This reports covers the period 1 January to 31 December 2011
Programme outcome
To coordinate support to host national societies as they scale up their humanitarian work in line with Strategy 2020.
Programme summary
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Southeast Asia secretariat team based in Bangkok: • Supports and guides country office teams in Cambodia/Lao PDR, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Viet Nam;
• Provides requested technical support to the above countries as well as national societies with no secretariat country presence (i.e. Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Singapore);
• Strengthens institutional memory of the membership by capturing and sharing knowledge, good practices and lessons learnt;
• Via good partner relations, coordinates International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement work in the region within the IFRC mandate;
• Leads support on the development agenda both in terms of organizational and community development;
• Represents the national societies of the region and engages in humanitarian diplomacy particularly in terms of the evolving relationship with ASEAN.
2011 was a year of transition for the regional delegation with an increasing focus on resilience as well as a more linked up and holistic approach to support towards three priorities: 1) national society capacity-building particularly in terms of youth and volunteers; 2) tools and approaches that support sustainable efforts to enhance community resilience; and 3) a better projection of the role of the Red Cross Red Crescent – via strengthened approaches in humanitarian diplomacy – in the changing field of disaster management within ASEAN . This overall approach works through the six IFRC country offices and prioritizes the 11 national societies of the Southeast Asia region as well as international Red Cross Red Crescent actors, including Partner National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The scene has been set for significant progress in 2012 in terms of national society relationships with ASEAN. A cooperation framework is set to be signed that will really cement what are already excellent operational relations with a stronger strategic base in terms of disaster management and pandemic preparedness. The comparative advantage of the Red Cross Red Crescent is already apparent as the main resource in terms of the advancement of Disaster Law (formerly known as International Disaster Response Law/IDRL) as well as other preparedness expertise.
