Daniel Modoacă: “Public-private collaboration is crucial to provide a proper response in emergencies and humanitarian crises”

How many Ukranians have arrived in Romania since the start of the conflict and what is their situation?

Since the escalation of the international armed conflict, as of 18 March 2024, national authorities have recorded around 5.7 million border crossings into Romania from Ukraine and Moldova, including third-country nationals, and 76,530 people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine are residing in Romania. Many displaced people who have remained in Romania face difficulties in securing longer-term resources because they can’t find work and are struggling to access essential services due to language barriers among other challenges. Two years on, people who did have some financial resources to sustain themselves are now being stretched to their limits, while a great deal of displaced people have been relying on humanitarian and government support to survive.

A survey commissioned by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has found that more than 50% of people in Ukraine and living in other parts of Europe still have urgent unmet needs including medical assistance, accommodation, and employment. This is forcing people in vulnerable situations to get into debt or to accept underpaid, marginalized, or dangerous employment. In addition, the mental health and psychosocial burden is increasing.

What is the self-registration app project and how does it work?

The first “Cash App” was launched in Romania in April 2022 and allowed us to reach more than 20,000 people displaced from Ukraine in the first 10 days. The Red Cross has now developed a self-registration application called AccessRC, which allows people to create an account to apply for different types of services available to them. The registration app can be downloaded for both iOS and Android. The family chooses a head of household- the person responsible for submitting applications and withdrawing money on behalf of the family. The head of the household creates an account on AccessRC and adds all family members. As soon as any program is available, people receive a notification through the app and are required to complete the application form. After the review process, an automated notification message is sent to people informing them whether their application has been approved or rejected. If an application is approved, people will receive a message explaining the steps to receive money.

When is a crisis considered humanitarian?

A humanitarian crisis is an emergency that affects an entire community or a group of people in a region, which involves high levels of mortality or malnutrition, the spread of disease and epidemics and health emergencies. It can also involve a lack of clean water, food security, sanitation, shelter and political events such as armed conflicts, coups, ethnic and religious persecution, etc. and environmental catastrophes in the form of tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons, etc.

Are there different types of humanitarian crises?

Humanitarian crises can either be natural disasters, human-made disasters or complex emergencies which occur as a result of several factors or events. 

How does the Romanian Red Cross act in humanitarian crises?

The Romanian Red Cross (RRC) acts before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people, to help those who suffer, without discrimination. Through its territorial organization, both in terms of human resources and logistics, the RRC can ensure a prompt response from the very first hours after the occurrence of a disaster by organizing disaster camps, establishing triage points and providing basic first aid. The organization is able to take a leadership role in disaster response operations through the network of branches, professional staff and volunteers, knowledge of local conditions, decades of experience in the field of humanitarian assistance operations management and the ability to respond at national, regional and international level.

For two years, the RRC has supported 1.313.520 Ukrainian citizens with food, hygiene products, health services and psychosocial support, social integration programs, covering a diverse range of needs.

Do technological platforms have a role as facilitators or as support in humanitarian crises?

Technological platforms give people access to RRC services no matter what country they are in. They can find help whenever they need it, in whatever language they choose. It helps to reach larger geographic areas and more people to cover their basic needs quickly with a people-centric approach, which upholds the dignity, flexibility, choice and preferences of recipients.

An what about users and citizens, can they play a relevant role?

The RRC has established a complaint and response mechanism. Anyone can contact the organization with any kind of feedback: questions, requests, suggestions including any problems encountered when using the self-registration application. All this feedback is constantly collected by our team and reported to the technical support team which helps them to make the interface easier and more convenient. Since 2022, the self-registration application has been improved and updated several times. 

How important is public-private collaboration?

Public-private collaboration is crucial to provide a proper response in emergencies and different types of humanitarian crises. It is essential to have the resources and the capacity to provide a large-scale response and this is not easy without support from private companies or private individuals who can consolidate that response by donating funds or offering in-kind donations     . A faster and proper response can save lives and certainly accelerate the recovery of the communities affected by disaster or emergencies.

* Daniel Modoacă is Head of Department for Emergency Situations and Disaster Management at Romanian Red Cross