The Red Cross and Natural Disasters. Research Paper

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The Red Cross and Natural Disasters
The proper reference name for this organization is International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and aims to alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. It is a global nonprofit organization that was founded in 1863 by a group of humanitarians. The organization was founded on the principle of protecting human life and health, ensuring respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Over the years, the organization has grown and evolved. Very few countries are not a member of the IFRC i.e. Taiwan and Kosovo. These two countries lack their own Red Cross society because of their controversial status as a recognized country in the UN. They are still considered part of other countries and since there can be only one Red Cross society per country, their ‘Red Cross’ organizations are not members of IFRC. Red Cross is an organization that has remained committed to undertaking humanitarian work, hence individuals should support the organization via their donations.
The initial idea behind creating Red Cross was to help casualties of war especially wounded soldiers. However,CITATION Dan15 \p 997 \l 1033 (Palmier 997) argues that it ‘seems obvious that the “war on terror” has blurred the distinction between peacetime and wartime that had hitherto reigned. That said, and unlike in its early days, the ICRC has directly experienced these new forms of violence. This has brought it into contact with new victims and new needs, and has above all forced it to overhaul its understanding of war.’ Thus, the traditional role of ICRC has relatively changed since the soldiers also have support systems with medivac units which makes Red Cross rarely necessary. However, true to the initial mission of alleviating human suffering, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies all over the world have found themselves increasingly needed in disasters around the world. Climate change continues to cause stronger hurricanes in hurricane-prone areas, earthquakes, floods, famine etc. These are the common main emergencies that have come to be the main issues of focus to Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in the world. Natural and man-made disasters cause a lot of human suffering. The magnitude of any of them can easily overwhelm a nation and leave it in ruins. I.e., 2009 Haiti earthquake disaster. Others have a recurring pattern but their impact is hard to predict and adequately plan for i.e. the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the US east coast. All these disasters cost lives and leave many more people in distress. It is common for many survivors to die due to injuries and lack of basic needs. Red Cross comes to their aid by helping and treating the injured, feeding the displaced, sheltering the homeless, and finding and rescuing the people trapped by the disasters. Nearly no country on earth is always prepared enough to deal with these disasters and they can be overwhelming to disaster response units. CITATION Ale12 \l 1033 (Greer) pointed out that even Japan made it ‘apparent that structural mitigation is not always enough. Japan, which practices possibly the most mitigation in the world, was not prepared for the events on and following March 15, 2011.’ Red Cross is an indispensable organization in such disasters and over the years and across many nations, the organization has demonstrated its efficacy in helping victims of natural disasters.
First, most countries lack the capacity to handle these disasters through their own internal systems. The United States is still grappling with the effects of Hurricane Katrina 15 years later and it is a country endowed with a lot of resources. This is just but a single disaster that affected the nation and still some people are still rebuilding and the area is recovering from the disaster. If more disasters strike, it is very easy for the emergency systems instituted by a certain country to be overwhelmed and the people will suffer. The main reason why any government struggles to address any major disaster is that it has to spend on any effort, equipment and supplies that are conveyed to the affected people. All the supplies in the form of food, shelter, medical supplies, skilled personnel etc it has to release to any disaster zone are all invoiced to the government. The supplies and any resources for recovery efforts are expensive to the government for a number of reasons. First, the personnel has to be compensated relatively well to agree to risk their lives and encounter other challenges to help disaster victims. The cost increases because they may need additional funding for hotels and other things to provide their services. The responders are usually not many because disasters do not happen frequently so the government maintains a small workforce during the time when there is no disaster. Secondly, transporting the requires supplies to the area is usually hard because most disasters affect infrastructure. The co...