insecurity.

In July, due to flooding in Apure, Venezuela, PADRU was in close communication with the Federation's regional delegation in Buenos Aires and with the Venezuelan Red Cross, monitoring the situation and preparing to respond should the need arise. The month long relief operation that took place in Apure was fully managed by the regional and national intervention teams (R/NITs). The operation in Venezuela was a good opportunity for those Venezuelan participants in the July RITs refresher workshop, to apply several activation and response tools acquired during this workshop and once again demonstrated the value of this component of the Federation disaster response system in the Americas.

After hurricane Isidore hit the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, a disaster management delegate from PADRU was deployed in the field, in coordination with the Federation's liaison office in Mexico City and the regional delegation in Guatemala, to support the Mexican Red Cross in the evaluation of damage and the assessment of needs (DANA) and in the development of a plan of action. From this work a rehabilitation and reconstruction proposal emerged designed to provide rapid assistance for the most vulnerable of the approximately 300,000 people affected.

Objective 2: To consolidate, by the end of July 2002, the Pan American Disaster Response Unit and further develop its capacity.

As of September 2002, PADRU consists of a head of unit (HoU), a head of regional logistics unit (HoRLU), also deputy HoU, and delegates from the British Red Cross), three disaster management delegates from the American Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross and the Spanish Red Cross - a logistics delegate with certain responsibilities in disaster management from the Canadian Red Cross and a water and sanitation delegate. In July 2002, the national technical personnel of PADRU was reinforced with a procurement officer, an administrative assistant, a finance assistant and a warehouse assistant.

Thanks to the support of the Red Cross Society of Panama, the status agreement process for the International Federation in Panama is in the final stages of approval at the State level.

The RLU has reorganized the central warehouse in order to optimize space and ensure the ability to handle goods that would be associated with a large scale response related to the hurricane season or in the event of a strengthening of El Nino Southern Oscillation in Central America and South America. Meanwhile, a virtual warehouse system has been started in which relief goods are available through agreements with national and international suppliers, but are not physically stored in the RLU warehouses.

As part of the ongoing collaboration with Ericsson response, PADRU has two containers of telecommunications equipment to operate two cellular telephone networks. These are ready to be deployed to the field for search, rescue and relief operations in the Americas and the Caribbean, with the support of Ericsson technical staff.

Disaster Response Preparedness

Objective 1: To develop and deliver a comprehensive disaster response training and capacity building service so that national society disaster response potential is maximized.

The Pan American Disaster Response Unit continued working on the development and standardization of a training programme methodology and materials for the regional intervention teams. In accordance with this process, a RITs refresher workshop was held between 15 and 19 July in the Civil Defence training centre on the former Howard base. The course was entirely coordinated by relief directors from Latin American National Societies (El Salvador, Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua y Panama), with technical support from PADRU.

This bilingual (Spanish/English) workshop was a good opportunity to involve relief managers from the Red Cross Societies of Argentina, Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Great Britain (British Virgin Islands), Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and Venezuela, in many group dynamics applying tools such as activation protocols, contingency planning and gender focus. The course also included topics on disaster management, logistics, telecommunications and water and sanitation. Facilitators from

UNICEF, WHO, the Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention in Central America (CEPREDENAC), COPECO, Fundesuma and Ericsson response reinforced the International Federation facilitating team.

With regard to contingency planning, PADRU has a stock of 5,000 hygiene kits. By the end of June, water and sanitation equipment from three former Emergency Response Units (ERUs), donated by the Austrian Red Cross, the German Red Cross, the Swedish Red Cross and mobile water tanks and pumps donated by OXFAM, were based in PADRU for relief operations in the region. This equipment was previously used in several programmes in El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela. In September, a volunteer from the Austrian Red Cross assisted the PADRU water and sanitation delegate in an inventory review, ensuring that all equipment was fully operational and ready for deployment.

In July, the PADRU water and sanitation delegate coordinated the drawing up of a contingency plan for the hurricane season, in order to ensure optimization of the existing resources from National Societies and the Federation in Central America and the Caribbean. This plan was shared with the Federation's regional delegations in Guatemala and Santo Domingo as well as with National Societies and PNSs. At the beginning of September, the vehicle leasing programme managed by the RLU had six 4x4 vehicles available for operations in the Americas and the Caribbean, in order to reduce operational costs in the field.

In response to a request from the American Red Cross, the RLU managed the necessary procurement to install an emergency response unit in Panama. The American Red Cross ERU located in PADRU currently includes two 4x4 vehicles purchased from the vehicle leasing programme and other technical equipment.

Objective 2: To contribute to and develop improved early warning systems and communications within and between regional delegations and National Societies, and to promote knowledge-sharing to foster institutional learning.

As part of the disaster response standardization process, PADRU has reviewed available information and drawn up a response planning guide, in order to support the National Societies in designing and updating coherent response plans. In addition to preparing the El Nino contingency plan workshop during a 2 week internship in PADRU, the relief director of Venezuelan Red Cross worked on the process of developing this response guide.

On 24 July in Panama City, the president of Red Cross Society of Panama, the head of PADRU and the head of the RLU presented the Federation's 2002 World Disaster Report to 23 national and international media representatives. During the presentation, 11 representatives of public institutions, 7 members of diplomatic and international missions in Panama, received a brief multimedia presentation followed by a discussion regarding local capacities in disaster and risk reduction.

In August, PADRU launched a web page (www.padru.cruzroja.org), as part of the general service and dissemination strategy of the Unit, in order to improve the communication within and between National Societies and Federation's regional delegations and for a better knowledge-sharing in response preparedness and disaster response. The page is updated on a weekly basis by an information officer from the Red Cross Society of Panama, with technical support from the IT coordinator and the webmaster at the regional delegation in Guatemala. In June, a disaster management delegate from the Unit worked at the Secretariat headquarters, to support the launching of the PADRU page in the Disaster Management Information System (DMIS). The DMIS also contains a database of updated information related ongoing operational activities of the Unit.

With recent funding, PADRU has improved existing early warning tools and developed new tools, updated the RITs data base for effective coordination with the regional delegations, and has prepared two response kits (including: lap top, satellite phone, fax, GPS, torch with batteries, stationery and visibility materials) for personnel deployed in the initial emergency phase of a disaster.

On 22 - 23 August, the Pan American Disaster Response Unit hosted a meeting of disaster preparedness delegates from the regional delegations in Guatemala and Santo Domingo, the Guatemala national DP delegate, the disaster management delegates, the water and sanitation delegate, the logistics delegate, the HoRLU and the head of PADRU. The meeting was part of the ongoing planning and coordinating process to maximize the Federation's response resources (especially focused on the hurricane season and the El Nino South Oscillation), and to ensure coherence in response preparedness and training programmes.

In the interest of continued improvements in coordination and cooperation, PADRU representatives have attended meetings with the HoRD in Buenos Aires, Guatemala and Santo Domingo. Meanwhile, the head of PADRU and the head of the RLU visited Mexico between 2 and 6 August to participate in meetings with the Mexican Red Cross headquarters and branches. Topics discussed included response preparedness, disaster management, knowledge-sharing, the harmonization process with the ICRC, the Sphere Project, Federation logistics procedures and the PADRU mandate. Both Pan American Disaster Response Unit representatives and the Federation regional communications delegate in Mexico presented an updated review of PADRU activities to the first secretary of the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico.

On 8 August, the Pan American Disaster Response Unit worked closely with the Federation's regional delegation in Santo Domingo in a yearly one-day simulation exercise organized by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA). Some 25 organizations took part in the exercise, based this year on a "virtual hurricane" in Dominica. PADRU applied activation protocols and responded with logistics support required by Santo Domingo regional delegation.

Between 18 and 21 September, the HoU participated in a meeting organized by the Brazilian Red Cross in Rio de Janeiro, in coordination with the regional delegation in Buenos Aires and the German Red Cross, to strengthen response preparedness and response knowlegde-sharing with the BRC relief department.

Coordination and Management

On 18 and 19 July, PADRU represented the Federation in the contingency planning workshop organized by the Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention in Central America (CEPREDENAC) and UNICEF in San Jose de Costa Rica to identify and to propose better strategies and technical tools for risk and disaster reduction in Central America.

Between 24 and 26 July, a delegate from PADRU took part in a disaster management training workshop organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen the response capacity of the Panamanian disaster response coordinated system. This workshop was attended by several representatives of the Panamanian government, the Civil Defence and National Civil Police.

From June to September 2002, the head of PADRU and the head of RLU maintained contact with the World Food Programme, UNICEF, OCHA and OXFAM, to develop cooperation agreements and strategic alliances. A letter of intent with UNICEF regarding exchange of information related to disaster contingency and response and a better synergy with providers is already under discussion.

Outstanding needs

The participating National Societies of Canada, Great Britain, Spain and United States have supported PADRU with delegates, and thanks to contributions from the British government, DFID, the Canadian Red Cross, the Irish government and the Norwegian Red Cross, the appeal coverage now stands at 70.2%.

Nevertheless, it is critical that funds be obtained to continue the contingency planning process with National Societies in South America and Central America to face a potential El Nino South Oscillation, as well as to ensure the response planning process. Funds are also needed to cover the planned logistics workshop for National Societies in December, and ongoing work in disaster preparedness and response training.

For further details please contact: Olaug Bergseth Phone : 4122 730.45.35; Fax: 4122 733 03 95; email: bergseth@ifrc.org

All International Federation Operations seek to adhere to the Code of Conduct and are committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (SPHERE Project) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For further information concerning Federation operations in this or other countries, please access the Federation website at http://www.ifrc.org.

John Horekens
Director
External Relations

Santiago Gil
Head
Americas Department

Annex 1