Red Cross Emergency Response Units (ERUs)

Floods, earthquakes, typhoons, disease outbreaks, population movements and armed conflicts.

Whenever major catastrophes and emergencies such as these threaten humanity, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is ready to respond immediately thanks to pre-positioned Emergency Response Units (ERU).

These standardized packages of trained personnel and state-of-the-art equipment are ready to deploy at short notice to some of the most remote regions of the world, providing vital medical and healthcare aid to anyone affected by disasters and emergencies. ERUs also prop up or temporarily replace damaged local infrastructure with logistical, communication, clean water and sanitation support.

When there is no time to waste, ERUs can save countless lives wherever they are deployed.

The Canadian Red Cross, with the support of the Government of Canada, has two ERUs on standby: the Red Cross Emergency Clinic (RCEC) and the Red Cross Emergency Hospital (RCEH), the only Red Cross field hospital in North America.

About the Red Cross Emergency Hospital

	Deploys within 48 hours from Canada.
	Self-sustaining for a month.
	Delivers health care services in disasters and conflicts anywhere in the world for up to 4 months.
	Staffed with multidisciplinary teams deployed for four to six week rotations.
	Delivers quality health care and builds local capacity.
	Adapts its size and capacity, from mobile outreach clinics to a large hospital providing surgical services.
	Staffed by a core team of highly skilled and experienced professionals.
	Works with the local Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to provide appropriate and sustainable health care services.
	Part of a larger network of Red Cross and Red Crescent emergency response capacity pre-positioned around the world, delivering essential services such as water and sanitation, relief items, shelter, logistics and telecommunication.

How you can support the ERU

Your donation to the Canadian Red Cross can support the ERU in a number of ways:

You ensure we can purchase the required equipment ahead of time so the hospital can be dispatched within 48 hours after an emergency and have the greatest impact.

Your support also allows us to train doctors, nurses and administrators who will deploy and operate the field hospital after a disaster.

Make a donation today and join our mission to save lives whenever the next major catastrophe strikes.

Learn more about ERUs