Report on – 33rd IC Resolution 3: Time to act: Tackling epidemics and pandemics together (33IC/19/R3) – Italian 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 International, Regional, National, Local level

Explanation:

national, and local levels, focusing on emergency health management and epidemic preparedness.

Internationally: ItRC engaged in training programs, such as the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) training in Hong Kong, which focused on healthcare in emergencies, providing insights into the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s working environment.

Nationally: ItRC has been pivotal in the clinical health care response during both emergencies and non-emergencies. This includes managing ambulance services, ensuring bio-containment transportation, and setting up temporary field hospitals to prevent the collapse of hospital capacities. ItRC’s collaboration with government ministries, such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has been crucial in these efforts. These partnerships facilitated heightened research projects, intensified surveillance for public health risks, and enabled NBCR (nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological) attack preparedness.

Regionally:  ItRC has worked closely with local health authorities, such as Azienda Sanitaria Locale, to integrate vaccination campaigns within the national COVID-19 response plan. Their efforts in community epidemic and pandemic preparedness have included robust outbreak response operations and widespread immunization programs. They managed multiple vaccination centers, supporting national authorities in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines, which significantly contributed to public health prevention measures.

Locally:  ItRC has expanded its services through the mobilization of over 150,000 volunteers and 650 staff across 21 regional branches and 1,439 local and sub-branches. They have provided extensive first aid training and deployed mobile clinics to ensure access to healthcare in urban peripheries, refugee camps, and areas affected by natural disasters. This local presence has enabled ItRC to support vulnerable communities effectively, addressing their healthcare needs through innovative solutions like mobile clinics and temporary field hospitals.

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.)

Examples of cooperation:

RCRC Movement: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Italian Red Cross (ItRC) closely collaborated with Movement actors to enhance its response capacities, share best practices, and support the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and other National Societies. Specifically, ItRC supported the IFRC’s global COVID-19 Emergency Appeal by providing two staff on loan: a Resource Mobilization Officer for the Asia-Pacific Region and a Volunteers’ Safety and Security Coordinator at IFRC Headquarters in Geneva. These staff members assisted the IFRC in their respective roles. Additionally, ItRC allocated funds to support the IFRC in ensuring the protection, safety, and security of volunteers from the National Societies of Nepal and Afghanistan during COVID-19 response activities and to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society to enhance their COVID-19 response and strengthen their health system capacities.

External Coordination: As an auxiliary to public authorities, the ItRC plays a crucial role in preventing and mitigating human suffering, particularly during public health emergencies. IFRC and its member National Societies responded to the pandemic in accordance with their statutory mandate, complementing governmental action plans and fulfilling their auxiliary function.

From the onset of the emergency, ItRC played a key role in the national response as part of the Italian Civil Protection System. It coordinated with all actors involved in the national response, managed by the National Coordination Room of the Civil Protection. This allowed ItRC to become a national reference for both health and social interventions, leading to several collaborations with:

• The Ministry of Health and Regional Health Authorities to set up and support testing facilities, temporary camp hospitals, and the national vaccination campaign.
• The Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) to support a national seroprevalence campaign.
• The USMAF (Office for Health Inspections and Controls) for health surveillance in ports and airports nationwide.
• The Ministry of Education to train school personnel and oversee the roll-out of end-of-year exams in high schools, ensuring adherence to protective measures.
• The Ministry of Interior to set up and manage a health surveillance system on quarantine ships off the coasts of Sicily.
• National NGOs, such as Caritas.

Partnerships and Campaigns: Private sector donors also significantly supported ItRC operations through in-kind and cash contributions or free services, enhancing its emergency response capabilities. Notable initiatives included:

• A text-to-donate campaign to raise funds among the population.
• The DAC (Designers Against Coronavirus) campaign, featured an art book with 270 pieces by artists worldwide, whose proceeds supported ItRC activities.
• Collaboration with the Too Good To Go app to launch the Pact Against Food Waste, aiming to reduce food waste through actions across the agri-food chain, crucial during socio-economic difficulties.
• Partnerships with supermarkets, companies, and institutions like the Italian Football Federation and the LAPS Foundation to support those affected by the pandemic’s socio-economic impacts.
• “The Thousand Faces of Hope” campaign, launched on national television and digital channels, aimed at thanking donors and raising additional funds, in collaboration with the advertising agency Leo Burnett.

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

With challenges on:
Human resources
Funding constraints
Lack of specific knowledge/expertise
Lack of capacity and/or support (technical, financial, or other)

Details about challenges:

Human Resources: The national vaccination and screening campaigns heavily relied on ItRC’s support, especially in terms of specialized personnel. Despite using its communication channels to recruit and rely on local branches and community networks, the scarcity of available healthcare professionals posed a significant challenge.

Funding Constraints: Funding constraints also impacted operations, necessitating regular adaptation of services to address new needs and vulnerabilities. The stringent purchase procedures mandated by the Italian Procurement Code, although relaxed during the emergency, still resulted in long and complex processes, affecting the timeliness and efficiency of responses. These procedures required compliance with tight rules, which were often in conflict with the urgency of the pandemic situation.

Technical and administrative challenges: Quality control of equipment and managing customs clearance and certification processes for personal protective equipment (PPE) – these procedures, combined with poor availability of PPE in the global market, caused delays in delivery and distribution, especially during the early stages of the project.

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)

Details about the impact:

Cooperation with public authorities: Intra-regional support of trained volunteers who could carry out ambulance services was an important adaptation to the normal activity of ItRC. According to Italian law, each region should have in place an independent system to provide ambulance services. However, due to the severity of the outbreak and the high number of medical staff affected by the virus in the northern regions of the country, the Government granted exceptional authorization to ItRC to be able to allocate ambulances and personnel from less affected regions to the most affected ones.

Programming and operations: In June 2019, ItRC set up a toll-free number (800.06.55.10) available 24/7 with qualified operators to help callers find the closest local branch that was able to carry out the service required. However, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the sudden rise in the number of calls, ItRC increased the number of operators responding to the calls and also included doctors and psychologists to best support people’s needs and requests.

Innovative tool/methodologies: Guidelines and courses for protection: The unpredictable spread of the pandemic and its impact it had both on volunteers and staff involved in the response obliged ItRC to work immediately on national guidelines on safety and protection measures, and to organize online training courses on the use of PPEs to protect its personnel from the risk of exposure to Covid-19.

• Temporary Volunteers: The ability of ItRC to remain open to new forms of volunteering, allowed to launch the initiative named ‘Temporary Volunteers’. Through this initiative, ItRC managed to involve both highly qualified professionals and individuals who wanted to dedicate their free time to helping others. Ad hoc online trainings were organized to be completed before their involvement, tutoring was provided during their volunteering activity, and national guidelines were developed to support the work of the new volunteers and to guarantee adherence to principles and standards. By establishing this system, ItRC managed to count on the additional support of n. 59,588 Temporary Volunteers, 70% of which have actively taken part in the activities.

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

Description of the impact:

Sustaining Health and WASH

During the whole of 2020, and in line with the evolution of the pandemic, ItRC ensured the provision of a high number of psychological first aid services, including n. 7,211 services to Volunteers, n. 1,600 services to ItRC staff and n. 4,754 to the population. In particular, the provision of mental health support to frontliners was extremely necessary considering the enormous emotional distress faced while providing services and activities. In addition, during the emergency, ItRC ensured its support to the most vulnerable categories of people, such as lonely older people and migrants. Starting from August 2020, for example, a psychological support service was activated for minors hosted on quarantine vessels delivering n. 1.882 sessions during the whole of 2021

Livelihoods and Basic Needs

ItRC contributed to the protection of the livelihoods and well-being of the most vulnerable groups within the communities (older adults, people with disabilities, immunosuppressed or COVID-19 patients, poor people, homeless people) like grocery and medicines home delivery, street unit services providing food aid to homeless people and food parcels distribution. In total, ItRC reaches a number of 11,050 households and 24,985 homeless.