Report on – 33IC Resolución 3: El momento de actuar: juntos en la lucha ante epidemias y pandemias – Ecuadorian Red Cross

Has your State/National Society/Institution incorporated the commitments contained in this resolution into the relevant strategic or operational plans?

The commitments are incorporated into:
Strategy
Operational plan

At the National, Local level

Explanation:

The Strategic Plan of the National Society of the Ecuadorian Red Cross 2021 – 2025.- aims to promote the construction of resilient communities to alleviate and prevent human suffering; strengthen people’s capacities to anticipate crises, overcome them and recover, in addition, promote empowerment spaces for the enjoyment of healthy, safe and dignified living conditions.
Organizational structure.- In the Ecuadorian Red Cross the Health and Community Development Program has three components: Health Care, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention that includes Nutrition, WASH, Community Surveillance and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (SMAPS) , there is an institutional strategy to strengthen the structure at the level of the Provincial Boards and Cantonal Boards at the national level, in relation to preparation, anticipation and response to events, a series of trainings in Community Based Surveillance have been developed since 2022, Health and Community First Aid (SPAC) and Health in Emergencies to humanitarian personnel from National Headquarters and Provincial Boards. In disaster situations, Health is activated with the lines of action in Promotion, WASH and SMAPS. In addition, there is a Healthy, Safe and Sustainable Brigades strategy that aims to strengthen capacities for preparation and response from the community to various events.
National: the Ecuadorian Red Cross in its auxiliary role of the public powers of the State in the humanitarian field, works jointly with the Ministry of Public Health; He was part of the team that approved the Ten-Year Health Plan 2022-2031, currently he is part of the National, Provincial and Local Health Technical Board; It is activated in the national and local COEs and is part of the Health, Water and Nutrition Cluster. In addition, all National Society emergency activities have incorporated an emergency approach and response and recovery activities focus on the provision of services according to local requirements.
The strategy of the Health and Community Development Program of the Ecuadorian Red Cross in the lines of Health Care includes the components of Community-Based Surveillance, Preparedness, Anticipation and Early Response to Epidemics (PARTE) and acts at the national level and with the communities. The proposal is to create a national emergency health team in the future.

Has your State/National Society/Institution been working with other partners to implement the commitments contained in this resolution?

Partner with:
National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in your country
Government and/or public authorities
ICRC/IFRC
Other National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies
Humanitarian and development partners (e.g. UN, NGOs etc.)
Academia

Examples of cooperation:

The National Society of the Ecuadorian Red Cross (CRE) has institutionalized Health and Community Development as part of its missionary programs and works throughout the country to form healthy, resilient and safe communities. Works together with the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) for the strategy of Healthy, Safe and Sustainable Brigades, Community-Based Surveillance, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (SMPAS). It is articulating joint actions with the National Technical Secretariat for the Reduction of Child Malnutrition (STECSDI) on nutrition issues, and with the Water Regulation and Control Agency (ARCA) for work with Community Water Boards. Currently CRE is part of the National, Provincial and Cantonal Health and Water Technical Tables, the Northern Border Surveillance Table and the Clusters with PAHO-PAHO in Food Security, WASH and Health, it also includes GIZ, GTRM, IOM, among others. Joint work with the IFRC to update capacity building in topics such as Health and Community Development, Health in Emergencies and PARTE. Joint work is carried out with the Spanish, Norwegian, Colombian, German and Italian National Societies. With the academy, activities are being carried out based on Framework Cooperation Agreements with the Equinoccial Technological University (UTE), Central University of Ecuador (UCE) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE).

Have you encountered any challenges in implementing the commitments contained in this resolution?

With challenges on:
Human resources
Lack of capacity and/or support (technical, financial, or other)

Details about challenges:

The Health and Community Development program of the National Society of the Ecuadorian Red Cross (CRE) went through important challenges; mostly due to limited technical human resources, which impacted the provision of essential services. However, currently this gap has been overcome and the program is strengthened, currently it has national technicians with third and fourth level specialty titles ensuring that all missionary lines of action remain available for those who need it most at the national level. The dedication to addressing this challenge highlighted the National CRE Society’s continued commitment to the community.

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the work and direction of your State/National Society/Institution?

Type of Impact:
Cooperation between Government/public authorities and National Society has been strengthened
Programming and operations have become more effective and efficient
Innovative tools/methodologies have been developed and are utilized
Partnerships with other humanitarian actors have been created or enhanced
Increase in mobilization of resources
Training and capacity of staff and volunteers has increased (for National Societies)
Other

Details about the impact:

For the National Society of the Ecuadorian Red Cross (CRE), cooperation and alliances with governmental and non-governmental organizations have allowed operations to be much more effective and efficient.
The commitments developed at the Conference have been to support the strategic direction and missionary operations with the purpose of preparing, anticipating and responding early to epidemics and pandemics, both institutionally with humanitarian personnel and with the community. The inclusion of Health in all emergencies or disasters through the lines of WASH, Health Promotion, SMAPS, Community Surveillance, Care and Protection of Health personnel and the different projects that are being developed for an early response as an Alliance Pilot Programmatic. (PPP), which is in its third year of execution, and the community development project “Equitable and Inclusive Rural Strengthening in Border Communities” that began activities in February 2024, have allowed the development of innovative tools and methodologies that are In addition, various preparedness and response actions are being implemented, this has led to an increase in the mobilization of resources.
The Territorial Network’s capacity for organization, support and health equipment has been strengthened, which guarantees a structured and proactive approach in responses to events of epidemiological importance. It is considered that this will have a profound impact, improving the response in the National Society in its auxiliary role of the State in the humanitarian field throughout the country.

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the communities that your State/National Society/Institution serves?

Description of the impact:

The National Society of the Ecuadorian Red Cross has been developing, within the lines of action of the Health and Community Development Program, various activities with and for the community in normal situations and in emergencies such as: the COVID-19 pandemic, or disasters such as the El Niño Phenomenon. We are on the way to having National Teams in the areas of: Health in Emergencies, WASH, SMAPS, Nutrition, Sexual and Reproductive Health that allow us to strengthen the structure of the program, have greater experience in preparation and response in interventions and provide services that increase community resilience and foster in the community the ability to act, respond and understand the importance of preventing their physical and mental health.