Actions taken:
La préparation aux catastrophes à l’étranger est une priorité de la Coopération internationale belge. Un cadre de financement portant sur la préparation aux catastrophes dans les régions du Sahel et des Grands Lacs a été lancé en 2015, 2017 et 2019. La Croix-Rouge de Belgique est financée dans ce cadre pour des projets portant sur le renforcement des capacités de la préparation aux catastrophes des sociétés nationales du Sahel et des Grand Lacs, respectivement.
The proposals of the BRC-Flanders (BRC-Fl) were accepted for all three CfP, which allowed the BRC-Fl to establish a sustainable and long-lasting support to the Disaster Management units of our partner national societies in the Great Lakes Region, which will last to minimum August 2021. The core of our Preparedness Programming remains the improvement of the institutional preparedness to response of the host National Society. Different modules, amongst which cash-preparedness and epidemic-preparedness, have with the support of DGD gradually been added to our portfolio. A major ad-vantage of the multi-annual and multi-country DGD-support, is the opportunity for regional learning and exchange. Three regional exchanges have been taking place so far, which have strengthened the partnership and peer-to-peer learning of the National Societies involved (Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda Red Cross).
De plus, deux cadres de financement visant à soutenir des approches innovantes ont aussi été lancés par la Coopération belge au troisième trimestre 2017 et au premier trimestre 2018. Ces cadres de financement couvrent, entre autres, les approches innovantes de préparation aux catastrophes.
Through this innovation-focused CfP’s, the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders was able to do research on “Forecast-based Financing”, which allows for an anticipatory humanitarian financing system. The research has led to the integration of FbF within our Disaster Preparedness programming.
Les différents cadres de financements ouverts en 2018 et 2019 ont aussi couvert la possibilité de financer des actions de préparation aux catastrophes de la Croix-Rouge de Belgique – Communauté francophone.
The Flemish regional government equally supports innovative projects for disaster risk reduction. Flanders specifically supports a project of the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders that aims to use mechanisms of disaster risk reduction to tackle the impact of climate risks in Malawi and Mozambique, both Flemish partner countries.
The Belgian Red Cross-Flanders intents to reduce the impact of climate risks in Malawi and Mozambique, Flemish partner countries , through disaster risk reduction. The primary objective of the programme is to increase preparedness at institutional and community level through effective response and early recovery mechanisms (2 500 000 euro, 2017-2020). However, the most innovative element of the program is its crisis modifier. This consists of a stock of emergency relief items and funds that both can be released immediately when a disaster strikes, or is prospected to strike. This mechanism significantly reduces post-disaster reaction time since resources are already present or can be transported faster to the areas that have been struck.
Due to this mechanism the Red Cross made a significant difference when cyclone IDAI arrived in March 2019. They had a stock of emergency relief items that was stored in Caia and which was immediately transported to the affected area, even before the cyclone struck. This has saved valuable time, since the access roads to Beira and the surrounding region remained inaccessible for days after 15 March.
