A humanitarian crisis caused by natural catastrophes or armed conflicts can end up in the depletion of economic resources, destruction of livelihood, and grave political subversion. It can have a detrimental effect on the overall progress of a country and can halt the development for several years. When we consider the socioeconomic effects of these disasters, the developing countries suffer the most amount of damage. Under emergencies, an individual’s capability to earn for themselves and protect their livelihood is substantially reduced.
In such catastrophic conditions, often the workforce and assistance provided by the government officials and local civil society are not adequate to meet the requirements of the affected population or to secure their survival. Such unfortunate disasters and emergencies thus immediately call for humanitarian emergency relief. Humanitarian assistance in the form of aid is instantly provided to the victims and sufferers of these adversities.
Humanitarian assistance is provided in two ways-
Material Aid: This includes things like medical supplies, food, clean water, shelter, sanitary arrangements, healthcare services, and sometimes education, developmental support, and many other non-immediate forms of assistance.
Protection: It includes taking necessary measures to safeguard people’s rights and providing security and respect. Also, they make sure that the armed forces are fulfilling their obligations to these victims and spread awareness regarding the relevant rules and lawful obligation.
Most of the time, discrete humanitarian campaigns provide both material aid and protection, as material aid secures the potential survival of the affected individuals, and protective actions elevate the odds of the victims receiving aid.
International Emergency Relief Organizations
Disasters and natural catastrophes are often extremely sudden. That is why we require disaster relief organizations who act as the prime assistance for individuals stuck in disaster-struck areas.
Discussed below are some of the most active humanitarian emergency relief organizations operating across the globe.
American Red Cross- It is a humanitarian agency that is running under the guidance of Congressional charter and the principles of the red cross movement. The frontrunners for the organizations are a group of dedicated volunteers who take part in different disaster relief activities to reduce the suffering caused by the tragedy. The material aid includes food supplies, shelter, clean drinking water, medical supplies like blood and medicine, clothing, temporary living arrangements, household supplies, and services like emergency transportation.
REACT International- Through an extensive volunteer team and a social web of radio networks, The REACT provides emergency communication services for other organizations. Their team of workers is experienced with skilled training as to how to deal with a emergency disaster situations.
Children’s Disaster Services- In temporary shelters preceding a disaster, CDS provides specialized childcare and assistance. Their team of volunteers is extensively trained and certified to ensure that they deal with distressed children in a catastrophic situation. CDS also has many relevant partnerships with childcare organizations, providing education and one-to-one consultations to the suffered child population. They also conduct various workshops where they interact with parents, local communities, and educational institutes to provide maximum assistance and fulfill the specific requirements of the children.
World Vision- WorldVision is an international Christian organization that works with disaster-struck and oppressed areas to encourage human transformation. Their team of community-based volunteers provides immediate responses and conducts recovery activities. They work in close affiliation with local churches and charitable organizations, gathering resources to distribute among the affected communities.
The Salvation Army- With a global membership of up to 1.7 million, the Salvation Army is one of the biggest non-profit relief organizations in the world. They provide emergency aid like food, temporary shelters, preliminary healthcare, medical support, and resource distribution.
All Hands Volunteer- This organization is built to provide hand-on support to the victims of natural catastrophes across the globe, with maximum benefit and limited government involvement. All Hands provides efficient emergency relief services to suffering communities preceding a natural disaster, by giving away food, shelters, medical tools, and other services. Their emergency programs are well-organized and tailored for each type of disaster and also takes into account the specific community they are dealing with to respect cultural sensitivity.
HOPE Worldwide, Ltd.- It is an international charity that operates within a close partnership with the American Red Cross to assist in the prevention, preparation, and appropriate relief strategies in emergencies. They have a large group of volunteers, having centers across six continents.
The International Relief Friendship Foundation (IRFF)- This is an organization that assists other agencies that are actively involved in providing aid and community services following a disaster. Whenever there is a disaster, IRFF gathers a group of volunteers from various businesses, organizational institutes, youth and women’s organizations. They also provide direct aid themselves in the form of food, shelter, clothing, blankets, and other relief supplies.
National Emergency Relief Organizations
There are several of national emergency organizations that are functional within the United States. These agencies are equipped to deal with national disasters.
The National Organization for Victim Assistance- NOVA provides mitigation services for people and families who have suffered a considerable amount of trauma following a disaster. Their team of workers is extensively trained as to how to deal with critical disaster situations.
AmeriCares- AmeriCares provides preparatory assistance to community hospitals and distributes medical tools so they can provide maximum life-saving care. Until the hospitals and healthcare systems revive from a disaster, AmeriCares provides maximum assistance to the affected areas.
SBP- Its primary target is to wither the time between the underlying calamity and the recuperation stage. SBP has a five-section crucial: reconstruct productively, to impart their model to different associations, to get ready homes and organizations through strength preparing, to prompt metropolitan and state authorities, and to advocate for strategy changes to improve catastrophe recuperation. With the assistance of thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers, SBP modifies homes far beneath the market value following debacles.
Because of the ever so changing climate, we will constantly have to face the horrors of natural disasters. These humanitarian relief organizations play an essential role in mitigating the damaging impact of such tragic events. People must make themselves familiar with these organizations and agencies so that they are more likely to receive assistance in a catastrophic situation.
Author Bio:
Lesley Burk has been working with multiple non-profit organizations and has been spreading awareness for humanitarian emergency relief for the past decade. She has been running campaigns and social humanitarian movements across the globe for the past eight years.
