With EU support, Red Cross delivers much-needed emergency relief
The climate emergency is upon us. When disaster strikes, immediate response to alleviate suffering and reduce damage is paramount.
Investments in preparedness, prevention and early warning are crucial to save lives and prevent losses.
Last year, the European Union (EU), through its humanitarian assistance arm ECHO (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations) and the Red Cross family joined forces to embark on a new and ambitious partnership: a threeyear pilot programme built on common strategic priorities and focused on local action in humanitarian and health crises in Southern Africa.
In Eswatini, the EU has partnered with the Baphalali Red Cross and the Finnish Red Cross to make communities better prepared and more resilient to climate change-induced natural disasters and health risks.
Under this partnership, volunteers, local communities and first responders were trained and emergency response assets were pre-positioned to increase preparedness and ability to swiftly respond to disasters. The Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross has a trained national response team of staff and volunteers to be on the ground after disaster; and assess the needs and damage to quantify the immediate needs.
The recent hailstorm caused havoc in many communities and has had extremely devastating effects on many people. It left houses damaged, livestock dead and the livelihoods of many people compromised. For Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross Society it was time to hit the ground running to save lives and dignify those who had been left homeless due to the hailstorm. This was possible, thanks to the partnership with the EU/ECHO and the preparatory actions on the ground. A National Response Team was activated and dispatched to respond immediately. This is a specialised squad of volunteers and staff members who are specifically trained in humanitarian response during emergencies and crises. The over fifty-five (55) response team members were immediately deployed to assist affected populations in the following constituencies: Mafutseni, Mtfongwaneni, Khubuta, Nkwene, Sandleni, Hosea and Gilgal. 255 households have already been reached with support.
With the support of the European Union in Eswatini, the emergency relief materials immediately provided were as follows: 213 Tarpaulins, 2 Tents and roofing materials have been procured but not yet distributed pending finalisation of assessment. Preliminary findings of the assessments reflect that 6481 people in 1125 Households were affected.
Background:
Solidarity is among the main values on which the European Union is built. Globally, despite the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and over 5 million Ukrainians seeking shelter in the EU or neighbouring countries, the EU with its 27 Member States remains the largest global humanitarian actor. Prevention and preparedness are vitally important in a climate emergency when often the most vulnerable are hit the hardest by natural disasters and health risks. • Communities must be better prepared to
prevent, detect and respond to epidemics. The programmatic partnership will strengthen epidemic and pandemic preparedness through local action and volunteer networks that are best placed for surveillance, early detection and early response to disease outbreaks and other health risks. • Covid-19, climate-related disasters and
conflict have left vulnerable communities at even greater risk and displaced more people. With the pilot Programmatic Partnership, the EU and the Red Cross Red Crescent network are joining forces to effectively assess, understand and respond to their priority needs. • The way we respond to crises is changing.
Investment in preparedness, reducing risks and ensuring communities are better able to cope before an emergency happens as well as anticipatory action are crucial – the Programmatic Partnership allows exactly that, putting local responders at the heart of building stronger communities. • Climate change has a disproportionate
impact on the world’s most vulnerable communities. The Programmatic Partnership will provide support that is cross-cutting and longer-term, to ensure communities can withstand future crises, from epidemics to disasters. • We are in this together. The solidarity
expressed now by EU citizens will protect people in the future. Reducing the risk of disasters, building health knowledge and systems to respond to epidemics and pandemics.