Covid-19 highlighted how in a crisis the public will volunteer to help their community. It also highlighted the importance of taking a human-centred approach during emergencies to ensure vulnerable people receive the help they need.
Naomi Phillips, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the British Red Cross, shared with us their 8-point policy framework for a person-centred approach to crisis response. The framework can be consulted in any crisis to better the understanding of what a person might need to help them through an emergency.
Volunteers and community support are integral to a human-centred approach, as they can help fill the gaps and strengthen emergency responses so that people’s needs are met.
Using lessons learned from Covid-19, we can move forward in emergency planning to include volunteer and community support as part of the preparations. This is how a human-centred response to emergencies can be established in all multi-agency approaches to emergencies.
