2023-07-08 06:23:22
After the dam disaster: Experts and equipment on site from next week
Vienna (OTS) – “It is just the beginning of a long period of reconstruction following the destruction of the Kachowka Dam, which provided water to over 700,000 people. The first phase of aid – the evacuation of people in the affected areas – has been completed. Now it’s a matter of restoring normal conditions and rebuilding the infrastructure. But that will take years,” says Geraldario, President of the Austrian Red Cross.
Expertise from Austria
To support the Ukrainian Red Cross, the Austrian Red Cross, together with the German and Swedish Red Cross, is sending material for water treatment and quality testing as well as water experts to southern Ukraine. The focus of the delegates is primarily on training colleagues and on-site training on water treatment, testing and distribution.
Marco Skodak and Johannes Kleinrath from the Vienna Red Cross will be in Ukraine for several weeks on behalf of the Austrian Red Cross and will support the Ukrainian Red Cross in capacity building in the area of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene).
Creator on the upcoming mission: “The Austrian Red Cross has strong expertise in the WASH area. In the event of a national or international disaster, we are able to secure the drinking water supply, basic sanitation and appropriate hygiene measures for the affected population. To ensure that this is possible at all times, we have specially trained staff and material available. This special operation is also possible thanks to the support of ORF neighbors in need.”
When is WASH used?
Destroyed infrastructure and a lack of access to clean water pose health risks for people. In crisis situations in particular, there is a risk of diseases breaking out without hygienic living conditions. In order to prevent this and to provide the affected people in Ukraine with the best possible care, the Red Cross is doing everything it can to maintain or restore the health and water supply. In the latest episode of “Austrian Red Cross – the Podcast”, Georg Ecker, who is responsible for operations at the WASH Service Center of the Austrian Red Cross, explains how the WASH unit can help in an emergency.
Ecker has a wealth of experience: his role as a crisis manager has already taken him around the world – from Haiti to South Sudan and Uganda.
Click here for the latest podcast episode with Georg Ecker:
Click here for the blog post “In action for clean water”:
Questions & contact:
Austrian red cross
Margit Draxl
Press and media service
+43 1 58 900 151 +436648234802
margit.draxl@roteskreuz.at
www.roteskreuz.at
1688797519
#Red #Cross #sends #WASH #expertise #water #treatment #Ukraine
