Magen David Adom and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed an agreement for continued collaboration in the coming years, that will focus on improving emergency preparedness, strengthening community resilience to disasters, and the development of the next generation of humanitarian leaders.
As part of this collaboration, a project will take place in areas that are likely to be affected by a disaster, through which MDA will train local authority's teams in the assessment of humanitarian needs of the population, based on the vast experience gained on ICRC missions in disaster areas.
It was also agreed that MDA’s disaster response capabilities would continue to be bolstered, for complex incidents such as earthquakes, through joint training as well as sending MDA teams as part of ICRC deployments to disaster areas, such as was done last year in Ukraine.
As part of the building of new humanitarian leaders, a specialized body will be set that will deal with strengthening MDA humanitarian activities in Israel and as part of the Red Cross Red Crescent movement.
Alexandra Mangon, head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said: “The ICRC is pleased to begin the Jewish new year by reaffirming and strengthening our partnership with the MDA. The MDA provides an essential service, and we are proud to have MDA as a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement family. This continued cooperation will mean improved preparedness and response in the face of complex emergencies that positively impact the most vulnerable communities.”
Eli Bin, MDA Director General, said: “The long-term partnership between us is based first and foremost on the humanitarian values shared by both organizations. This partnership improves the preparedness for complex emergency and disaster situations, and this way we can strengthen the humanitarian response capabilities for the population, both here in Israel and across the world.”