International Association of Emergency Managers: The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting the goals of saving lives and protecting property during emergencies and disasters.
The mission of IAEM is to serve its members by providing information, networking and professional opportunities, and to advance the emergency management profession.
Red Cross/Red Crescent: National Red Cross/Red Crescent societies often have pivotal roles in responding to emergencies. Additionally, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC, or “The Federation”) may deploy assessment teams to the affected country. They specialize in the recovery component of the emergency management framework.
United Nations: Within the United Nations system, responsibility for emergency response rests with the Resident Coordinator within the affected country. However, in practice, international response will be coordinated, if requested by the affected country’s government, by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), by deploying a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
World Bank: Since 1980, the World Bank has approved more than 500 operations related to disaster management, amounting to more than US$40 billion.
These include post-disaster reconstruction projects, as well as projects with components aimed at preventing and mitigating disaster impacts, in countries such as Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, Haiti, India, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam to name only a few.
Common areas of focus for prevention and mitigation projects include forest fire prevention measures, such as early warning measures and education campaigns to discourage farmers from slash and burn agriculture that ignites forest fires; early-warning systems for hurricanes; flood prevention mechanisms, ranging from shore protection and terracing in rural areas to adaptation of production; and earthquake-prone construction.
In a joint venture with Columbia University under the umbrella of the Consortium, the World Bank has established a Global Risk Analysis of Natural Disaster Hotspots.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In June 2006, the World Bank established the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), a longer term partnership with other aid donors to reduce disaster losses by mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in development, in support of the Hyogo Framework of Action.
The facilities helps developing countries fund development projects and programs that enhance local capacities for disaster prevention and emergency preparedness.