UNHCR and IHP go hand in hand with emergency training in Revinge
REVINGE, Sweden, 7 March – Emergency responders from UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and partner organizations from around the globe had been operating from an International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) base camp atop a frozen hill in Revinge to address the humanitarian needs of thousands of people fleeing their home country.
The mock crisis was part of a Workshop on Emergency Management (WEM) organized by UNHCR and hosted at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) College in Revinge. It was based on the situation in Dollo, southeast Ethiopia where an estimated 54,000 fled from the neighbouring Somalia from a combination of violence and drought.
The three-day simulation was the highlight of the WEM course where participants put into practice what they learnt in the first part of the course. Over the last three days, participants in four teams lived in tents, set up a field office and navigated their way as they put up with pressures to coordinate resources within the team and with other organizations to assist the refugees and displaced people. Prior to the simulation, participants had gone through practical exercises on security, diving 4x4 vehicles, first aid, GPS navigation and radio communications.
“I’m impressed with WEM. I have only worked with internally displaced people in my country. This course has given me a holistic view of emergency management for refugees and more importantly the essence of team work,” said Josephine Runesu, who currently works as UNHCR assistant programme officer in Zimbabwe.
There are three WEMs a year, held in Sweden, Norway and Germany training 40 participants each time over nine days. The course in Revinge is co-funded by UNHCR and the Swedish government, and is run in close cooperation with the MSB. There are usually five to six applications for every slot on the WEM, showing its popularity. After completing WEM, participants go onto UNHCR’s emergency roster for nine months and can be deployed to any emergency within 72 hours for up to three months.
The WEMs of previous two years had had specific focuses. “This year with the IHP camp personnel training running in parallel, WEM simulation was shaped into a fully-fledged training again years after it came into existence. IHP supports UNHCR in practice on many occasions. With the support team from multiple IHP member organizations this time, it has given the WEM simulation a greater sense of reality,” said Andrei Kazakov, UNHCR senior training officer.
“We see there is a need to work more closely with UNHCR in practice and in training. MSB and other IHP members are committed to seek ways to increase the effectiveness of our humanitarian response on the ground,” said Per Lindqvist, MSB’s UNHCR and IHP focal point.
The WEM in Revinge this year was supported by a team of eight IHP support staff from MSB (Sweden), THW (Germany) and DSB (Norway). IHP is a partnership of seven governmental agencies (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and UK) in Europe, providing technical and logistical support to UN emergency operations.
“Even though I already have mission experience before coming here, this training has deepened my understanding of UNHCR’s refugee mandate and the base camp requirements for its operational priorities”, said Kristian Bording, camp technical from DSB while dismantling and packing away base camp equipment as the simulation ended.
Testimonials like this could not have pleased more the course management “trio” from MSB College Revinge, Peter Holmström, Jonas Sykfont and Toni Forsberg. “It was a major logistics challenge to put the two courses together. It has been a learning process for us too. ”
By Jenny Iao-Jörgensen in Revinge, Sweden
