DOHA: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) held a five-day basic disaster management course for 51 personnel of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and students doctors, to prepare them to deal with disasters.
The course aims to build the disaster response capacity among national professionals, practice activities of preparedness and create well-trained teams ready for intervention in emergencies that require concerted efforts from civil defence institutions.
It is the first step for volunteers in the field of disaster preparedness, response and management.
The curriculum is accredited by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Fifteen lectures were delivered by 10 relief experts on a wide range of topics, including ‘Overview of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent and Qatar Red Crescent’; ‘Disaster Management’; ‘Sphere Project’; ‘Nutrition and Food Security’; ‘Logistics System’; ‘Social and Psychological Support’; ‘Emergency Needs Assessment’; ‘Water and Sanitation’; ‘Risk Analysis’; ‘Health in Emergencies’; ‘Communications in Emergency’; and ‘Registration, Shelter, and Camp Management’.
The participants were divided into working groups, which held brainstorming, teamwork and practice sessions. They also performed simulation scenarios, case studies, and emergency planning.
The attendees were introduced to personal experiences of some members of QRCS’s risk reduction team that was deployed on relief missions in several disaster-hit countries.
HMC is a major local partner of QRCS, implementing several joint medical projects for the vulnerable people in Qatar.
Among the projects are the Patient Support Fund, which covers the costs of surgeries, treatment and medications for poor patients; kidney transplantation for kidney failure patients by looking for donors; psychological support visits to in-patients at hospitals; ‘This Is My Wish’ Ramadan programme to provide gifts for sick children; and 54 ambulance fleet operated by medical and technical personnel with the highest training and qualification levels in Qatar.
Such courses are part of QRCS’s training and qualification portfolio, which involves community lectures and courses on safety and security, public health, first aid and surface water rescue.
Also, there are several basic and advance disaster management courses, culminating in the annual Disaster Management Camp, which is the only Arabic event of its kind.
It seeks to build community capacity in preparedness, which is a national priority pursued by Qatar National Vision 2030.
The Peninsula
