Mostafa Mohaghegh - International Fcdcration Operations Coordinator Red Crescent & Red Cross Societies

The number and negative impact of disasters have been increasing remarkably in lobal lcvel in the past decades, Despite efforts made in national and international levels to prevent or reduce disaster rish and negative impact, there are still disasters occur every now and then in different parts of the world which impose heavy losses on the affeced communities and their socio-economic developments. Communities should bc very well prepared to response lo disasteis and minimize their negative impact if Millennium Development Goats (MDGs) are to be achieved. Asian earthquake and tsunami in December 2004 and Bam earthquake in Decernber 2003 are just two recent examples of major disasters which causcd large scale damages and challenges on the way of social development in the affected communities. In case of major disasters where the local or national capacity is not adequate to response to disaster, international assistance are vital to meet the short and long term needs of the affected people. With the growiilg number and scale of disasters and the number of humanitarian actors in international level, the question remains as how best international resources can support local communities and national authorities in such a way that humanitarian needs are met timely and the humanitarian assistance contribute to long term recovery and resilience and capacity building of the affected communities. Today, questions such as coordination of international assistance, participation of affected community in response, quality of services, long term capacity building are among those issues concerning international assistance. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crcscent Societies which is comprised of 1 8 1 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, is pursuing and promoting the role of local communities and people in disaster preparedness and response. The IFRC has adopted the ""Local to Global Approach" as its methodology to respond to disasters. There are many examples on how timely involvement of members of the local communities such as Red Cross and Red Crescent traincd volunteers has contributed lo an effective disaster preparedness and response. This paper will present a number ofkey issues which are concering the quality and effectiveness of international assistance , and will provide examples on IFR’C experiences to deal with them