As the world experiences an upward trend in major disasters, the Canadian Red Cross is scaling up its ability to prepare for and respond, particularly in the Americas.
The First Responders Initiative is a partnership between the Government of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross. This three year program ensures the rapid and efficient deployment of personnel and medical assistance, which will strengthen our capacity and ability to prepare and respond.
Two Health Emergency Response Units for global emergency response - a Basic Health Care Unit and a Rapid Deployment Emergency Hospital - will be on standby in Canada and ready to be deployed when needed. This is the first time these tented field hospitals will be deployable from within Canada.
The First Responder Initiative is also scaling up human resources to ensure qualified aid workers are available to be deployed quickly and to ensure our work is fully supported by staff in Canada. We will be working alongside our sister Red Cross Societies in Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti and the Dominican Republic to strengthen their ability to prepare for and respond to disasters. The local Red Cross is always the first to respond after a disaster, ensuring they are well-prepared is vital to saving lives.