This report covers the period 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2011.
In brief
Summary:
The first half of 2011 has been full of different challenges, opportunities and changes for the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS). The winter of 2010-2011 was mild in comparison to the severe winters (dzud) of previous years which had a devastating impact on the herder community and caused major losses of livestock.. As a result, MRCS has been focusing on scaling up its community-based development programmes across the country.
There has been significant progress in the implementation of the community-based health and first aid project which is being conducted in 12 districts (soums) of four of the Gobi provinces. Trained volunteers have started community-based activities such as home visits, community meetings, community mobilizations, training and simulation exercises. As a result of this continuous intervention, the targeted population will have improved knowledge, awareness and practice on disease prevention, healthy behaviour. first aid and disaster preparedness and response.
This year, the National Society has identified the need to form a National Disaster Response Team (NDRT) that will enable greater and more effective support for affected populations. To that effect the MRCS has been working on the development of a comprehensive policy framework and strategy to ensure that with the support of partner organizations the NDRT can materialize over the coming 24 months, aiming to eventually train and equip at least 200 personnel – primarily volunteers – to be mobilized in response to major disasters such as an earthquake.