According to the IFRC, “the Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA)” is a participatory process developed for communities to become more resilient through the assessment and analysis of the risks they face and the identification of actions to reduce these risks. The Enhanced Vulnerability and Capacity (eVCA) has been successfully implemented regionally by various National Societies and is considered to be an important process to helping communities to also take ownership of the actions needed to increase their capacity to cope and decrease their risks and vulnerabilities. The eVCA also allows vulnerable communities to build their resilience under the guidance from various stakeholders.

Persons with disabilities and other persons within vulnerable groups, can be disproportionately impacted by disasters and can therefore be more negatively impacted by disasters. The IFRC fully endorses the inclusion and the active participation of persons within vulnerable and marginalized groups in all community discussions and trainings. A great regional example of this is a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training conducted by the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross Society (TTRCS) with persons with hearing impairments.

St Vincent and the Grenadines is prone to a wide range of natural hazards which include hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and landslides. In 2021, the National Society and their volunteers were asked to bolster the national disaster management system before and after the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano. Staff and volunteers were placed on the frontline again after the passing of Hurricane Lisa in 2022. Both these responses were needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to understand how national societies can provide national assistance while also ensuring the welfare of their volunteers in a multi-hazard environment.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the largest volunteer-based humanitarian organisation in existence, comprising of National Societies in 192 countries with approximately 14 million volunteers. The IFRC and Red Cross staff work together with volunteers in their disaster response, early recovery programmes to build back better and cultivate safer communities by working directly with community members to reduce their risks and vulnerabilities and enhance their capacity to cope before, during and after disasters. In December 2019, the world first learned of COVID-19; an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus originating in China. The first COVID-19 case was reported in the Caribbean in March 2020 and as of 8th March, 2023, there has been over 4 million COVID-19 cases with over 37, 000 deaths in the Caribbean.

Climate change, lack of proper urban planning, increased urbanization, and increases in population are some of the key drivers of vulnerability in the Caribbean region. These factors contribute to the region being prone to a multitude of hazards including, but not limited to, hydrometeorological (hurricanes and drought), seismic (earthquakes) and biological (vector borne diseases such as dengue and zika). The IFRC and the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) encourages the establishment of early warning systems as a means to enhance national and community disaster resilience. The various national societies within the region participated and implemented EWS projects in their respective countries.

Persons receiving CDRT training are expected to establish response teams within their communities and assist their local red cross society and/or their local disaster organization before, during and after a disaster. CDRTs are also expected to develop a CDRT plan which includes using effective methods of communicating disaster alerts and warning messages. CDRTs are after all meant to help their communities until assistance can be obtained from emergency personnel or work with disaster response agencies to provide assistance to their impacted communities.

The core of disaster response is based on community since communities are the first to experience the impact of disaster and are the first potential responders. A community’s ability to help themselves after a disaster is seen as a real need, especially in high risk communities as they can become isolated after disasters, delaying the time taken by emergency personnel to reach these communities. In order to enhance the skills and competencies to prepare for and respond to various emergencies within communities, volunteers were trained in different elements of disaster risk reduction. These trained volunteers form Community Disaster Response Teams (CDRTs).

The goal of the Preparedness for Effective Response (PER) approach is to strengthen the local preparedness capacity of a National Society and its ability to effectively respond in times of a crisis or disaster. The approach consists of highly skilled facilitators guiding National Societies through five phases. These include Orientation; Assessment; Prioritization and Analysis; Workplan; and Action and Accountability. Various countries within the Caribbean have started the PER approach but are at different phases.