SAUDI
HEART
Saudi Humanitarian Emergency Aid and Response Team
Saudi Humanitarian Emergency Aid and Response Team
The Saudi Red Crescent Authority has formed a specialized emergency response team to respond to disasters within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to provide support for international humanitarian response operations.
The Saudi Humanitarian Emergency Aid and Response Team, Saudi HEART, consists of 100 emergency responders who are trained in all aspects of humanitarian emergency response. Under the Saudi HEART capacity building program, the team will be specialized in basic public health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and logistics and supply chain management.
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center provides Saudi HEART with a comprehensive training program on disaster management.
TRAINING PROGRAM
After completing the core program, participants specialize in public health or logistics and supply chain management courses.
Core courses
The Saudi HEART core courses, delivered by Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, focus on disaster management, disaster risk communication, incident command systems, establishment and management of emergency operation centers, international disaster law, gender and diversity, psychosocial support, presentation skills, and information management. Core courses also include introduction to SPHERE guidelines and other tools and systems, leadership and post-disaster management.
IFRC training support
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) train Saudi HEART on personal safety and security, SHELTER, human resource and project cycle management, and IMPACT. They also support Saudi HEART in strategy development for the team.
OCHA training support
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) provides Saudi HEART with training on international humanitarian architecture and supports the team in developing information management systems and strategies.
Participants
The selection of participants to Saudi HEART is highly competitive with thousands of applicants per batch. The program has three batches with approximately thirty participants per batch. The participants are nationals of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with at minimum a bachelor’s degree in public health, business administration, social sciences, logistics, or information technology. To date, the program has attracted high achievers within their fields.
Participants undergo an extensive screening before entering the program, including English examination, psychological testing and an in-depth interview with the management team. Selected participants must demonstrate relevant academic and professional background and ability to work under extreme pressure as well as to serve and lead multi-cultural teams.
Resource persons involved in the program are industry experts with both practical and theoretical experience of disaster management. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center uses its in-house capacity and draws on its wide network of consultants and affiliated experts. Efforts are made to match resource persons with skills and experience in the subject matter and experience from International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and United Nations. Currently, over sixty resource persons, from all over the world, have facilitated courses for Saudi HEART.
The training sessions are based on modules and materials that have been developed and adapted specifically for Saudi HEART.
Resource persons
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Asian Disaster Preparedness Center organized a simulation exercise for the Saudi HEART in May 2015 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Taking place in a desert location 100 kilometers from Riyadh, the exercise tested the participants’ skills and knowledge in basic health care, water sanitation and hygiene, SHELTER, and search and rescue as well as overall coordination in a response setting.
The simulation included a demonstration of K9 and rescue with canines from Swiss Rescue Dog Association and air ambulance helicopters.
Simulation exercise
Gallery
Established in 1986, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center builds safer communities and sustainable development through disaster risk reduction. With support from development partners, ADPC provides more than 20 countries with technical services and capacity building to build resilience against natural hazards in the most disaster-prone areas of the world. ADPC delivers training programs on disaster management, emergency public health, early warning systems, nutrition in emergencies, and other components of disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.
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