QRC eyes global role in disaster response

By Salman Siddiqui

Staff Reporter

 The Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) strives to be able to respond to any disaster anywhere in the world,  secretary general Saleh Ali M al-Muhanadi told Gulf Times.

The senior QRC official was sharing his strategic vision in the backdrop of preparations being made for his organisation’s fifth disaster management camp that aims to be bigger than ever. 

“Our strategic vision is to make QRC very strong and be able to respond to any disaster anywhere in the world. It is a big mandate, yes, but in Qatar I believe it is workable because we have the backing from our supporters and donors…If we don’t have great ambitions, we will never reach anywhere,” he said.

Al-Muhanadi said that contrary to popular belief, this was not an image building exercise for Qatar. “Actually, we believe that this humanitarian work is part of our duty, our culture and our life. Qatari culture is always about helping the needy,” he said.

Also, he added that God forbid, there was a need to respond to any emergency-like situation in Qatar, the country would be prepared with a pool of trained people and volunteers to deal with any crisis. 

“We are a humanitarian organisation that works on many different areas under international law. One of our main objectives is to prepare for disasters so that our volunteer force can protect not only themselves but also serve others.”

The QRC has about 200 personnel at its main office and branches inside Qatar, and like other global humanitarian organisations, it relies on volunteers. There are about 2,000 volunteers registered with it inside Qatar while around 10,000 are registered outside the country.

The QRC provides relief work and disaster management to countries all over the world. At present, it is active in 46 countries, out of which they have permanent bases in 12 countries.

The QRC will organise its fifth disaster management camp for 2014 at Al Khor Marine Scout Camp under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Around 300 trainees from civil institutions and government bodies in Qatar and representatives of a number of Arab national Red Crescent societies will participate in the camp that will begin on April 1. Around 45 coaches will train the participants for 10 days, out of which six days will include hands-on training.

The trainees will be divided into six groups, each of which will be exposed to disaster scenarios such as flash typhoons, floods, food poisoning and other disasters. They will also be taught how to make field assessments, carry out interviews with affected communities and prepare disaster management plans.

“Our disaster camp is one of our biggest annual projects. This year more than 300 people will be trained, which is a huge increase from last year when we trained around 200 in a similar camp,” the official added.

Capacity building is one of the national priorities of the Qatar National Vision 2030. The overarching objectives of the disaster management camp are to increase awareness of the Qatari society of the importance of disaster preparedness.