ブックタイトル人道ジャーナル第3号

概要

人道ジャーナル第3号

The Journal of Humanitarian Studies Vol. 3, 2014department to manage preparedness and response to domestic disasters and to have a separate department tohandle international relations and assistance. Following the GEJET, this was very much the case for the JapaneseRed Cross.It transpired that there was a wealth of knowledge and expertise, particularly located within the internationaldepartment that was not initially made available to the domestic operation. Managers and officers with experiencein international operations of all types and sizes, many of whom had previously been assigned for lengthy periodsto work in the aftermath of overseas disasters, were focussed on their heavy liaison duties with international RedCross partners. These staff were most familiar with international disaster relief and recovery humanitarianpolicies, procedures, tools and standards, such as the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards inHumanitarian Response/Sphere project.The presence of organisational silos can create lost opportunities for optimising use of the skills and knowledgethat existed within the organisation. The same organisational challenge has been experienced in other largeNational Societies, including the American and Australian Red Cross, and steps are now being taken to addressthis so that optimum use is made of the range of skills and experience available to each National Society.Needs AssessmentsLinked to this issue, the GEJET experience underlined the importance for the Red Cross to have its own capacityto undertake timely needs assessments. The decentralised government disaster management system in Japancompounded the problem of getting reliable and timely information, including a needs assessment, since many ofthe municipalities tasked with getting this information were severely damaged and barely functional. It took 10 to14 days to get a clear picture of the situation and this was too long.Proactive National Society staff and volunteers can bridge this gap by being able to undertake assessments incoordination with the authorities. This requires access to the skills already available and ensuring that staff andvolunteers are trained to this end.A Strong Trained Volunteer CapacityThe Japanese Red Cross is a large National Society by international standards with its nationwide hospitalservices, nursing colleges and blood bank activities. These facilities and the management staff at national andprefecture level number over 55,000 people. The disaster response mandate is carried out essentially withdeployment of staff.The IFRC“Strategy 2020”calls on National Societies to foster the presence of trained Red Cross volunteers,wherever possible, at community level. Members of communities obviously know their communities best and itis a well- known axiom that, in times of disaster, the first responders are members of the disaster affectedcommunity.It was found after the GEJET that the pool of Red Cross trained disaster response volunteers in the worst affectedprefectures was limited, especially during the critical early emergency response period. Where there werevolunteers, they managed to take the initiative to provide immediate help, for example, with soup kitchens for thehomeless. However, where Red Cross volunteers were not present the opportunity to organise community basedrelief measures was severely compromised until volunteers could be mobilised and brought to the affected areas.人道研究ジャーナルVol. 3, 2014 71