QRCS slated to launch international disaster management training event

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) announced the launch of its 9th Disaster Management Camp (DMC-9), from February 21 to March 2 under the slogan 'Effective Preparedness and Better Response'. Under the patronage of HE the Minister of Public Health, the field training event will be co-organised by QRCS, UN agencies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Secretariat-General of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), and National Societies in the Middle East and North Africa.The announcement ceremony yesterday at Katara–Cultural Village was attended by VIP representatives of government organisations and DMC-9 sponsors and contributors, notably Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim al-Khulaifi, director of Public Security; as well as Dr Fawzi Abdullah Amin, head of delegation of IFRC to GCC countries. In his opening speech, QRCS secretary-general Ali bin Hassan al-Hammadi said: "This event comes in a critical context that involves good and bad factors. First, there was Covid-19, with its far-reaching impact on the discipline and strategies of epidemiology. Also, Qatar has just hosted the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which brought lessons learned and earned appreciation for all the Qatari organisations that contributed to such a historic event."Recently, Turkiye, Syria, and many neighbouring countries have been struck by a devastating earthquake, which left behind a heavy toll and numerous casualties. Search and rescue teams are still working hard to save the lives of those under the rubble, and international efforts are going on to provide relief for affected people. Amid all these exceptional challenges, inspired by QRCS’ vision of community training and safety, and aligning with the country’s overall policy of community capacity-building both at the individual and institutional levels, DMC-9 gains considerable importance. It focuses on updating relief personnel and volunteers with the latest knowledge in relation to disaster preparedness and response, especially crowd management and how to deal with emergencies threatening the masses."Al-Hammadi thanked all the sponsors and contributors, including Ministry of Public Health (official sponsor), Civil Defence Council, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and Qatar Media Corporation (media sponsor), Public Works Authority (platinum sponsor), Qatar Charity (gold sponsor), Dukhan Bank (gold sponsor), Al-Meera (silver sponsor), Safari Hypermarket (silver sponsor), Katara – Cultural Village (cultural partner), Vodafone Qatar (communications partner), Lekhwiya, Hamad Medical Corporation, Social and Sports Contribution Fund, Katara Hospitality, and Al-Jazeera Media Network.Major General Hamad bin Othman al-Duhaimi, member of Civil Defence Council and director-general of Civil Defence, said: "This field camp, which is constantly organised by QRCS, represents a good example of developing human capacities and skills of dealing with crises and disasters, as well as educating the community about that. "It is an important opportunity to exchange experience with international partners. The Civil Defence Council has developed a general disaster management framework, conducted a comprehensive national risk assessment, prepared an infrastructure registry, and developed a national strategy for disaster risk reduction”.HE Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh al-Nuaimi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, said: "The key element for overcoming crises and emergencies is prior preparation, through training programmes, awareness campaigns, and public training. This is what DMC offers. Dealing with crises and disasters and reducing their bad impact require everyone’s solidarity as a shared responsibility. This includes government organisations, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, and all nationals and residents”.Shaheen bin Ali al-Kaabi, director of the Department of International Co-operation at the MoFA, said: "The MoFA works with all local partners, such as Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA), and Qatari organisations with foreign operations like QRCS and Qatar Charity. International crisis/disaster management efforts can be successful only with co-operation and co-ordination among all partners, adoption of the mechanisms of humanitarian action, and compliance with administration and international standards”.Yasser Ahmed Ali, head of Journalists’ Protection at Al-Jazeera Public Liberties and Human Rights Centre, said: "I would like to thank QRCS for their main role in providing our staff with first-aid training in war zones, which greatly helped provide first aid for reporters there. Al-Jazeera has adopted a safety and security training strategy in hostile and non-hostile environments. A specialised training curriculum was designed to give the trainee the skills they need to plan their missions”.The ceremony concluded with an art show titled "My Message”, performed by students of Al-Israa Primary School for Girls, who also presented a thank you certificate to the VIP guests. On the sidelines of the opening ceremony, QRCS holds a two-day public introductory exhibition on DMC-9 at Al-Hikma Courtyard, Katara – the Cultural Village.The 10-day DMC-9 aims to create a well-trained team of disaster management specialists, to ensure a better response to the risks associated with large public gatherings, as well as to exchange experiences among National Societies and government organisations about responses to crowd-related disasters.This year, the camp attracts 300 participants from the Civil Defence, Qatari government organisations, the private sector, Mena National Societies, local and international humanitarian organisations, and QRCS volunteers. It involves a wide range of theoretical and practical training areas, such as emergency shelter, climate change, logistics and warehouse management, safer access, field assessment and coordination, Sphere standards, media and communication, emergency operations management, restoring family links, psychological support, public health in emergencies, water and sanitation, field hospitals, food supply, contingency planning, international humanitarian law.In addition, there will be daily disaster scenario simulations, such as accidents affecting sports fans, Covid-19 outbreak, mass poisoning, displacement wave, armed militia attacks, hurricanes, floods, and fires. The Humanitarian Tent will host informative lectures by local and international experts of humanitarian work and international humanitarian law.