Doha: Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) recently organised a four-day disaster management course for national service students, in coordination with the training officers of the national service center, as part of QRC’s efforts to promote the culture of preparedness and risk reduction among all segments of the Qatari society, towards the goals of Qatar National
Vision 2030.
Attended by 500 conscripts, the course was taught by a number of disaster management instructors from QRC. The agenda covered training in disaster management, food security, water and sanitation, shelter, and camp management. In disaster management, the lecturer discussed the definition of a disaster, way to deal with it using a set of basic principles, such as preparedness, recovery, assessment, response, and risk analysis.
The water and sanitation programme is one of QRC’s main aspects of humanitarian intervention. QRC has procured the world’s latest water and sanitation system, an emergency quick response unit called Kit 5, which can provide clean water to up to 5,000 people. The trainees learnt about the importance of providing safe drinking water for IDPs and disaster victims, removing human and solid waste and disease-bearing insects, and raising awareness of personal hygiene.
In relation to the shelter and registration programme, the trainees were introduced to the standards of healthy, safe, and environment-friendly household. The lecturer explained the needs of disaster-stricken communities for shelter and nonfood items such as clothes, blankets, mattresses, heaters, fuel, etc, depending on the type, scope, and impact of the disaster. As illustrated in the course, it is crucial to assess the damage of buildings and infrastructure and the cost of reconstruction.
Camp site planning is a complex process that requires input from multiple experts and stakeholders. The planning starts from family to cell, block, and section. Every group of four sections constitute a whole refugee or IDP camp.
Finally, food and distribution involved two parts: (1) theoretical concepts of food security, such as food provision, access to food, nutrients, eating, digestion, and malnutrition; and (2) emergency supply of food and water and the necessary hygienic standards, with examples of food distribution during fires, cyclones, and storms.
The Peninsula
