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Community Coping Skills

Community Coping Skills. PAHO Leaders Course November 2006 Jamaica Lois Hue. Introduction.

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Community Coping Skills

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  1. Community Coping Skills PAHO Leaders Course November 2006 Jamaica Lois Hue

  2. Introduction • Disasters create situations which require enormous efforts on the part of community members to survive. Several skills are necessary, which if they are not innate can be honed and fortified. In addition there are several mechanisms at various levels – national, regional, international – which provide support to communities to facilitate coping and recovery. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  3. Objectives • Through this session it is hoped that participants will: • 1. Have a deeper understanding of the skills necessary for communities to cope with disaster; • 2. Know the systems that are in place to help communities • 3. Be able to identify challenges, lessons learned, good and bad practices at community level Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  4. Objectives contd. • 4. Have gained an opportunity to examine problems associated with community coping skills and have generated potential solutions • 5. Review case of a major crisis and identify strategies for coordinating and delivering an effective response • 6. Develop the skills and willingness to pass on what has been shared in this session Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  5. Brainstorming • What skills do you think are necessary to cope with community crises? • Are you aware of any mechanisms in place to address these issues? • What are they? Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  6. Skills • Evacuation • Risk awareness & management • Organization of Search & Rescue • First Aid • Damage & Needs Assessments • Decision making • Communication Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  7. Skills contd. • Warning & predicting • Media relations • Sensitivity to needs of the aged and differently abled • Gender sensitivity • Understanding how things work or are supposed to work • Psychosocial Support Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  8. International Strategies & Mechanisms • International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction ISDR ensures effective international promotion of, and coordination and guidance for, disaster risk reduction. The secretariat, accountable to the United Nations Under Secretary General, serves as a broker, catalyst and focal point for disaster risk reduction within the United Nations and among the members of the ISDR system Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  9. ISDR contd. • The ISDR advocates for commitment to disaster risk reduction and the implementation of the Hyogo Framework and reports on progress. States/govs Regional Orgs International Orgs ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  10. ISDR is responsible for • Developing a matrix of roles & initiatives related to the Hyogo Framework • Facilitating the coordination of actions at the international & regional levels • Developing indicators of progress (HFA) • Supporting national platforms and coordination mechanisms • Stimulating exchange of best practices & lessons learned Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  11. Hyogo Framework for Action • Governments of the world have committed to take action to reduce disaster risk, and have adopted a guideline to reduce vulnerabilities to natural hazards, called the Hyogo Framework for Action • Collaboration is at the heart of the HFA. In January 2005, 168 governments adopted this 10 year plan to make the world safer from natural hazards. It offers guiding principles, priorities for action and practical means for achieving disaster resilience for vulnerable communities. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  12. Priorities for Action • 1. Make disaster risk reduction a priority • 2. Know the risks and take action • 3. Build understanding and awareness (use knowledge, innovation and education) • 4. Reduce risks • 5. Be prepared and ready to act. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  13. United Nations Systems • The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is a standby team of disaster management professionals who are nominated and funded by member governments, OCHA, UNDP and operational humanitarian UN agencies such as WFP, UNICEF and WHO. • The UN can also make available Central Emergency Response Funds (CERF) to member states. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  14. The Sphere Project • The sphere project was launched in 1997 to develop a set of universal minimum standards in core areas of humanitarian assistance. • Aim – to improve the quality of assistance provided to people affected by disasters and to enhance the accountability of the humanitarian system in disaster response. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  15. Sphere • Sphere is based on two core beliefs: • 1. All possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of calamity and conflict. • 2. Those affected by disaster have a right to life with dignity and therefore a right to assistance. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  16. Inter-Agency Standing Committee • IASC established in June 1992 in response to UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182 on the strengthening of humanitarian assistance. It is an inter-agency forum for coordination, policy development and decision making. It initiated among other things, sector responsibilities allocated to individual organizations. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  17. IFRC & shelter • As the lead agency on emergency shelter, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has signed a MoU with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  18. Full members: OCHA UNHCR UNICEF UNDP WHO WFP UNFPA FAO Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  19. Standing Invitees: WORLD BANK International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) IOM Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (RSG on HR of IDPs) Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) American Council for Voluntary International Action (InterAction) Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  20. Task • Develop a scenario and elaborate a plan for a response utilizing the skills honed in the community and drawing on the mechanisms that are available at the national, regional and international levels. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  21. Considerations • Number and vulnerability type of threatened people • Possible actions to be taken by the government, local authorities, NGOs • Capacity of each stakeholder • External aid that could be necessary, how to ask for it, who should ask, protocols to be followed Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  22. Considerations contd. • Previous community capacity and experience • Available aid – who supplies what • Security – who is responsible • Psychological support available human resources • Activities for reducing risks- who will carry them out Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

  23. Remember • “We cannot stop natural calamities, but we can and must better equip individuals and communities to withstand them” UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Thank you. Lois Hue Jamaica Red Cross

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