Actions taken:
Between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022, Croatian Red Cross acted as the host of the Secretariat of the Neighbours Help First Network and during that period took care of collecting information on the activities of the NS within the Network as well as preparing the overall report on the activities with a focus on crisis response and preparedness and joint projects.
The whole 2020 was marked with the global COVID-19 pandemic and consequently engagement of all NHF National Societies in responding to this health emergency. With the support of National Societies from the Network which sent their reports to the NHF Secretariat, a “COVID-19 Best Practices” document was produced that listed activities related to response, best practices and solutions, as well as challenges and obstacles related to specific sector. This was an opportunity to learn from each other and apply practices that have already proven to be efficient.
Several countries from the NHF Network were affected by additional crisis situations which in the pandemic environment resulted with complex emergencies and required support of the neighbouring NHF National Societies. In 2021 the Secretariat organized an experience exchange workshop on mental health and psychosocial support in complex emergencies with participants from several National Societies (Albanian RC, Austrian RC, Bulgarian RC, Croatian RC, Romanian RC, Slovenian RC, Turkish RCS) as well as ICRC and the IFRC.
Croatian Red Cross was among those National Societies that had to respond to other crisis (earthquakes) in the middle of the COVID-19 response, after earthquake first stroke Zagreb in March and then Petrinja in December 2020. Support was received from many NS either bilaterally or through EA (Albanian RC, Austrian RC, The RCS of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgarian RC, Cyprus RC, Hungarian RC, Italian Red Cross, RC of the Republic of North Macedonia, RC of Montenegro, Polish RC, Romanian RC, RC of Serbia, Slovenian RC, Spanish RC, and Turkish RC). Additionally RC of Montenegro sent an emergency response team to the field to support Croatian RC teams. This was also an opportunity to check in practice how crisis response teams can work together in the field.
In 2022, Croatian Red Cross organized field exercise held in Croatia from 20 to 23 October 2022. Teams from Bulgarian Red Cross, Croatian Red Cross, Hungarian Red Cross, Polish Red Cross, Slovenian Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross and Turkish Red Crescent Society participated at the exercise that was also attended by the leaders from the Albanian Red Cross, Bulgarian Red Cross, Red Cross of North Macedonia, Slovenian Red Cross, and Turkish Red Crescent Society, as well as the Head of IFRC Country Cluster Delegation to Central & South-Eastern Europe and Head of Regional Delegation of the ICRC. This was a great opportunity for the members of various National Societies to meet each other and exchange the experience and examples of best practice.