Resolution 6 : Strengthening legal frameworks for disaster response, risk reduction and first aid | Power of humanity: Red Cross Red Crescent

National Society

Name, position and email of the focal person

· Frédéric Casier, frederic.casier@croix-rouge.be, Conseiller juridique en Droit international humanitaire et relations avec le Mouvement, Croix-Rouge de Belgique - Communauté francophone
· Laura De Grève, laura.degreve@rodekruis.be, IHL dissemination officer, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders

1. What measures has your National Society taken to support your public authorities to make use of the IDRL Guidelines?
Dissemination of IDRL Guidelines

Comments

L’existence et l’objectif des lignes directrices IDRL sont rappelés en vue de leur utilisation auprès des autorités compétentes lors des réunions du Groupe de travail de la Commission interministérielle de droit humanitaire chargé du suivi des décisions de la Conférence internationale. Ce groupe de travail est présidé par la Société nationale.

Par ailleurs, dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre de l’engagement de la Belgique sur le renforcement des cadres juridiques applicables aux interventions en cas de catastrophes, à la réduction des risques et aux premiers secours (SP320102), un groupe de travail spécifique a été mis en place par les autorités pour tenir compte de la loi-type IDRL et du projet de modèle de décret d’urgence IDRL. Cet engagement prévoit la poursuite de la collaboration avec la Croix-Rouge de Belgique sur cette thématique. Il est renvoyé au rapport de la Belgique sur le suivi de cet engagement.

2. Has your National Society supported public authorities to use the Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction to review and strengthen their domestic legal frameworks for disaster risk reduction at the national, provincial and / or local levels?

Comments

La Croix-Rouge de Belgique se tient à la disposition des autorités compétentes pour les appuyer dans l’utilisation de la Liste de vérification sur la législation et la réduction des risques de catastrophes.

3. What activities has your National Society undertaken in cooperation with your government towards achieving the goals related to DRR, community resilience and climate change adaptation as set out in the Sendai Framework for DRR, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the outcomes of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (‘Paris Agreement’)?
Engagement and contribution in national/local DRR platforms / Participation et contribution aux plateformes nationales/locales de réduction des risques de catastrophe / Participación y contribución en plataformas nacionales y locales para la reducción del riesgo de desastre, Support the development and/or Implementation of national DRR plan/strategy, Public awareness and public education , Assessment of risk and vulnerability, NS response and preparedness (contingency plans, standard operating procedures, pre-disaster meetings, disaster preparedness stocks), Tree planting and caring, Advocacy, Disaster preparedness and contingency policies, plans and programmes, Community early warning systems, Preposition disaster preparedness stocks, Training & simulation drills, Water and sanitation support, Livelihoods support

Please provide more details your activities below:

La Croix-Rouge de Belgique participe régulièrement aux exercices organisés par les autorités pour tester les plans de contingence et les procédures opérationnelles types.

All above checked activities are integrated in a Disaster Risk Reduction programmes in Malawi and the Great Lakes Region (Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda) implemented by BRC-Fl in cooperation with the Host National Society

4. Number of people reached through DRR programmes/projects

* In case the above data is not available, I agree to let the IFRC use the data from its annual DRR mapping conducted with inputs from National Societies.
yes

5. What steps has your National Society taken to support your public authorities in assessing their existing legal frameworks related to first aid?

Des démarches avaient déjà été menées par la Croix-Rouge de Belgique auprès des autorités avant la 32e Conférence internationale afin de souligner l’absence d’une formation obligatoire aux premiers secours dans le cadre de l’enseignement et de l’obtention du permis de conduire au regard de la législation nationale. Ce plaidoyer se poursuit (voir question 5).

Furthermore the Belgian Red Cross –Flanders:
- participates in the Task Force first aid of Minister of education of Flanders, Hilde Crevits. The purpose of the Task Force is to support schools with measures and actions that allow every young person leaving secondary education to have at least a minimum of knowledge, skills and attitudes about life-saving actions. Belgium Red Cross-Flanders is an active participant of this Task Force. First aid is a part of the curriculum of primary and secondary schools. First aid is also mentioned in the basic competences to become a new teacher. A new website was created to inform schoolteachers about the existing projects of first aid: https://onderwijs.vlaanderen.be/nl/ehbo-op-school. Our train the trainer program and educational pathway are mentioned on this site.
- participates at the Committee Education and Society of VLOR (Vlaamse onderwijsraad). The aim is to provide structured consultation between the various actors involved in certain education. The committee will focus on long-term activities in terms of health promotion and the consultation on world-citizenship education. During the consultation, a shared generic vision is taken of how schools best meet social challenges and how they can be supported.
- developed an evidence-based educational pathway to enable the integration of first aid into the school curriculum by defining the goals to be achieved for knowledge, skills and attitudes, for different age groups (published in 'Resuscitation' 94 (2015) pg.8-22). “Calling for help, performing first aid and providing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)” is part of the educational goals in secondary schools in Belgium (Flanders). However, for teachers it is not always clear at what age children can be taught which aspects of first aid. In addition, it is not clear what constitutes “performing first aid” and we strongly advocate that the first aid curriculum is broader than CPR training alone. The article on the educational pathway was for example used in Italy in preparing the dossier for the law to make first aid education in school compulsory.
- gives trainings to schoolteachers to make them competent in giving first aid trainings to their students. In 2016 there were 138 new trainers in schools. We also give short trainings (initiations) of first aid in schools for schoolteachers. In 2016 we reached 640 teachers.
- Next to the new first aid book Help! Eerste hulp voor iedereen we develop new manuals, videos, photos, according to the new guidelines.
- encourages the region of Brussels to implement first aid as a requirement to get your driver’s license. During the second part of 2017 we will know more about this project. Contacts are made with the Office of the Secretary of State Bianca Debaets.

6. What steps has your National Society taken to support your public authorities in strengthening their existing legal frameworks related to first aid?

Depuis la régionalisation du permis de conduire en Belgique, la Croix-Rouge de Belgique a lancé un projet de plaidoyer pour convaincre les autorités bruxelloises de rendre la formation aux premiers secours obligatoire avant le permis de conduire.
Le projet a connu des avancées puisque le cabinet de la Secrétaire d’Etat chargée de la Sécurité routière en Région de Bruxelles-Capitale s’est engagé à rendre cette formation obligatoire à partir de 2018. Cela pourrait toucher 22000 personnes par an.
Des concertations sont également en cours entre la Croix-Rouge de Belgique – Communauté francophone et les autorités de la Région wallonne sur cette question.
Par ailleurs, l’Institut de Formation de la Croix-Rouge de Belgique – Communauté francophone lance cette année un dossier de plaidoyer pour que l’enseignement des premiers secours soit intégré dans les programmes scolaires. Des rencontres ont eu lieu avec la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles pour les premières discussions. Aucune décision n’a encore été prise à ce stade.
Belgian Red Cross-Flanders contributed through its Centre for Evidence Based Practice (CEBaP) in providing evidence summaries on a series of first aid techniques that were used in the updating of the IFRC 2016 International First Aid and Resuscitation Guidelines. Belgian RC also hosted a consensus meeting with RC/RC first aid experts to discuss the draft of these guidelines.

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders facilitated and financed the development of first aid materials for Africa, India and Nepal, according to the principles of Evidence Based Practice. Panels of first aid experts and trainers from these regions/countries drafted first aid materials adapted to the local context, needs and preferences, based on the latest scientific evidence summaries drafted by CEBaP.

The Belgian Red Cross-Flanders gives support to other NS to include the IFRC FA and resuscitation guidelines in the FA education. This activities include: Basic First Aid Manual 2016 production for the NS Malawi-Botswana-Zambia-Lesotho-Swaziland-Zimbabwe Namibia Uganda; support to Trainer for trainer; implementation of African First Aid Materials based on the IFRC guidelines 2016 in 6 countries (Mal-Les-Zam-Zim-Bot-Swa). Additionally, advocacy on FA legislation can be a topic within the framework of FA capacity building initiatives supported by BRC-FL. We support the HNS in approaching their authorities.

Attached files