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Magazine issued by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) FEBRUARY 2015

MagazineMSB international Operations

The MSB in demand for waste management

the philippines · page 14helena lindberg · page 2

Solidarity into practice

Page 3-11

The fight against Ebola

22

contentsthe philippinesdisaster Waste Management, a new specialty of the MsbPage 12-14

hQ in sWedenreports of Msb’s special organization for Major opera-tionsPage 16-23

Field staFF sUpportVery relevant scenarios4-27

high alertercc at work around the clockPage 30-31

solar poWer proJecta true win-win situation in the drcPage 36

genderthe goal is at least 40 % wom-en in Msb’s Field staff rosterPage 37

the art of doing right in difficult situationsPage 39

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36

For a week, in August 2014, Sweden mobilized all avail-able resources to fight one of the largest forest fires our country has experienced over the past century. Luckily

for us, we were able to draw on the support from the European Emergency Response and Coordination Centre (the ERCC) in the European Commission, and our colleagues in Italy and France offered us rapid assistance when we needed it most. This was only the second time in ten years that Sweden has had to ask for international assistance in a major disaster, but I do not think it was the last time. One of the lessons from the fire this summer is that we need to continue developing our routines, at all levels, for receiving international assistance. Just a few weeks later, the UN Security Council issued an ap-peal to the world for help in managing the dramatic spread of the ebola-virus in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The Eu-ropean Union and its member-states were quick to respond and Sweden has been one of the main contributors in this glob-al effort. You can read more in this magazine about how MSB works together with other international organizations in the fight against ebola.

in complex crisis situations , such as pandemics, where entire societies are affected, there is a strong need for a coordination of efforts amongst a wide range of stakeholders. The decisions that are made across different sectors need to be mutually sup-portive and the communication with the public has to be con-sistent to avoid conflicting messages and panic. This coordi-nation challenge is apparent at all levels, from the local level to the global.

Supporting coordination is one of the core competences of MSB, and we have developed a number of tools that we can use at both national level and international level, to assist other stakeholders and organizations involved in responding to dis-asters and building long-term resilience.

Every year MSB is active in approximately 160 different in-ternational missions, many of them are focused on helping the helpers, providing base camp and logistical support, primari-ly to the UN – but some of our missions are also DRR missions – Disaster Risk Reduction – and sometimes these two types of missions are possible to combine, as in the Philippines. What seems clear to me is that the world would be a far safer place if more of the international aid could support risk reduction, to build resilient societies.

sweden is a corner of the world where catastrophes and disas-ter rarely strike, but when they do, like in August 2014, we be-come very aware of the need to have the mechanisms in place that allow us to give and receive assistance based on mutual solidarity.

Since this summer, EU member-states have all agreed on implementation arrangements for the so called Solidarity Clause, article 222 in the Lisbon Treaty. This clause urges the Union and member-states to act together and use all available instruments to support a member-state that has been affected by terror or a natural disaster. It is of course an important step forward that we have such an agree-ment in place. But at the same time we need to remember that despite all the paragraphs and plans, it is eventually the people who populate the European and international systems for disaster management, who allow solidarity to be put into practice.

it is their experiences , their skills and their knowledge that will play a role the day the unthinkable happens.

Solidarity into practice

MSB – Swedish Civil Contingencies AgencyTelephone Switchboard: +46 771 240 240MSB Duty Officer (available 24/7): +46 54 150 150

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Published by the MSB’s Coordination & Operations Department in conjunction with the MSB’s magazine Tjugofyra7 (www.tjugofyra7.se). Layout: Gunno Ivansson and Per Larsson.Editor: Stig Dahlén ([email protected]). Translated by James Butler, MSB. Printed on environ-mentally friendly paper by Pressgrannar, Linköping, Sweden in February 2015.More copies: If you would like more free copies of this magazine, please send an e-mail, with your address and the number of copies you want to: [email protected]

Cover photo: The fight against Ebola. The operations in West Africa were an unusual and tough challenge for the MSB. They included, among other things, the need to recruit many specially trained doctors and nurses. Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL

helena lindbergMSB Director General

2 msb international operations magazineintrodUction

The Ebola operation is one of the largest the MSB has ever undertaken, and in many ways very unusual.��Usually operations are based

on the MSB’s core areas and conducted by staff already re-cruited and trained by the MSB.

But the MSB has no expe-rience of Ebola care, and nor have main international play-ers either.

“There is no doubt that the international communi-ty, including the MSB, was too slow in the beginning,” said Ann-Charlotte Zackrisson, head of the Operations Section at the MSB.

“The coordination has been more complicated than it usu-ally is. The WHO has done a fantastic job of managing, but they don’t have the operational resources required. There were also many new players who were unaccustomed to work-ing together. ”

to care for ebola patients the MSB quickly recruited doctors and nurses to the Field Staff Roster. 200 people expressed an interest and were soon in-terviewed.

By the end of January 2015, a total of 90 people had been on site in West Africa, both on the bilateral operations and sec-onded to various UN agencies.

“It is one of the largest inter-national missions we have car-ried out,” said Ann-Charlotte Zackrisson.

Most obvious perhaps are the abrupt changes. Projections of spread of the disease have changed rapidly, and the MSB has repeatedly adapted to new circumstances.

international responses after earthquakes, typhoons or wars usually have very little impact on the population of Sweden.

The Ebola operation howev-er led to the concern that Swed-ish health care would be under-mined when specialists were sent to West Africa, and that there is a risk of infection when staff return to Sweden.

“The question has always been whether we expose the indigenous population to in-fection? Here we have had ex-tremely close cooperation with the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare and the Public Health Authority”

This operation is quite sim-

ply much more complex than usual.

“The MSB also has a respon-sibility in a national context. We have regular interaction conferences with other au-

thorities, such as the Migration Board and the Work Environ-ment Agency,” said Ann-Char-lotte Zackrisson.

anniKa n LinDQViST

Team leader Emilio König (left) scouting the site for the tempo-rary Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) on Greenville’s football pitch. Others involved were (from left) Ivonne Camaroni (CMO in Mon-rovia), Arash Izadkhasti (CMO in Greenville) and Anders Karlsson (Transport & Logistics Officer). Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL, MSB.

A very unusual operation

Suspected case proved the whole chain worksA nurse was transported home to Sweden from Sier-ra Leone, after she was ex-posed to the infection. Tests showed that she did not have Ebola.��The nurse was part of a team

of three people in Freetown. On 4 January she was flown by air ambulance to Sweden. The reason was that concentrated chlorine solution, used for dis-infection, had penetrated sev-eral layers of gloves. The chlo-rine resulted in burns to the skin and she ran the risk of in-fection.

The nurse was initially deemed to be perfectly healthy.

After two days at home she pre-sented with symptoms that could indicate Ebola. Samples were taken and she was taken by ambulance to the secure iso-lation unit at Linköping Uni-versity Hospital. After a few days, test results showed that she had not been infected.

Ann-Charlotte Zackrisson, head of the Operations Sec-tion at the MSB, is of course re-lieved that it went well, ”We are also very happy that we took all the safety precautions, and brought her home as quickly as possible and that the whole chain worked.”

In the initial critical stage the MSB built offices, locker rooms and rest rooms with air conditioning for personal working in the Ebola treatment unit in Monrovia.

Facts

The MSB response�� Until 12 January 2015 Swe-

den had allocated approximate-ly USD 60 million to the fight against Ebola. Some of the mon-ey has gone directly to the coun-tries concerned and some to various UN agencies and to or-ganizations like the Swedish Red Cross, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

USD 15 million has been allo-cated to operations via the MSB.

Till mid January 2015 the MSB has assisted with logistics for ac-commodation and offices for in-ternational medical staff in Mon-rovia, helped to improve proce-

dures for Ebola care in Monrovia, organized the training of medical personnel, built a small treat-ment unit, and offered medi-cal care in Greenville, and had a small medical team in Sierra Leone.

During the Ebola outbreak the MSB has also seconded staff to operations being executed WFP and OCHA Senegal, and WFP Sierra Leone, as well as a chief of staff seconded to the UN Mis-sion for Ebola Emergency Re-sponse (UNMEER). The MSB has also supported IHP resourc-es with a large mission in Sierra Leone.

3ebolamsb international operations magazine

��Twice we had to postpone a scheduled interview with Mar-tin. The first time, his journey home had been delayed by a week. The second time, he had been sent back to West Africa (Sierra Leone) with only one day’s notice.

For Martin, autumn 2014 was characterized by the fight against Ebola. It placed great demands on flexibility, not just for him but for the entire or-ganization.

We meet finally on 2nd Jan-uary, when he was at home over the Christmas and New Year period.

“It feels like a hundred years since the recce trip,” he notes.

That was in early September jointly with the Swedish infec-tion doctor Martin Wahl and Morten Helge Hansen from the Danish Emergency Man-agement Agency.

They reconnoitered then in the first instance prior to the IHP operation to arrange ac-commodation, medical care and offices for international medical personnel in the Libe-rian capital Monrovia.

At the same time it was as-sessed that the need for more Ebola hospital beds and more medical professionals was huge.

in mid-october , the WHO asked Sweden to set up an Ebo-la Treatment Centre in Monro-via. Supported by the Swedish Board of Health & Welfare, the MSB quickly recruited medical personnel and prepared for the operation.

But in early November when Martin, as MSB Head of Mis-sion, arrived with a team the situation had changed. Sev-eral other organizations and countries had that already set up medical care facilities, and the number of new patients in Monrovia had dropped dra-matically.

“There were free beds at sev-eral Ebola treatment units,” noted Martin.

So instead of opening an ad-ditional unit, the MSB decided in consultation with WHO and the Liberian Minister of Health that Swedish personnel should help to improve procedures at the existing units.

the work concentrated on one Ebola Treatment Unit (MOD1), which is housed in and around a building from the 1980s. It would have been the Liberian, Ministry of Defence HQ, if the war hadn’t come. MOD 1 had 100 beds and was staffed by medical personnel from the Ministry of Health with support from Cuba and the African Union.

“But when we got there we saw that the Cubans weren’t there working. They didn’t think safety was good enough. The place was a management disaster. It wasn’t possible to see which side was red, infect-ed, and which was green, and there were no barriers that pre-vented suspected infected peo-ple from walking around.”

Martin asked the hospital di-rector Dr. J Soka Moses to stop admission of patients for three days, while they identified the most necessary measures.

“We compiled a list of 63 points, high and low: Mirrors so that staff could observe them-

selves taking off their protec-tive gear, soap, towels, buckets with lids for diarrhea and vom-iting, patient ID and records, a proper gate to the morgue ...”

“We introduced structural changes; things like having dif-ferent colours on staff cloth-ing. Green for hygiene person-nel, blue for medical staff, white for laundry personnel... Simple things, but necessary. ”

the balance is difficult . On one hand it is an emergency situa-tion but on the other hand you can’t just barge in and start giv-ing orders.

“It takes a lot of diploma-cy. Often the staff at the hos-pital thought that we came in and just pushed them out of the way. I had many meetings with the Liberian Ministry of Health and I was at MOD 1 three times a day for discussions.

We also want to build up ca-pacity in the country. I think we managed to convey knowledge about management and hy-giene. If it becomes necessary to start a new centre in a few years, then I believe the know-ledge will still be there.”

A lot of the Swedish doctors and nurses recruited by the MSB had to wait to deploy be-cause the MSB hadn’t opened its own unit in Monrovia.

Medical personnel were need-ed however in the coastal com-munity of Greenville, 300 km south of Monrovia. Swedish staff there helped to set up an Ebola Treatment Unit. Since mid-December Swedish med-ical personnel have been man-ning the unit.

Martin came home on 6th December after five weeks in Liberia. Nine days later he was on a plane again, bound for Si-erra Leone to reconnoiter be-fore an operation there. Since the end of December one doc-tor and two nurses from Swe-

den have been supporting care in a treatment centre set up by Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health.

“the hardest thing on the whole mission was getting clear answers. Where are we going? Where is help most needed? We could have been on site in Sierra Leone much faster if we hadn’t been getting conflicting information.”

He feels that initially the need for specialist medical staff was exaggerated.

“The hard part is working in

protective gear. The treatment itself is not that advanced. It consists of antibiotics, malar-ia treatment and liquids. Any-one who is too sick to drink gets fluids intravenously. Now they have also started to give po-tassium supplements, as it has been found that the sick have very low levels of potassium, which can cause heart rhythm disturbances. Any nurse at any time can put in a drip! ”

Ebola is surrounded by fear and many have hesitated to go. Also, he thinks it is quite exag-gerated.

monrovia · Martin Sjöholm has more than 20 years’ experience of international work. He doesn’t hesitate when asked what he is most proud of. “The mission at the Ebola Treatment Unit in Monrovia. We took care to a higher level and we could transfer our management skills.”

MSB Head of Mission Martin Sjöholm developed trusting and productive cooperation with hospital director Dr. J Soka Moses in Monrovia. ”When I was leaving Dr. Moses called me in and gave me a chief’s cane and an African shirt to show his appreciation,” said Martin Sjöholm. Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL

“My toughest job and what made me most proud”

Difficult balance“On one hand it is an emergency situation but on the other hand you can’t just barge in and start giving or-ders.”Martin Sjöholm, MSB

4 the fight against ebola msb international operations magazine

MSB Head of Mission Martin Sjöholm developed trusting and productive cooperation with hospital director Dr. J Soka Moses in Monrovia. ”When I was leaving Dr. Moses called me in and gave me a chief’s cane and an African shirt to show his appreciation,” said Martin Sjöholm. Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL

“My toughest job and what made me most proud”

“It’s a question of knowledge. If I know what the risks are, I will try to avoid them, just as with any other risks. If I’m in an earthquake country, I won’t live in a house that isn’t safe. If I’m in an Ebola hit country, I won’t shake hands or hug people.”

Martin is trained as a nurse anesthetist. Since 2006 he has been employed full time at the MSB. But he still does the oc-casional shift on the ambu-lance at home in Alingsås to keep his hand in.

It will probably be some

time before he does it again. After the interview, it was de-cided that he should return to West Africa. On 9 January, he flew to Monrovia for two months, responsible for the MSB’s entire Ebola operation. Some units in Liberia will be developed and others will be phased out in early 2015. Mar-tin will also look at ways to ex-pand support to Sierra Leone.

When the Ebola epidemic isn’t demanding all his atten-tion, he is responsible for the Swedish Support Team that assists Swedes overseas, and

he was in charge of a recently completed Swedish solar en-ergy project in Congo (DRC) and the construction of a UN office in Mali.

in 1988, he served with the UN in Lebanon. His first in-ternational operation for the SRSA was in Rwanda in 1994. He lived with his wife and two teenage children in Pakistan in the early 2000s. In recent years, he has worked on short-er missions in Iraq, Turkey, Haiti.

“It’s interesting and excit-

ing, and it is appealing to make a difference.”

And, he said nowhere has the operation been more signifi-cant than at MOD 1 in Monro-via.

“It could just as well have been a source of infection as a good care unit. When I was leaving Dr. Moses called me in and gave me a chief’s cane and an African shirt to show his ap-preciation. They thought we had done a good job.”

anniKa n LinDQViST

Martin Sjöholmborn: 1963

profile: Nurse, Search and res-cue team coordinator, MSB staff, UNDAC member, Team leader

Msb operations: 2005 Paki-stan, earthquake, tent trans-port. 2008 Baghdad, recce UN-HCR. 2009 Namibia, floods, as-sessment team. 2009 Nigeria, capacity building West Africa. 2009 Philippines, floods, EU-MIC. 2009 Tunisia, training Pub-lic Health Pre-deploy. 2010 Haiti, earthquake, Expert EU-MIC. 2011 Turkey, earthquake, transport & logistics. 2014 Iraq IHP/OCHA Coordination, Erbil in Iraq, team leader, 14 days.

5msb international operations magazine

Caroline Lundberg has just finished a one hour shift in the red zone in full protective gear, and the sweat is pouring off her; it is of course vital to drink plenty of water, both before and after a shift.

�� “It would have felt wrong not to coming here once I had the chance, I can manage the risks and handle it mentally. I feel good being here contributing something positive,” said Caroline Lundberg, who is one of the medical

staff deployed by the MSB for the mission in the Liberian capital Monrovia.

It is just before 4 o’clock. Caroline is stand-ing by the fence where the survivors come out. A woman not unlike Caroline stands on the other side, the red zone. They are talking and laughing.

“Sometimes you meet patients you can re-late to. This was a woman of my age who I met for the first time inside the Ebola unit where she was waiting for test results. She was pret-ty sick, vomited and could not keep any food or liquid down, she was weak. Shortly thereaf-ter, she got a positive test result,” said Caroline who has followed this woman’s and many oth-er’s struggles with Ebola.

Caroline’s primary work place is an ETU (Ebola Treatment Unit) called MOD1. The name comes from its location. Behind this

field hospital, rises the unfinished Ministry of Defence headquarters, which today is be-ing used as a water tower to supply MOD1 and MOD2 with water. The MSB, under the World Health Organization (WHO) for its mission in Liberia, has set minimum requirements for the training needed for personnel who will be with Ebola patients inside the so called red zone. This includes ”dry training” and, under supervision, actually starting to work inside with the sick.

“My job is to train Msb personnel who come here to work in an Ebola centre. We teach them how to act and wear their personal pro-tective equipment (PPE). First we train with-out patients in a safe place and then end the training with three shifts inside the red zone where the real patients are cared for,” said

Caroline Lundberg,nurse:“I fe el good being here”monrovia · Working far away in another country. Not having the chance to see your relatives and friends. Daily exposure to the risk of becoming infected by Ebola, one of today’s most dangerous infec-tious diseases. These are all part of everyday life for MSB field staff in Liberia.

Feel good“It would have felt wrong not to coming here once I had the chance”Caroline Lundberg, MSB


Caroline, who together with her colleague Erik Henriksson were the first MSB person-nel to conduct the training and be accredited as tutors.

“We were prioritized to be self-sufficient regarding the training of personnel due to the fact that the MSB would run the Ebola centre in Greenville. But details change frequently due to the prevailing situation, so we try to be as flexible as we can,” said Caroline.

When she comes out from the red zone after having been sprayed with chlorine water there is visible relief on her face. Her skin is red and she is soaked with sweat, but happy. She tells us that the woman of her own age seems bet-ter.

“The day before yesterday when we met she was even weaker. I tried to get her to drink and to cheer up. Now, two days later, I met her

again and she seems better. She had stopped vomiting. I keep my fingers crossed that it will go well,” said Caroline and walks off to drink water.

The greatest personal challenges for per-sonnel working inside the red zone are the maintenance of safety and putting up with the heat. A shift in full PPE lasts about an hour. During that time they are exposed to extreme heat and lose lots of fluid and there are no op-portunities to drink until they have left the red zone and removed their PPE.

“There’s a big risk walking around in full PPE here in Monrovia, because it is humid and hot, and once you go inside you sweat to an in-credible degree. You must always make sure that you eat and drink properly beforehand. Afterwards you have to rest and replenish flu-ids again,” said Caroline.

A small mistake can have disastrous conse-quences. If a person’s PPE is damaged or bro-ken inside the red zone, an investigation is started immediately and the person must wait 21 days before returning to work; or if symp-toms arise, they are immediately evacuated to Sweden.

The woman standing by the fence walks away and after a while she comes out of the gate for survivors, Caroline has written her name on a coloured band and filled in a certif-icate that states that she is healthy. She takes the band and attaches it to the tree outside the centre where survivors’ coloured bands are af-fixed as well as black band for those who have died.

TEXT AND PHOTO

JOHan LUnDaHL

Caroline Lundberg,nurse:“I fe el good being here”

Caroline leaving the red zone.

The woman inside the fence has a huge smile on her face. She has just found out that she can go out the gate for those declared healthy and hence leave the cordoned-off zone.

The greatest personal chal-lenges for per-sonnel working inside the red zone are the maintenance of safety and putting up with the heat.


greenville It started with a small child from Gran Kru. The child who was visiting Polytown fell ill, so the grandmother took the child to the hospital in Greenville. The child died of Ebola on 13 Novem-ber. The grandmother became ill when she returned home alone to Polytown. She was hidden by her relatives until 29 November. Then she died. Now at least four more are infected.��Dock Road is the road that

leads out of Greenville. It is lined with shops of all kinds, there is clothing, food and tele-phone cards, but then the for-est. After about two hours on a relatively good road, the little convoy parks its white all-ter-rain vehicles in a line next to Polytown’s village hall. A short effective meeting is held. The villagers are asked to go home, collect all their family mem-bers and wait for a visit.

“We have been in the vil-lage four times and have ini-tiated contact tracing, which means that all those who have been in contact with someone sick have been registered. Now, trained personnel visit the vil-lage once a day to see any other residents have become ill,” said Mattias Larsson, who was the first doctor sent to Greenville by the MSB

the Msb task in Greenville was the manning of an Ebo-la clinic which was just then being built. Construction had been delayed and there were no known Ebola cases in the region when Mattias and his colleagues left. But the mis-sion changed abruptly and the group in Greenville got caught in a “hotspot” which is the ini-tial stage of an epidemic and a tragedy, and in this case in a lo-cation in Liberia with very lim-ited resources.

“One of our tasks in this area was to raise the status of health care and help to improve pre-paredness for Ebola. What we identified in Sione Coun-ty as we traveled around vari-ous clinics is that there is a lot missing. There is often no elec-tricity, no running water, no la-trines and poor waste disposal. Now we have produced a pro-gramme to improve this,” said Mattias, who just completed his last mission in Sione Coun-ty. He has packed his bags and tomorrow he heads home, first

to Monrovia by helicopter, then a plane to Sweden.

The programme was pro-duced by Mattias and his MSB colleagues in conjunction with local personnel, mainly doctors and nurses, from the district. This includes putting up so-lar panels on 36 clinics, so that they have lighting and the abil-ity to establish secure commu-nications by radio or telephone to the hospital in Greenville. If they get an Ebola case, they can call the hospital in Greenville that has ambulance transport.

“We have also worked to get a multi-task team up and run-ning. They can quickly by mo-torbike ride to the villages that are hard to reach by car. They will have the ability to carry out a safe Ebola evaluation on peo-ple who are sick, they should be able to isolate patients outside their houses in small tent and also wash and disinfect hous-es and transport patients to Greenville. They will also be equipped with emergency bags, perhaps primarily for their own safety,” said Mattias.

none of the contact tracers in-fectious grooves are allowed to go in to the families they visit. The meeting takes place out-side. Someone takes notes, someone asks about how fami-ly members are feeling, if any-one has been ill and how many live in the household. The fam-

ilies are suspicious, a mother with several children is anx-ious. Many are afraid. After the meeting, soap and food is hand-ed out to everyone.

“The biggest problem is that people are kept hidden. Then the family and the community are for a long time exposed to Ebola and the risk of infection spread is high. But they are hid-ing them because of fear. I un-derstand them,” said Mattias.

“If a person is taken to hospi-tal, it is not certain they will be

Mattias Larsson, MD on the MSB team in Liberia worked in Greenville with contact tracing in the villages. Here he is in a village where the contact tracing team is going from house to house.

Contact tracing – the last outpost

Don’t touch“You have to be care-ful and have a tremen-dous respect for Eb-ola as a disease. You can’t touch anyone, disinfect your hands as soon as you have touched anything”Mattias Larsson, doctor MSB

Hans Rosling: “It is the MSB that is drawing the line for Ebola”Friday December 19th - Professor Hans Rosling looks through the dai-ly statistics with his col-leagues at the Health Min-istry in Monrovia.

�� “The counties that are white on the map haven’t had a single case in the past three weeks. But the capital is where it is worst now, about 100 cases a day. But still Swe-den’s mission is not needed there so much, because there are already a large number of treatment units. Here it is all about contact tracing! We need to locate those who have been in contact with the sick and in that way stop the spread of infection.”

Mr Rosling points at the map and continues, “The yel-

low marks indicate an out-break in a village; and where the Swedes have been asked to go. Yes, to Sinoe! Pointless we thought at first but just as the Swedes arrived there was an outbreak; admittedly only five people, but very far away. The Swedes had to improvise and then you are on the right track; and why is that impor-tant? Look, the Ivory Coast is very close, and then there’s the rest of Africa; the Swed-ish operation is that which is now doing everything to stop Ebola so that it doesn’t car-ry on around Africa. Sweden was delegate one of the most strategically important ini-tiatives. It is the MSB that is drawing the line for Ebola and how far east it can go.”

Hans Rosling, world renowned Swedish professor on inter-national health, spent a long period in Liberia and gave MSB great credit for the work of stopping the spread of Ebola. Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL


seen again. Not even if they die. People are unsure of the initial symptoms because they are like any viral disease, and going in-to an Ebola centre like this one here in Greenville, where re-sources are scarce and safety law is risky. People care about each other out in the villages and they are afraid to be sepa-rated from each other. It is a ra-tional fear,” said Mattias.

The sun is directly overhead, and so those who can sit and lie in the shade. The team of con-

tact tracers works slowly on-wards.

“You have to be careful and have a tremendous respect for Ebola as a disease. You can’t touch anyone, disinfect your hands as soon as you have touched anything”.

Mattias will recover for a few weeks in Vietnam before he re-turns to his post at the Karolin-ska Institute.

“It feels a little sad to end the operation, it has been very in-

teresting and intense. I think it is an important job we have done here in Liberia, and it’s been really nice working with the MSB. We have had a great team here in Greenville,” said Mattias, and looks out over Dock Road where darkness has settled.

Text and photo

JOHan LUnDaHL

Mattias Larsson, MD on the MSB team in Liberia worked in Greenville with contact tracing in the villages. Here he is in a village where the contact tracing team is going from house to house.

Contact tracing – the last outpost

I V O R Y

C O A S TSIERRA LEONE

LIBERIA

G U I N E A

A T L A N T I C O C E A N

Monrovia

Greenville

Freetown


White, full protective suits, clumsy boots, big goggles.

The students look like as-tronauts when they learn how to treat Ebola patients without being infected.

��Missions in tropical coun-tries involve a risk of infection that does not exist in Europe, but the risk is usually a side ef-fect of being in the country, but on the Ebola mission is it the task itself of combating the dis-ease.

Exposure is clear and places great demands on good safety practices.

“Its nature is also special. We are used to encountering diseases where there is an ef-fective vaccine or prophylax-is. And even for diseases where the risk of infection is not as with dengue fever, you don´t die if you get good medical care. Ebola is of an entirely different magnitude,” said Anders Nord-mark, one of the MSB’s medical coordinators.

ebola’s high mortality rate re-quires special measures. The personnel deployed by the MSB take a two day training course at the Karolinska Insti-tute in Stockholm. The course builds on experiences from the WHO, and Médecins Sans Frontières.

In autumn 2014 about 100 MSB employees took the course. They gained infor-mation about the Ebola virus and of previous epidemic out-breaks.

For the practical aspects, Karolinska Institutet built a model of an Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) where personnel can practice.

Anders Nordmark has him-self taken the course, “We got to practice lifting a person while wearing the protective equipment. It is not so easy. Tear your glove and you break the entire protective barrier.”

The protective suit is tight. On site in West Africa add the intense heat and the goggles fog up quickly.

a maximum of one hour is what the medical staff are al-lowed to work in the contam-inated zone. Then, the pro-tective equipment must be re-

moved systematically with the help of a colleague. A person undressing receives orders from their colleague about the order the garments should be removed, and then showers with a chlorine syringe for each part of the body exposed.

“There are routines for how to turn your hands, take off the goggles and rinse the boots. The routines must be followed sys-tematically, in all situations.”

the risk of exposure to infec-tion if an incident occurs can create serious psychological stress. In addition, the hard fact that so many of the pa-tients will die, even if they re-ceive the best possible treat-ment.

Additional stress comes from the knowledge that it is complicated to carry out a medical evacuation if someone does get infected.

That health care in the coun-

try is deemed insufficient is not uncom-mon on the MSB’s inter-national oper-ations.

“The nor-mal rescue op-tion is to fly in aid if someone on the field staff becomes ill or suffer an accident. In the Ebola affected countries there are di-rect limits, even when it comes to air ambulance for reasons other than Ebola. Ambulance Flights from neighboring Af-rican countries are not pre-pared to land there, and flights from Europe take too long,” ex-plained Anders Nordmark.

towards the end of 2014 , the USA built a clinic with 25 beds at the airport in Monrovia, as support for international relief personnel suspected or con-

firmed as infected. Procedures around homecoming are spe-cial.

The personnel measure their own body temperature 2-3 times a day when they are on site, make a declaration of health before leaving the coun-try, and continue to take their temperature twice a day for three weeks after they come home. A basic rule is that any-one who does not have a fever is not contagious.

both during operation and af-ter returning home, they have to be particularly aware of the early signs of disease, which are reminiscent of heavy flu symptoms

MSB field staff who have worked on the medical mission are entitled to 21 days paid rest on returning home. And ac-cording to the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare and the Public Health Authority there

is nothing in their guidelines that requires such personnel to stay at home away from their workplaces.

only those who have been in-volved in an incident, such as ripped protective clothing, or who have symptoms, need to avoid contact with others.

But fear in their surround-ings is great, several have felt that they been seen as disease carriers.

“There may be discussions in the family, in the children’s schools or daycare. More than half of those who so far have come home have experienced various negative reactions,” said Folke Ryman in Decem-ber. Mr Ryman works with stress and crisis management for MSB field staff.

anniKa n LinDQViST

Intensive training in an imaginary Ebola Treatment Unit

Prior to deployment to West Africa all medical personnel attended a two-day training course at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, where an Ebola Treatment Unit had been set-up for training purposes. Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL

Anders Nordmark

10 msb international operations magazinethe Fight against ebola

monroviaAt a football pitch in West Point, a shantytown in Mon-rovia, some boys are playing football.

Maria Monahov, who is a gender adviser for the MSB’s operation in Liberia goes up to the boys who immediate-ly gather around her.

She tells them who she is and asks them if they like football, who wins, and asks where their sisters are.

”They are at home and at work, of course,” says one of the boys.��Maria supports staff on site,

but also contributes to how MSB´s work is structured to reach out as effectively as pos-sible to the boys and girls, men and women.

In addition, she works ex-ternally to learn more about the operation in the context of what conditions were like be-fore the Ebola outbreak.

”I am trying to build up an idea of how living conditions were and how the situation is for women, men and children. We want to reach out to as many people as possible with our operation and be as effi-cient as possible in the work that we do,” said Maria.

as a gender expert Maria works on the basis of social gender, not biological. She studies the social differenc-es between men and women, what are their living conditions and what expectations do peo-ple have of themselves.

”The MSB works primari-ly with existing medical and health care staff here in Libe-ria, and I look at what options we have to support them. This mission involves, for example, the discharge of patients. In what way can we support per-sonnel who work with the dis-charge process to think of a gender perspective? What, for example, should be the type of clothing and supplies patients receive when they leave an Eb-ola unit,” said Maria.

the ebola outbreak has hit hard at social structures and the stigma is very strong for people who have had Ebola. People are marked out and per-ceived as different and some-times dangerous. Those who are subject to this stigma may be less able to control and de-cide over their own lives.

”Ebola has had a disruptive effect on the social fabric of the country. There will be peo-ple who disclaim any acquaint-ance with Ebola survivors. Peo-ple are afraid that it is still con-tagious, and it can make fami-lies and friends disown people. As the health care system does not work well, it is usual to re-ly on social safety nets. If these aren’t available, people will be very vulnerable,” said Maria.

Many work on site to pre-vent Ebola spreading to the rest of Africa. But not many of them work with gender issues. Therefore, coordination and communication are extremely

important factors for the work to be successful,” said Maria.

“I see a population that is heavily involved in the fight against Ebola. We are extreme-ly well received by our partners, even in the field of gender. The MSB is one of the few organi-sations that has a gender per-spective in its work. It is also a unique learning experience, both for me and for the MSB. How we should act in these kinds of situations. How we can improve and how we can inte-grate a gender perspective. So I’m proud to be a gender advis-er on this mission,” said Maria.

JOHan LUnDaHL

Facts ebola

�� The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the most extensive since the disease was discovered in southern Sudan in 1976.�� The outbreak started in south-

eastern Guinea in December 2013. Only a few months later it was realized that it had spread to, primarily, the neighbouring coun-tries of Liberia and Sierra Leone.�� In December 2014 the death

toll was nearing 5,000. The num-ber of confirmed cases of infec-tion, according to the WHO were 10, 000. In mid-January 2015 the numbers had risen to 8,429 dead and a total of 21 296 confirmed cases of infection.�� The breakdown by country was

according to WHO on 15 Janu-ary this:

Sierra Leone 10,124 cases, 3,062 deaths Liberia 8331 cases, 3538 deaths Guinea 2806 cases, 1814 deaths Mali 8 cases, 6 deaths Nigeria 20 cases, 8 deaths Senegal 1 case, 0 dead Spain 1 case, 0 dead United Kingdom 1 case, 0 dead United States 4 cases, 1 dead

�� Previous Ebola epidemics have died out, but in such cases they have been in isolated villages in the jungle. �� The virus is spread through

blood and other bodily fluids of infected people. Those who care for the sick are those who are most at risk of infection.

”Girls don’t play football”

Maria Monahov, MSB gender adviser, had a lot of contact with local medical staff in Liberia. Here she is, at her desk, discussing a project in a residential area in Monrovia. Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL

11msb international operations magazine gender

Tacloban city looked like it had been hit by an earthquake, a super typhoon and a tsunami all at once. The picture was taken when the MSB team was en route from the air-port to the city’s sports arena, where the camp was established.

IHP teams arrived quickly in the PhilippinesThe Philippines is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries in terms of natural disasters.

��Only three weeks after a very powerful earthquake in Octo-ber 2013, parts of the Philip-pines were hit by a typhoon, with the highest wind speed ever recorded, which whipped up waves that were up to six metres high. Locally the ty-phoon was called Yolanda, in-ternationally it was called Hai-yan. It hit with full force on Fri-day 8 November 2013.

On the other side of the globe in the coming weeks requests for assistance came flooding in to the MSB. For major disasters where there is much demand

for the MSB’s special compe-tence, the agency sets up its Special Organization to deal with the emergency. This does not happen often but it hap-pened after the typhoon in the Philippines (read more about this in the report on pages 16-23 in this issue).

the Msb had staff on site in the Philippines during the emergency stage, and has since then been an important actor for the early recovery mission.

The requests from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) were channelled to the IHP. In its role at the time as IHP pres-ident the MSB evaluated the requests and coordinated the

assistance options around the IHP countries.

the ihp responded quickly and deployed three teams to build two modules for OSSOC (On-Site Operations Coordination Centre) and two base-camps (IHP Light Base Camp) to cre-ate working conditions for UN staff. The teams were placed in three of the hardest hit cities, Tacloban, Guiuan and Ormoc.

One of the teams, with 10 members, mostly MSB field staff, was sent to the largest of the three cities, Tacloban, which at the time of the ty-phoon had 220,000 inhabit-ants.

“We were among the first international relief teams in

place. Via a military airport in Manila we got to Tacloban. We slept the first night on the floor of the mayor’s office. One week after the disaster we had set up both a functioning base camp and an OSSOC,” said Ka-rin Hugelius, on the team as a nurse.

the disaster claimed more than 7,000 lives. The inhabit-ants of the Philippines have ex-tensive experience of tropical

storms and typhoons, but had never experienced anything like this.

The authorities tried to warn people, but the typhoon was bigger than anyone could have predicted. It gained extra pow-er as it approached land, and few people had time to take shelter or evacuate.

Most were prepared for the very strong winds. But not those wind speeds. The su-per typhoon levelled almost everything. What few had ex-pected were the storm surge with waves several metres high that swept in over Tacloban and drowned thousands.

Afterwards it looked as if a devastating earthquake and

Despite the situation“Filipinos have an amazing ability to look after themselves”Karin Hugelius, MSB

12 the philippines msb international operations magazine

Early Recovery – an increasingly vital aspect of MSB operationsSweden has been running humanitarian aid opera-tions since 1988. Over the years most of the effort has gone into cooperating, primarily with various UN bodies, to rescue people after earthquakes, floods and other disasters.

�� In recent years, Sweden, in the form of the MSB, has also become an important ac-tor both before and after the emergency life threatening stage. This is about providing regions and countries with long-term support for disas-ter risk reduction, capacity building, and early recovery.

“An important part of ear-ly recovery after a natural dis-aster is disaster waste man-agement. In the areas of the Philippines hit hardest by the typhoon the need for waste management was immense. On request from the UNDP the MSB deployed a disaster waste management team to Tacloban in February 2014. The work of the team was much appreciated and their mission has been extend-ed to February 2015,” said Jakob Wernerman, MSB pro-gramme manager for Disaster Risk Reduction and Early Re-covery.

“At the start of the mis-sion, the work was all about dealing with large amounts

of waste in a safe manner in Tacloban and other af-fected urban areas. In late autumn 2014, the project had increas-ingly shifted

focus to developing the ca-pacity of local government structures to effectively take over responsibility for waste management in the affected regions and for the particu-lar dumpsites where the MSB team had been working.”

Jakob Wernerman expects an increase in requests for disas-ter waste management oper-ations:

“The MSB operations in the Philippines showed how important this is in the after-math of disasters. It is a cru-cial element to enable soci-ety to rebuild better after a disaster. I am convinced that the need for support when it comes to disaster waste man-agement around the world is going to increase. And the MSB is willing to commit re-sources to further strengthen the capacity when it comes to disaster waste management and supporting affected com-munities in close collabora-tion with our partners, such as the UNDP.”

The office section of the MSB’s light base-camp in Tacloban. Photo: MSB

Team leader Sema Panboon looking out over the accommodation tents in the camp. Photo: ULRIKA EDÉN,

Photo: BJÖRN SVÄRD,

IHP teams arrived quickly in the Philippinestsunami had hit Tacloban. The same situation existed in other coastal towns.

“Even a week after the dis-aster, many still lay dead in the streets before being picked up by trucks, which drove back and forth to mass graves. What struck me most was the silence everywhere. People sat with empty eyes. But just days later we saw how they started hang-ing out washing and some trade began. Filipinos have an amaz-ing ability to look after them-selves, despite a seemingly hopeless situation,” said Karin Hugelius.

the base camps that the IHP teams built were of great use to UN personnel. The camps

served as accommodation and offices with facilities for satel-lite communications. They are self-sufficient in water, elec-tricity and food.

The camp in Tacloban, set up in the city’s sports arena, was actually intended to serve 32 people, but on some occasions, when the pressure was great-est, 62 people were living there.

The countries in IHP con-tribute in various ways with human and materiel resources.

Getting the OSSOC up and running so quickly created con-ditions for early coordination of the work between UN organ-izations and others who were on site with aid resources.

STig DaHLÉn

Jakob Wernerman

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haiyan/yolanda�� Typhoon Haiyan (locally

called Yolanda) hit Eastern Sa-mar Island at 0440 on 8 Novem-ber 2013. It swept through the central Philippines. When the typhoon made landfall, winds of over 300 km per hour were re-corded. It caused a storm surge, which in some places was 6 me-ter high.

The death toll has been esti-mated at 7,200 and 29,000 peo-ple were injured. 16 million peo-ple in 44 provinces were affected in one way or another.

The typhoon destroyed 550,000 houses and caused damage to another 600,000 and 4.4 million people were made homeless.

The large town hardest hit by the typhoon was Tacloban with 220,000 inhabitants.


Key role for the MSB indisaster waste managementTaCloBan The emergency phase with life-sav-ing operations and much more moved gradually into Early Recovery and long-term projects.��And in that as well the MSB

had a prominent role, not least in terms of disaster waste man-agement. An MSB team with an average of 4 experts has, since February 2014, been support-ing the UNDP in the field disas-ter waste management.

Originally, the operation was scheduled to run until August 2014, but the team’s work has been so appreciated and impor-tant for the environment that the UNDP requested an exten-sion until February 2015.

this extended mission was made possible in large part by the UNDP in April receiving USD 3,485 000 in funding from UNICEF. An additional and important economic contribu-tion in the recovery work came from the Korea Internation-

al Cooperation Agency (KOI-CA) – who gave USD 1,300,000 for action from mid-2014 on-wards.

Three quarters of the team in April we met in Tacloban and other hard-hit towns have carried on working in autumn 2014. Aiden Short, a 26 year old Frenchman and team mem-ber explained how the project changed from February to late April:

“We are here to try and shift from an immediate recovery to an early recovery which means that a lot of the work we have done has moved away from de-bris to waste management. We are talking about municipal waste, health care waste and hazardous waste. We are try-ing to ensure that the damage that has been caused to infra-

structure by Yolanda can be re-covered and repaired and dealt with appropriately.

By the time we got here most of the debris created by Yolan-da had been moved out of are-as of concern and where people are living, and moved to dump-sites. These areas had been the municipal dumpsite before Yolanda and all of a sudden more waste was dumped there than had normally been creat-ed in decades.

That caused all kinds of safe-ty issues at the dumpsite. Lots of waste means lots of danger, lots of hazards and we have been working to try to ensure that they are reduced as much as possible.”

aiden’s specialty is actually livelihood in disaster areas, but the reality was that he had to put most of his focus on medi-cal waste,

“It is very difficult to deal with medical waste. It can

cause disease and spread dis-ease. We arrived at a situation with bandages, needles, scal-pels, blood samples and oth-er sorts of not so nice things, for example, amputations that needed to be moved to specific areas that will ensure safety for as many people as possible.”

When the tsunami hit the Bethany Hospital in central Ta-cloban lots of syringes and oth-er medical waste was spread over an area of over 100m2.

Aiden Short spent a lot of time in Tacloban and Ormoc teaching medical staff at the hospital to sort the medical waste there according to cer-tain routines, before it was transported for final disposal.

The team member that spent most time at Tacloban’s main dumpsite Santo Niño is Thor-sten Kallnischkies, a geologist from Berlin, Germany. His ar-ea of expertise is disaster waste management, hazardous waste,

demolition and contaminated land.

“The size of the dumpsite was initially one hectare, now it is 2 hectares because there was a lot of debris dumped here. Almost half a million cubic meters of disaster debris was dumped, a mixture of mud, wood and oth-er solid waste,” said Kallnisch-kies at the end of April.

“The first urgent problem was the slope of the dumpsite. It was very steep, which created an insecure situation. We have achieved a lot already, making the slopes safer, thanks mostly to getting hold of modern dig-gers and caterpillars. We also covered large parts which will make it easy for the authori-ties here to eventually close the dumpsite and they will know exactly what needs to be done.”

thorsten added , “All our work aims to build back up better. Whatever we do here, we don´t try to get back to normal, but to

This was the MSB waste management team, as was, from February to the end of April 2014. Four members and four nationalities, from left: Sören Säf, Aiden Short, Ana Fonseca and Thorsten Kallnischkies. Photo: StIg DAhLÉN

14 THE PHILIPPINES–EarLy rEcovEry msb international operations magazine

improve the situation and do it in a sustainable way.”

In mid-August, Sören Säf, a Swedish civil engineer on the MSB team, reported that, “More than 90% of Santo Niño’s surface has been cov-ered with a layer of soil. So far about 20cm, when we’re done, everything will be covered with 60cm. The 10% that isn’t cov-ered at the moment is the part that will continue to be used until a new landfill site outside of Tacloban is completed.”

a major challenge for Sören Säf and the team has been to ensure that rain water seep-ing through the landfill is con-trolled so that it all comes out at one point and is then pre-vented from reaching the groundwater and thus affect-ing drinking water and the en-vironment. This has been a particularly important issue here because a new residential area is being planned, where the north side being only 250m from the Santo Niño dumpsite.

Ana Fonseca from Portugal was also on the team, but fin-ished her work in late April. She was replaced by Faisal Ridwan, from Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

The aforementioned funding from UNICEF and KOICA has created opportunities for the development of longer term recovery and capacity-building components. Here are some ex-amples:��Management of dumpsites

in about 10 affected larger ur-ban areas,��Controlled demolition of

damaged and unsafe infra-structure,��Waste management liveli-

hood projects��Detailed engineering design

for and construction of sani-tary landfills.

sören säf said , “At a sanitary landfill all waste is placed in a controllable manner, and cov-ered with earth. There is also some kind of membrane in the bottom that prevents the toxic leachate from leaking out into the environment. Instead, it is led to a common point, where it is treated. We from the MSB and UNDP have an important role to play in conjunction with local authorities to determine where these landfills should be located, and also to design them. The work will contin-ue even after the MSB has fin-ished its mission and therefore it is important that we ensure that this capacity remains with the UNDP.”

STig DaHLÉnThree photos showing how much of Santo Niño was transformed from the time the MSB team arrived on site. The top photo was taken on 27 February, the middle on 4 April and the bottom on 4 August. Photo: thoRStEN KALLNISChKIES

Thorsten Kallnischkies oversees a digger in action at the Santo Niño dumpsite. Photo: StIg DAhLÉN


��On the morning of Saturday 9 November an unofficial request was received from OCHA to build a base camp and coordination centres. In the afternoon, Sweden, via the MSB, offi-cially answered yes.

Before each request for assistance there are several questions to ask:

“Is the operation covered by the MSB’s man-date? Do we have the capacity? Are there other actors that could do the job better? ”

that is christian di schiena mentioning some of the important questions that must be an-swered.

He is deputy head of the MSB’s Operations Section and was the duty manager on that weekend. The organization was warned that wind speeds were slightly out of the ordinary and that they would probably get a request.

As early as Friday 8 November organiza-tions in the International Humanitarian Part-nership (IHP) held a preparatory conference to decide what each entity could assist with.

“At eight o’clock on Saturday morning, OCHA called us and said they urgently need-ed support to build a base camp and coordina-tion centres (OSOCC) for the staff who would be working there. I explained that I needed an official written request. It came in the mail at ten o’clock,” said Christian Di Schiena.

OCHA, is the UN Office for the Coordina-tion of Humanitarian Affairs. Their task is to coordinate the other UN agencies, such as UNICEF and the WFP, so that aid is as effec-tive as possible.

setting up coordination centres and func-tional base camps where the UN staff on site can live, eat and work has become a specialty for the MSB and IHP.

When it had to do with the typhoon in the Philippines, it was easy to answer yes to the re-quest.

“It is situations like that that we are here for. We have the materials necessary; and we have the people on our field staff roster with

the right skills. And it was a natural disaster in a stable environment, that is to say there were no ongoing conflicts and there was no risk for kidnapping.”

During the morning Christian Di Schiena al-so communicated with the other countries in the IHP.

At noon a first collaboration conference with the relevant MSB staff was announced, at 13.00 hours a meeting was held where it was decided who would do what, and at 16.00 hours, a telephone conference was held with the IHP.

“By then everyone had had time to get an-swers from their respective ministries. At 17.00 hours we officially answered yes.”

the Msb has a government mandate to make decisions on these types of inquiries, and in turn to request financing from Sida (Swed-ish International Development Cooperation Agency).

A central issue for every country responding with aid is: do we have any of our own nationals in the disaster area?

“In this region there are thousands of Swedes and initially it was difficult to make contact with them, when the internet and tele-phone nets were down. The Swedish Response Team (SRT) was ready to assist Swedes in the area and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines with staff from Bangkok.”

As luck would have it, no Swedes were among those directly affected.

Given the tremendous wind forces there were surprisingly few fatalities from the ty-phoon. Official figures stated more than 6,000 dead.

“But it is the number of people affected that determines how large an operation will be,” said Christian Di Schiena.

And that figure was in the millions. Up to two million people were said to have been left homeless and six million displaced.

It is also necessary to coordinate with oth-er relevant Swedish authorities and organi-

The basic requirement for deployed MSB people to perform a pro-fessional job is that there is a strong back up from the HQ in Sweden. During the emergency stage of very large international operations the MSB sets up its Special Organization, which devotes itself en-tirely to the operation in question. Such was the case after the typhoon Haiyan, a.k.a. Yolanda. A well prepared organization at HQ immediately started to rapidly deploy staff to the disaster area and to support them during the op-eration. On the following pages you can read how the various services at the MSB were engaged.

The HQ in Sweden plays an important role for all types of international operations. This becomes especially clear during major emergencies when the MSB initiates its Special Organization for major operations. Examples of such operations re-cently are those for the super typhoon in the Philippines, the serious forest fire in Sweden in summer 2014 and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Photo: JohAN EKLUND

HQ makes it possible

Media policy“We have a few spokespersons who relay the same message”Christian Di Schiena, MSB

zations, in this case for example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare. And contact with the me-dia was important.

there was great interest from news editors, especially from the Swedish press, but also from the international media.

“It became known that Sweden was quick to offer help. From the MSB, we ensure that we have a few spokespersons who relay the same message. For a week I was on TV morning news programmes almost every day. It is im-portant to tell the public what help we give to those affected by the disaster, and it was good that some of our staff in the field were blog-

tExt: anniKa n LinDQViST

16 Special OrganizatiOn fOr majOr OperatiOnS

The HQ in Sweden plays an important role for all types of international operations. This becomes especially clear during major emergencies when the MSB initiates its Special Organization for major operations. Examples of such operations re-cently are those for the super typhoon in the Philippines, the serious forest fire in Sweden in summer 2014 and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Photo: JohAN EKLUND

ging, but it is also necessary to relieve field staff on site, so that they can devote most of their energy to the immediate work,” said Christian Di Schiena.

the Msb information section works closely with management to determine which mes-sages should be relayed and via which chan-nels.

“We also coordinate with the website kris-information.se and we can link to, for exam-ple, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, to inform the public, for example, on current travel ad-vice and where to turn to for more information about relatives.”

Christian Di Schiena, deputy head of the MSB’s Operations Section.

Decision-making without the red tape��A verbal OK on the phone to inject money

and a written decision retrospectively; such is the route for emergency responses.

The MSB has a government mandate to make decisions about urgent requests for disaster assistance.

The Swedish authority Sida finances oper-ations and must of course also be asked. But handling is quick and without red tape.

“We have an agreement with Sida, that in the event of emergency incidents we can ring them even at the weekend and get a verbal approval,” said Ann-Charlotte Zackrisson, head of the Operations Section.


Global monitoring is an important task of the Duty Officer Service. Four days before the typhoon hit the Philippines its progress was already being monitored with great interest at the MSB. At an early stage the MSB’s Security Adviser (pictured: Axel Wikerstål) was brought in to quickly provide a standpoint on any possible operations from a safety and security perspective. Photo: JohAN EKLUND

Global monitors noted early something was going to happenSeveral days before the MSB received a request to send assistance to the Philip-pines, its Global Monitors had noted that something big was going to happen.

��The MSB’s Duty Officer Ser-vice is staffed 24/7. Three Duty Officers work during normal office hours. Two of them work exclusively as Global Moni-tors, one that monitors Swe-den and one that monitors the rest of the world. Officers are in the office until 18.00 hours, weekdays. After that the Duty Officer works from home and is always available by phone

every day of the year.“There are about 15 of us who

rotate as Duty Officer,” said Jo-hannes Östlund.

the section’s tasks are very wide ranging; everything from storms that cripple sewer sys-tems in small Swedish towns, to complex forest fires that are hard to extinguish, to prepara-tions in connection with Presi-dent Obama’s state visit to Swe-den, to floods in the Balkans, and the conflict in Ukraine can all require the Global Monitors to sound the alarm and call the next person up the command chain.

“When something happens we immediately send text mes-sages to certain key employ-ees,” said Johannes Östlund.

The Global Monitors can also directly activate services where time is of the essence. These in-clude search & rescue after earthquakes or SNAM (Swed-ish National Air Medevac).

“a very important service that the Duty Officers perform is information checking and ver-ifying that which is true. This means managing the spread-ing of rumours and submitting a correct and coordinated mes-sage,” said Anders Olsson, head

of Duty Officer Service.The MSB has an office in

Stockholm and an office in Karlstad, about 300km west of Stockholm. At both venues the Global Monitors sit in a room, the walls covered with comput-er and TV screens, where they monitor the progress of events in Sweden and abroad.

Every weekday morning at 0900 there is a staff briefing. Karlstad and Stockholm com-municate via video-link. Some-times Kristinehamn is also linked up to the briefing, Kris-tinehamn is the MSB Depot with all the materiel needed for international operations, and

sometimes the two MSB colleg-es, Sandö and Revinge are also linked in to the briefing.

one of the services that the MSB can follow on the screens is the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS).

On 4th November, five days before UN agencies sent a re-quest to the MSB for help, the Global Monitors could see that GDACS had issued a red alert for the approaching typhoon Haiyan, also called Yolanda.


The time difference wears out programme officers

MSB coordinated IHP work

Situation reports deliver coordinated info to those who need it

“You have to keep an eye on your staff so they don’t burn out,” said Patrik Jansson programme manager for hu-manitarian operations.

��Every person deployed to an operation is always assigned a programme officer. It is the programme officer that field staff turn to first for all issues.

The programme officer is

safe at home, without the risk of storms or snakes and with a functioning internet, but the task can be strenuous all the same.

The time difference between Sweden and the Philippines is seven hours during the win-ter, and field staff might need to reach the programme officer round the clock. It is not unu-sual for a programme officer to

be woken in the middle of the night.

“The time difference alone really wears people out,” said Patrik Jansson, who coordi-nated the four programme of-ficers who worked solely with the Philippines during the ini-tial phase of the operation.

patrik Jansson has worked for 10 years with international op-

erations and claims that the Philippines was different to most:

“The tremendous inher-ent desire for recovery was very unique. It is a relative-ly well-functioning society, so we were able to dismantle our camps rather quickly because the local people got small ho-tels and food markets up and running very fast.”

As chair for the IHP (In-ternational Humanitarian Partnership) the MSB was responsible for coordinating IHP work after Haiyan.

��The IHP chair rotates among the eight member organiza-tions, representing relief and preparedness organizations in their respective countries, Sweden, Estonia, Finland,

Norway, Denmark, UK, Lux-embourg and Germany. From 1 July 2013 to 31 December 2014, Sweden’s MSB had the Chair; and that is why the MSB coor-dinated IHP work after Hai-yan.

this cooperative work was managed by Erik Pütsep:

“Conditions vary from coun-try to country. How much mon-

ey are governments prepared to allocate? What type of mate-rial can the members contrib-ute? What safety assessments are carried out by members? Are all members prepared to let their field staff deploy to areas affected by the disaster?”

Initially, every day for sev-eral hours Erik sat in on tele-phone conferences with IHP colleagues in the other mem-

ber organizations.“The time required then

dropped to 15-20 minutes for the joint telephone meeting. You can hold short meetings with a well prepared agenda. After that, the various sectors, such as logistics and HR, held their own meetings, to save time.”

During major incidents the MSB’s Duty Officer Service produces daily situation reports. Swe-den’s Government Offic-es were one of the client groups for information on Haiyan.

�� Seven people work on the MSB’s Analysis Service pro-ducing in-depth analyses of world events.

Some events are of such importance that the head of the Global Monitoring and Analysis Section can take the decision for the section to produce situa-tion reports. This can cov-er everything from forest fires and floods in Sweden to complex conflict situa-tions in the Central African Republic and South Sudan; or natural disasters such as typhoon Haiyan.

The primary purpose of situation reports is to pro-vide different entities with-in the MSB with accurate and relevant information, but often other agencies al-so have need of them.

“For Haiyan, Sweden’s Government Offices were the main external client,” said Gustav Ehrengren.

Situation reports are also part of the MSB’s Special Or-ganization.

For 13 days situation re-ports on Haiyan were pro-duced; and as the days passed there was a shift in the focus of the situation reports. Towards the end, they report on what various MSB sections do, and how the Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs, the National Criminal Police and the Armed Forc-es have acted, and on the se-curity situation, both for the local population and field staff deployed to the Philip-pines.

“Situation reports vary depending on the entities that need the information,” explained Gustav Ehren-gren.

As emergencies stabi-lize, situation reports mini-mize in frequency and final-ly cease.

In connection with major MSB operations programme manager Patrik Jansson has to be available around the clock. When it is morning where the operation is it might be night time in Sweden. Here is Patrik Jansson discussing the operation in the Philippines with a col-league. Photo: JohAN EKLUND


Fast work is the order of the day on the MSB’s Field Staff Section when a response team is to be sent overseas. Monica Eliasson, Section HR officer was involved with the recruiting of field staff for the response team deployed to the Philippines. Photo: JohAN EKLUND

150 were asked, 40 said yes within a dayThe MSB issued a prelimi-nary inquiry about deploy-ment to the Philippines to 150 people registered on the Field Staff Roster (FSR), and almost immediately 40 said they were willing to go.

��Once the decision was tak-en to deploy field staff the job of deciding who to deploy re-mained.

Monica Eliasson and her col-leagues on the Field Staff Sec-tion searched the field staff management system for the re-quired skills: team leader, cook, ICT technicians, camp techni-cians, logisticians...

A preliminary e-mail was sent at 13:22 on Saturday 9th November to the 150 people on the FSR who had any of the re-quired profiles. At 15:59 the full request e-mail was sent.

“They were given 24 hours

to respond. After one day, 40 of them accepted,” said Monica Eliasson.

Then the work began on cre-ating a team.

“We have to take into ac-count how well we think they will work together. This was also a major disaster where everything was very messy. Therefore, we decided initial-ly to deploy those with experi-ence.”

Later on, further inquiries came from the typhoon-hit ar-eas about building a base camp and so more teams were de-ployed.

“in the next wave , we try to de-ploy some new people, so that they have a chance to gain ex-perience.”

Personnel on the Operations Section make the travel ar-rangements for the deployed

field staff, whereas the Field Staff Section is responsible for such things as medical checks, information on psychosocial support and vaccinations.

“in the philippines , Japa-nese encephalitis is one of the health risks. Not everyone had protection against the disease. Some had to take the vaccina-tion at the airport and others had to take the vaccine with them. A nurse was deployed with the team.”

Other issues that have to be sorted out are contracts, insur-ance policies and visas.

It is not always obvious that relief personnel will be let into a country without formalities.

“For the first group the UN had spoken to the Philippine authorities, so they dropped the visa requirement. The sec-ond time round it was more

complicated,” said Monica Eli-asson.

On Monday 11th November, a Swedish Hercules plane de-parted with the equipment. On Tuesday 12th November the team of 25 departed, eight of

whom had been selected from the FSR, the others came from rosters in the other IHP coun-tries. On Thursday 14th No-vember, the first team could start work in the disaster area.

Here is the IHP team that built offices and accommodation for UN staff in the hard-hit city of Tacloban.


64 other MSB missions ongoing simultaneously

It’s important to learn from every mission

While the MSB was prepar-ing for the Philippines re-sponse, there were 95 field staff already deployed to other assignments. They continued to receive support from the MSB in Sweden, as usual.

��One person working on dis-aster risk management in Bot-swana, a supply and logistics officer in Lebanon, two WASH officers in Myanmar, one per-

son monitoring the tense peace in Georgia ...

There were 64 MSB missions in progress round the globe and 95 people were deployed in the same week that Typhoon Hai-yan struck.

their support needs do not minimize because something dramatic has happened else-where.

“We have regular contact with the personnel we deploy

on missions. If there is a very tense security situation, such as during a period in Libya, then we maintain daily contact,” said Ann-Charlotte Zackrisson, Head of Operations Section.

Other operational locations are not as unsettled, but even then, deployed personnel have regular contact with their pro-ject managers. Often via email and sometimes by phone.

“At least once a week we make contact with everyone.

Above all we want to know how the person is feeling and whether he or she needs extra support.”

in addition, the Msb finds out the operations themselves are progressing and how well the field staff are doing their job. But questions about results and performance are not asked as often as those about the well-being of personnel.

And can we be even better next time?

Two seminars have been held since the Haiyan opera-tions, so as to learn lessons from operational experi-ences.

��MSB and IHP have received a lot of praise for the help they delivered to UN personnel in the Philippines.

But what do those who were in the field think? What worked well, what needs to be im-proved?

Feedback is produced during and after every operation, how-

ever little there is. Often field staff only report to their project manager, who then passes it on.

The MSB also holds physical meetings for field staff.

“Sometimes we assemble those who have the same spe-cific skills, when we need to develop our methods. We have done that for example in the WASH area, and for our mine action personnel,” said Devel-opment Officer Ronak Bozorgi.

in connection with large oper-ations the MSB usually arrang-es joint reunions for those who were deployed.

After Haiyan two such semi-nars were held. One for IHP administra-tors, the oth-er for Swedish field staff.

“One lesson learned is that organizations need lots of project managers to ensure the quality of the op-eration and to provide field staff with good support. And one of the greatest challenges during crises is information manage-ment, which we must review. At all disasters the flow of infor-

mation is impenetrable, so it is necessary to determine what is correct and relevant. We must also ensure that information does not create extra work in the field, but instead facilitates our work,” said Erik Pütsep who was project manager during the operation and also works with lessons learned.

“But I understand from my seasoned colleagues that our work has evolved since the huge operations in Haiti and Paki-stan in 2010. For every humani-tarian disaster we get better and better,” said Erik Pütsep.

The Special organization enables the continuation of other operationsEven if a major incident requires a lot of work, the operations in progress cannot be halted. There-fore, the MSB invokes its Special Organization for disasters like Haiyan.��Ordinarily, the MSB has

field staff deployed on 50-60 operations simultane-ously, all over the world. These may be large opera-tions with a dozen or so peo-ple on site. But more com-mon is a single expert sec-onded to a UN agency.

those operations cannot of course stop when a major incident occurs.

Therefore, the Special Or-ganization is set in motion in Sweden, and this focus-es completely on the major incident, while others take over responsibility for oper-ations already ongoing.

When Haiyan occurred the Special Organization contained seven services with a total of some 20 peo-ple on duty simultaneously.

“It be-comes al-most like a mini-au-thority. In-cluded, among oth-er things, are logis-tics, HR, cri-sis coordination and com-munication. We maintained the Special Organization for about two weeks,” said Christian Di Schiena, who was Operational Manager of the Special Organization.

during the most labour in-tensive periods, things that could wait were put on hold, for example, referrals.

“We had also planned a residential course with the section during that time, but we cancelled that.”

�� For the major forest fire that hit Sweden in summer 2014 and during the MSB re-sponse to the Ebola emer-gency in West Africa the MSB also invoked its Special Or-ganization for major opera-tions.

Maria Jontén, one of the MSB duty officers, and one of those who monitor current events that may affect MSB operations in Sweden and overseas. Photo: JohAN EKLUND

Christian Di Schiena

Erik Pütsep


��At lunchtime on Saturday 9th November 2013, Eva Lars-son, who works on the Logis-tics and Support Section, is called in to the office in Karl-stad. It was decided that the MSB would deploy personnel and equipment to the Philip-pines.

But how was it all to be trans-ported?

“I immediately sent an in-quiry to the transport suppli-ers we have contracts with. At that time we knew nothing about the extent, so the inquiry was vague, how fast could they get aircraft ready? What will it cost?” said Eva Larsson.

She attended the afternoon staff meeting and tried to get a clearer idea of the needs.

On Sunday her colleague

Victoria Ostrenius came to work. By then, the Field Staff Support Section had selected the field staff for deployment. They would have with them ICT equipment, such as com-puters and mobile phones, and personal equipment, such as hats, t-shirts and rainwear.

For each person on the MSB Field Staff Roster there are de-tailed notes regarding clothing and shoe sizes, so that deployed field staff have equipment in the right sizes.

Personnel at the MSB Depot in Kristinehamn pack all ma-terial for dispatch and compile the documentation required prior to shipment. Documen-tation includes customs invoic-es, packing lists, declarations of

dangerous goods, and vehicle documents.

The Logistics & Support Sec-tion received, via contractors, information and photos that showed the extent of the great devastation, for example, at the airport in Tacloban.

on Monday 11th November a C130 Hercules departed from Örebro Airport, carrying tents, water purification equipment, generators and ICT equip-ment.

The next day a large cargo plane, an Ilyushin IL-76 de-parted for the Philippines. The MSB’s Danish IHP partner DE-MA was responsible for this plane.

On board the Hercules were two Toyota Land Cruisers, complete with trailers. The de-cision to deploy them down was not completely obvious, but turned out in retrospect to be just right, as there was a great shortage of vehicles in the area.

Eva Larsson and Viktoria

Ostrenius went to the airport in Örebro and supervised the loading, both of the Hercu-les aircraft that departed on the Monday, and the Ilyushin that departed on the Tuesday and the two Antonov-12 car-go planes that departed on the Thursday carrying tarpaulins and tents.

“At the depot in Kristine-hamn they have prepared pack-ing lists of the material that is assessed will fit on the aircraft. We will take these with us to the airport. If the loadmaster as-sesses otherwise what will fit in the aircraft we will correct the

lists accordingly.”The large operations include

a remarkable blend of great stress and sometimes long pe-riods of waiting, such as at Öre-bro Airport, when they were loading. One’s private life has to take a back seat, as the job comes first.

“But the large operations are so stimulating! It’s fun to be involved and solve important tasks,” said Eva Larsson and Viktoria Ostrenius.

When the operation is over the question remains of what will happen with all the equipment. Often, the project manage-ment have decided in advance that equipment will be donated to the beneficiary country.

“But if it is to be flown home again it is the Logistics & Sup-port Section that arranges transportation and manages the documentation,” said Vik-toria Ostrenius.

Transportation will be procured and materiel prepared. Field staff need clothes in the right size. The Logistics & Support Section takes care of all that.

Eva Larsson (left) and Viktoria Ostrenius (on the MSB’s Logistics & Support Section) are two of the key people in the chain from ordering materiel to its departure from Sweden. Photo: JohAN EKLUND

Stimulating“But the large oper-ations are so stimu-lating! It’s fun to be involved and solve im-portant tasks”Eva Larsson and Viktoria Ostrenius, MSB

Fast work when materiel is t o be sent to a disaster zone22 Special OrganizatiOn fOr majOr OperatiOnS

After the long trip from Sweden to the Philippines the Hercules lands at Tacloban Airport. In the car-go were two Toyota Land Cruisers with trailer, which proved to be very useful. Photo: MARtIN SJÖhoLM

Fast work when materiel is t o be sent to a disaster zone

When disasters occur and material needs to be dispatched quick-ly, it is vital to know where the cargo planes are. Often there is a queue for such planes and that leads to a rise in transportation costs.

(Upper photo) Three days after the disaster in the Philippines the first shipment of tents, generators, and communications equip-ment took off in a Hercules from Örebro Airport; which was where materiel was delivered to by car from the MSB Depot in Kristine-hamn 65km away. Photo: StIg DAhLÉN


“Exciting, enhancing and educational”��Anders Olsson never tires of going on operations

In May 2014 he was on a mis-sion in Bosnia, in March in the Central African Repub-lic.

Anders Olsson was called out at short notice, provided he could get away from his usual job.

��Most of the time 50-year-old Anders Olsson works on the fire brigade in Skövde, where he is a crew commander and fire chief. But remarkably of-ten, he is also out in the world on international operations for the MSB.

”My employer is positive about me going on missions. It works pretty well, unless a re-quest comes during holiday pe-riods when we are short of peo-ple,” said Anders.

“I have no family, which makes it easier to deploy quick-ly.”

during the first half of 2014 Anders was deployed to the great floods in the Balkans in May and to the Central Afri-

can Republic in March. And at the end of the year, he was de-ployed as a mechanic in one of MSB´s missions in Liberia.

“This year I have also had re-quests to go to Iraq and to Cam-eroon, but had to decline be-cause it was the middle of the holiday season.”

on the Msb’s Field Staff Ros-ter is he registered for six dif-ferent profiles: Water Supply Technician, Camp Technician, Mechanic, Coordinator Swed-ish Response Team, Team Leader and USAR Logistics Of-ficer.

Basically, Anders is a me-chanic. He had worked with cars, planes and lifting systems before he applied for a job with the Swedish Fire Brigade.

It is a classic way into the Swedish Fire Brigade.

It was also the Swedish Fire Brigade and its multi-skilled staff with years of practical ex-perience in technical profes-sions that laid the foundation of the Field Staff Roster that

the MSB’s predecessor, the Swedish Rescue Services Agen-cy, first started to build up.

Anders’ first operation was in Israel in 2002, where he drove food to the besieged West Bank on behalf of the World Food Programme.

In its way it was by accident that he was there. At the last minute, he replaced a colleague who was prevented from de-ploying.

in another way, he had already shown his interest in interna-tional assignments, when in 2001 he was on a military mis-sion in Kosovo as a fire officer at the Swedish base outside Pristina.

Since Israel in 2002, he has completed 17 operations, from Haiti to Pakistan, usually quite short, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.��Why does he continue to go

on missions? “They are exciting, enhanc-

ing and educational. And al-though I know that it is often

hard work, I look forward to going when I’ve been selected. It feels great to be a small cog in the cooperation between Swe-den and the UN, and ultimate-ly to help affected people to get help.”

More recently, Anders has worked as a trainer on MSB courses for field staff

”I’d gladly do that again. If I can contribute with my ex-perience to make it easier for those deploying, I’m happy do it. There are many things that can’t be read in books.”

During his many operations he has encountered various or-ganizations and scores of peo-ple in the global development aid community.

”There’s something spe-cial working with people who, like myself, want to help oth-ers. Overall, cooperation has worked well, and I want to thank everyone for that!”

anniKa n LinDQViST

sara anderssonStockholm, Swedenborn: 1978 profile: WASH expert Msb operations: 2011 Liberia (trainee), 2012 Liberia, 2012-2013 My-anmar

What’s the attraction of working on an operation?“It’s great to see that you can help oth-ers, but what primarily drives me is that I come into my own in my professional role. I can use all my technical capabilities, and it’s a challenge getting an international team to work.”

tell us about some particularly vivid memory! “For nearly eight months, I was in Bur-ma, and worked every day. So, I was final-ly due to have time off, go to a beach and be away for two nights. At the airport a

colleague called and told me that chol-era seemed to have broken out in one of the camps, but my colleagues thought I should go anyway. My time off became a huge period of anxiety. I think I went swimming just once. I sat and e-mailed the camp all the time, with a bad con-nection. Then it turned out that it wasn’t cholera. ”

Mikael nyManStenstorp, Swedenborn: 1964profiles: on the MSB Field Staff Roster with 5 different profiles, e.g. workshop manager and convoy leader

Msb operations: about 10 since 2008 as a mechanic in South Sudan. Then in DRC, Uganda, Ghana and Cameroon.From autumn 2014 in Tanzania on a one

year project, as a workshop manager for a Swedish company setting up a sugar cane plantation.

What’s the attraction of working on an operation? “My parents were missionaries. I grew up with them in Tanzania. The feeling of hu-manitarian aid was part of everyday life. I still have that feeling. The desire to make a difference combined with a strong love of adventure makes it fun to go on an op-eration.”

tell us about some particularly vivid memory! “In Sudan my local employees and I were going to pack up a workshop and we were attacked by angry killer bees when we lifted up a container. We ran hundreds of metres with the bees chasing us. Some of us got very badly stung. I was reason-ably ok with a few stings to the head and pain for a few hours. But the feeling of not

having access to decent medical care at a reasonable distance was palpable before the swelling had subsided.”

eMelie bJällFalkKarlstad, Swedenborn: 1986profile: NurseMsb operations: 2013 in Mali as a mine medic, 2014 in CAR as a mine medic, and in Hebron, Palestine as a nurse

What’s the attraction of working on an operation? ”I have wanted to go out on an operation since before I trained as a nurse. Now I have been out a lot and it feels like I want to continue like this for a while. I want to travel around and meet other cultures, and I like that I get to improvise and find new solutions when I’m on a mission. At

Five other members of the MSB field staff rooster

24 msb international operations magazineField staFF sUpport

home in Sweden, I have worked on the ambulance in Värmland. ”

tell us about some particularly vivid memory! “In Mali, where I was a mine medic, my team cleared ammunition in rural areas. In one village a 250 kg aerial bomb had landed in the middle of the village. The team I worked with defused the bomb. Because the bomb had been defused and removed, 39 families could move back in-to the village - to be part of the team that made that happen is a real privilege!”

daniel diyabanzaTäby, Swedenborn: 1974profile: Workshop managerMsb operations: 2011 Haiti, 2012 Ghana, 2014 Kenya

What’s the attraction of working on an operation?“I am a missionary child, born and raised in the Congo. I moved to Sweden to study when I was sixteen. The road to the MSB Field Staff Roster went through the UN service in the Congo. Aid work has been a way that with new knowledge being able to go to countries that remind me of where I grew up. It feels good to do some-thing tangible to help. In Kenya I work for UNHCR. I am involved in building up a re-gional fleet of lorries, which can respond quickly in emergencies. ”

tell us about some particularly vivid memory!“One often sees poverty and violence, things that you must try to keep away from. But I remember when we were in northern Haiti, in Cap Haïtien. We were delivering food rations to schools. With the help of the food the parents lured their children to school. It was nice to see

that the help got all the way to its desti-nation - the families got food and the chil-dren came to school.”

ann-charlott anderssonOlofstorp, Swedendob: 1974profiles: Finance and accounting officer.Msb operations: 2008 Kosovo, 2011-2015 Georgia

What’s the attraction of working on an operation?”Working together with people from dif-ferent cultures, which can be frustrat-ing, but also very stimulating. There is no wrong or right, just different points of view on how to solve problems.”

Her missions have often been over longer periods. She worked for three years for

EULEX in Kosovo. And so far she has been in Georgia for four years, and she has her young son with her.

tell us about some particularly vivid memory!”The first time I was on the EU mission in Kosovo, I didn’t believe the person who said we had to do the payroll manually on an Excel spreadsheet. It was a techno-logical shock! The work was bureaucratic and time-consuming, but it was instruc-tive to see how it all fits together and we made no big mistakes. Now it works fine technically, but I can smile at myself as a Swede expecting everything to function the same way as it does at home.”

�� READ MORE: For those interested in Working on an MSB operation, read more on this website: https://www.msb.se/en/OpsPrepared-ness/Taking-part-in-a-mission/

Five other members of the MSB field staff rooster

“There is something special about working with people who, like myself, like to help others”, said Anders Olsson. Photo: StIg DAhLÉN

25msb international operations magazine Field staFF sUpport

”The car you are traveling in hits a pedes-trian. Immediately the car is surrounded by outraged villagers. What will you do with the badly injured man?”

This is a scenario on the Field Staff In-duction Course.

��The training ground in Kristinehamn, Swe-den once belonged to the Swedish Army. Just for today though the area has been renamed Criseland. Students on the MSB’s Field Staff Induction Course have for four days mostly focused on theory. Now they are going to train for situations that they may encounter in the field.

The students are split into four groups. A strange man who presents himself as a chauf-feur approaches one of the cars, gets in and drives off, swerving recklessly. The team pro-tests but have no time to intervene before the car hits a pedestrian.

The seriously injured man lies there. Angry villagers rush to the scene.

”Joseph! You have hit Joseph! He’s dying, take him to the hospital!” they shout. Some of the villagers try to take over the car to put the casualty in.

Students Jessica Solner and Sina Saemain examines the casualty and try to calm the sit-uation.

”Can you hold is head? Does he have a list of medicines?” Jessica Solner asks the young woman who is playing Joseph’s wife.

an evaluation of how the students handled the situation is given on scene. An impor-tant part of which are the views of the village role-players.

”I think you did a great job in trying to keep me calm,” said ‘Joseph’s wife’ who felt she was treated with compassion; while another of the villagers thinks that the students who tried to prevent her from taking over the car were far too aggressive.

And how many thought about protecting the reckless driver from the villagers’ wrath?

Nurse Patrik Jesslén monitoring the exer-cise praises the students’ methodical calm-ness, confirming that they took the right ac-tion; and provides further advice regarding first aid at an accident:

”Check the pulse at the wrist. And can the casualty count to ten in a single breath? If he can, then there are no breathing problems. And remember that the first thing you must consider is actually your own safety!”

For some of the course students these types of situations are entirely new. Others have ex-tensive experience from international assign-ments, but have never been assigned by the MSB, whereas others are already working for the MSB.

Konstanze Kampfer is originally from Ger-many but works with DRR in Mozambique on behalf of MSB. She appreciates the course, ”It’s good to come to Sweden now and again, to learn more about the organization that I rep-

resent. After all, there are some cultural differ-ences. For me, the course is also a good oppor-tunity to meet my Swedish project manager.”

the day on the training ground also includes other incidents that one would be quite likely to encounter in the field.

For example, a threatening incident at a checkpoint, a meeting with some refugees car-rying an explosive article, and a confrontation

”Very relevant scenarios”��Realistic incidents on Field Staff Induction Course

with a pushy reporter who insists on getting the students to comment on the political situ-ation in Criseland or at least agree to a photo.

”All the teams were very polite to me, but most responded to far too many questions. Be-fore you go on a mission, you must check with the Communication Section which rules apply to contact with the press!” said ‘the reporter’, MSB Press Officer Erik Löfgren.

”Very relevant scenarios”, thought Amr Os-

Jessica Solner, a Swedish police officer, and Sina Saemian, an Iranian WASH expert, helped to look after ”Joseph” after he had been run over, and they tried to reassure the villagers. Photo: ANNIKA N LINDqVISt

Some of the villagers try to take over the car to put the casualty in.

msb international operations magazineField staFF sUpport26

”Very relevant scenarios”��Realistic incidents on Field Staff Induction Course

Before they attend the six day residential course all students will have completed home study theory.

�� In 2002 the MSB start-ed its Field Staff Induc-tion Course. Six years later, home study was added to the course.

In 2012 the course was re-vised and extended. Simulta-neously, the course language changed from Swedish to English.

“We have more interna-tional students now,” said Gunilla Lindström, an international teacher at the MSB.

In practice, some field staff might be sent overseas without having had time to take the preparatory courses, but naturally it is better to take the courses first.

“They will be MSB ambassadors, once they are deployed.”

all course students are enrolled in the MSB’s Field Staff Roster before they are sent an in-vitation to take the Field Staff Induction Course.

In 2014, the Field Staff Induction Course was run five times, with over 20 students each time. Before they attend the six day residential

part of the course all students will have com-pleted home study theory.

”We expect them to complete home study online for about two hours each day for four weeks in advance. Then, they have also com-pleted assignments and received feedback, to further deepen and practically apply their knowledge during the residential course,” said Gunilla Lindström.

sixteen different subjects are studied in ad-vance, for example, organization, health, code of conduct, environment, gender and diversi-ty, safety/security and cultural awareness.

Historically, the MSB began building up the Field Staff Roster with personnel from the Swedish fire and rescue service. They had great practical experience, but as a rule, a very brief academic background.

Today, new categories of personnel are re-cruited. Many are academics. The require-ments of theoretical knowledge have been in-creased in pace with that.

That is a quality per se, while at the same it creates a need to think about balance.

“Today we have many more academics reg-istered on the roster. But we have to be care-ful though not to lose those in practical hand-on jobs, the blue collar workers,” said Gunilla Lindström.

anniKa n LinDQViST

“They will be MSB ambassadors”

Jessica Solner, a Swedish police officer, and Sina Saemian, an Iranian WASH expert, helped to look after ”Joseph” after he had been run over, and they tried to reassure the villagers. Photo: ANNIKA N LINDqVISt

��The MSB Field Staff Roster recently added, among other things, a lot of administrators and logisticians.

The skills that are in demand are contin-uously being reviewed, and those requests guide the types of field staff recruited to the roster.

”We have recruited a great deal in recent years and filled the gaps. Among other things, with a large number of administrators and logisticians, as well as information manage-ment and disaster risk reduction specialists,” said Stina Sjölin, head of the MSB’s Opera-tional Personnel Section.

The proportion that have a nationality other than Swedish has increased in recent years, and is now just over 20%. More and more people are being recruited from African

countries for example. This is because expe-rience from the countries where the opera-tions are executed is being valued more and more, as well as knowledge of other languag-es besides English.

Although several multilingual people have been registered on the Field Staff Ros-ter, there is still a need for more people who speak French and/or Arabic.

Experience in higher management posi-tions is also in short supply.

”It’s a special challenge to find those who can go into management positions and that can quickly get away from their everyday jobs,” said Stina Sjölin.

The MSB Field Staff Roster includes 1,513 individuals (as of January 2015). 447 of them are women, which equals 30 % of the Roster.

News about the MSB Field Staff Roster

annMarie aSKNacka, Swe-denborn: 1952profile: Hu-manitarian Affairs Of-ficer.MSB operations: 2008 Sudan, 2009 Sri Lanka, 2011 Liberia, 2012 Yemen, 2013 Kenya, 2014 Myanmar and Darfur.

Her most recent operation was for OCHA in the protracted conflict in Darfur, Sudan. The

task was to develop common approaches for drawing up an inventory of needs, so that all support from aid organisations would be more effective and sustainable.

What’s the attraction of working on an operation?

“Working with crisis man-agement is interesting and al-so feels important. I know, for example, that good coordina-tion can make a difference and I want to contribute. Also, I am fascinated by the way organi-zations operate and develop.”

tell us about some particu-larly vivid memory.

“I was seconded to the UN-HCR from the MSB at the end of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009. The situation in the huge tent camps was extremely difficult, with way too many people in the tents and a great shortage of all necessities. We had long negotiations with the military and authorities to get permis-sion to operate there. Slow-ly, slowly we moved forward. We helped to make the situ-ation easier for people in the camps. ”

Gunilla Lindström

man when exercise day was over.Ephrem Woldebirhan is a WASH expert at

home in Ethiopia and would love to work on international assignments.

”The course was very well organized. The students come from all over the world and it feels like I’ve gained a lot of new experience. Not only experience prior to a mission, but al-so for me as a person.”

anniKa n LinDQViST

”I’ve gained a lot of new experience.”Ephrem Woldebirhan, Ethiopia

msb international operations magazine Field staFF sUpport 27

The MSB takes an increasingly large role in supporting disaster manage-ment cooperation in the Western Bal-kans and Turkey.

Starting in 2015, an EU-financed programme aiming at increasing the beneficiaries’ capacity to ensure proper flood risk management will be conducted in partnership with civil protection agencies in the region.

��The MSB will be in charge of develop-ing and implementing a flood contain-ment module.

The western Balkans and Turkey are lo-cated in areas that are prone to large scale disasters caused by natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes and landslides.

During the summer of 2014 Bos-nia-Hercegovina and Serbia were for in-stance affected by massive floods, for which they requested and received inter-national assistance.

the instrument for Pre-Accession Assis-tance (IPA) is an EU-funded programme offering assistance to countries engaged in the accession process to the EU.

Its civil protection components aim at developing the overall capacity of Turkey and the countries on the Western Bal-kans (Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia), as well as enhancing the cooperation both within the region and with the EU.

The IPA FLOODS programme, with the objective to improve preparedness and response to floods in the Western Balkans and Turkey, will start in 2015 and end in 2017.

the consortium in charge is led by the Civil Protection Department of Italy, and includes civil protection agencies from Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and Sweden.

Activities will focus on developing and implementing three kinds of modules: flood rescue by boat, high capacity pump-ing and flood containment – the MSB be-ing in charge of the latter.

Activities will range from building the modules, organising trainings, developing SOPs for border-crossing and host nation support, and conducting full scale exer-cises.

“The MSB is excited to take part of an-other EU funded IPA programme togeth-er with highly-skilled disaster manage-ment agencies. Strengthening regional preparedness and response capacity en-ables further steps towards risk reduc-

tion actions, which will not only save lives but also strengthen investments in infra-structure and development”, says Jakob Wernerman, programme manager for disaster risk reduction at the MSB.

The MSB is committed to the region and has participated in both of the previ-ous IPA programmes in the civil protec-tion area.

the first ipa Civil Protection Programme was conducted in 2011-2012, and includ-ed among other things two large scale ex-ercises in Slovenia and Croatia. The ex-ercises, simulating an earthquake and a flood, provided the participating coun-tries from the Western Balkans and Tur-key with the opportunity to exercise their response capacity, and more specifically their urban search and rescue teams.

The countries hosting the exercises al-so benefited from the experience of plan-ning and conducting international field exercises, as well as receiving assistance from other nations according to interna-tional standards.

the results were impressive and laid the ground for closer cross border coopera-tion in disaster management.

In 2013, a consortium led by Slovenia and composed of Germany, Croatia, Ita-ly and Sweden won the tender for the IPA Civil Protection Cooperation Programme Phase II (IPA II). Building upon the for-mer programme, IPA II offers both large field exercises, tailor made host nation supports trainings, and exchanges of ex-perts.

In May 2014 experts from Albania and Turkey visited the MSB to learn about the introduction and functioning of the Euro-pean Emergency Number 112.

the first exercise, simulating an earth-quake forcing Montenegro to request as-sistance from its neighbour countries, was conducted in October 2014.

The results were clear; the trainings and exercises had not only strengthened the cooperation between the countries but also enhanced and refined the re-sponse skills of the national teams. How-ever, the exercise also showed some areas in which further efforts are needed.

The IPA II programme, together with IPA FLOODS as well as other initiatives in the region continue to pursue the aim of enhancing regional disaster manage-ment cooperation and bringing the candi-date countries closer to the EU civil pro-tection mechanism.

The MSB is leading the IPA Floods Programme ��Continues to stay highly committed in the western Balkans and Turkey

The EU resource High Capacity Pumping is being prepared for pumping water over road barriers after the floods in May 2014 in Orasje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Photo: JAN KARLSSoN

msb international operations magazineipa Floods28

Fires, floods and earth-quakes.

Participants on the Mod-ules Basic Course are accus-tomed to dealing with natu-ral disasters.

��The goal of this course is to learn to interact with those who specialize in other natural disasters.

Interoperability is a key word for the Modules Basic Course (MBC). Participants staff the various modules of the EU Civil Protection Mech-anism.

Some are specialists in search and rescue following earthquakes, some in fighting forest fires using heavy vehi-cles, and yet others in evacua-tion after floods, and a couple are nurses, ready to deploy with a field hospital.

One of the most important purposes of the MBC is that those who are familiar with their own modules should be able to ‘interoperate’ with oth-ers.

When you train at home the focus is usually on training with similar modules, but dur-ing a real incident it is essential to be able to interact with dif-ferent players.

”At a major disaster field staff must be able to work together,” emphasized Jonas Sykfont, course manager.

Mostly he works at MSB Re-vinge in southern Sweden, but the MBC is being held about 20km from Slovenia’s capital city Ljubljana, in the Ig Munic-ipality. Here there is a training centre where, among others, Slovenian firefighters and mil-

itary personnel do their basic and further training courses.

The course is run by a con-sortium of three partners. MSB (leading) and the MSB’s sister authority in Slovenia, Admin-istration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, and the pri-vately run Fire Service College from the UK

this time the Mbc was held from 29 March – 4 April 2014, with 21 participants from 16 EU countries.

Orientation about EU and UN systems and the best way to obtain information and man-age information sets is inter-spersed with practical exercis-es that extend over the entire course.

In the scenario, the ficti-tious country Skania is hit by a storm. Rivers have burst their

banks, a hotel has collapsed, and difficult to extinguish fires are raging close to chemical products plants.

The situation increases in complexity every hour. Divid-ed into groups, the course par-ticipants decide how best to in-teract with the host nation and with each other to mitigate the effects of the emergency.

Cooperation does not always run smoothly, not on the course and not in reality.

”There is a saying that, every-body wants to coordinate, no-body wants to be coordinated,” said Jonas Sykfont.

bjorn geysemans , a nurse in the Belgian Armed Forces, was one of the participants. He is also in the Belgian First Aid and Support, B-fast, and has been on missions in, for exam-

ple, Lebanon and the Philip-pines.

”The level of the course was high. It wasn’t that the instruc-tors should just teach us, they also managed to take the expe-riences of all participants.

Some of the modules here I didn’t know about before, but I learned a lot about them. And if I ever come across any other course participants on a mis-sion, I think it will be easy to work together,” said Bjorn Gey-semans.

Gordon McMillan, one of the instructors, emphasized that personal knowledge and con-tacts are one of the basic ideas of the course.

”Remember, it´s all about people!”

anniKa n LinDQViST (COMMUniCaTOr &

ParTiCiPanT)

An impressive line up of experience. A large number of specialists gathered in Slovenia and this is the team photo of the experts.

Specialists meeting specialists��Learn to interact with those who work in other natural disasters

msb international operations magazine 29ModUle basic coUrse

msb international operations magazine30 eU/ercc

�� Bart Materne is surrounded by technol-ogy. Large monitors flicker, global informa-tion systems warn of impending disasters or events.

He shows us around, a tad proud. From a po-sition of dutiful readiness the EU now has the resources to react quickly.

”We have three operational control rooms and can handle three operations simultane-ously. The problem is that we need more staff; that is, after all most important. Without staff, we would be like an electrical appliance shop, just a lot of equipment,” said Bart Materne, who has a great level of responsibility for the ERCC.

We are in ECHO’s operational hub. Since 2013, the ERCC (Emergency response Coordi-nation Centre) is staffed round the clock. Adja-cent to the control room is a row of command staff rooms and meeting rooms that can be linked up with each other visually and audibly.

“We have gone from being on-call to being on-site. Operations can start very quickly. And the fact is that 50% of alerts occur between midnight and 08.00, and it isn’t night in Chile or the Philippines then,” said Materne.

during a crisis daytime strength is increased with two extra people from the office. At night there are two people. They can handle a crisis initially. Periodically the ERCC is enhanced with experts. In summer 2014, for example, there were two forest fire experts in the coor-dination centre as a matter of pure contingen-cy.

A range of information systems are available as support, e.g. GDACS (Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System), wherein the UN and the EU share information and coordinate, so that resources are allocated correctly.

A satellite programme, called Copernicus, has several satellites that can photograph and provide overview images of a disaster area within an hour.

”All countries, including Sweden, can order pictures for support. But it is positioned cen-trally, so the closer to the poles the tighter the images become.”

the rcc should act as the member states’ hub for international operations or for assistance from the EU, and have a point of contact in each country, and in Sweden, that is the MSB. The ERCC’s predecessor was essentially cre-

ated for responses in the EU, but they noticed rather quickly that most of the operations were outside the EU and so changed the focus to the whole world.

”The ERCC is intended as a catalyst for syn-ergies. No commands come from here. It is all about coordination, supporting both recipi-ents and those who provide support,” said Ar-ya Honarmand, who is on loan from the MSB to the EU Commission, and who periodically works in coordination centre.

Monitoring is conveyed continuously to keep countries aware of what is happening. It is possible to be prepared even before some-thing happens. Like when Typhoon Haiyan was heading towards the east coast of the Phil-ippines.

“We had information five days in advance, knew when it would happen, and roughly the scale of it. Everything was on our screens. We had visitors from the UK then. They alerted the UK who deployed four planes with help before the storm came. They have never be-fore been on site so early,” said Bart Materne.

ECHO could also respond internally in ad-vance. Some of humanitarian personnel sta-tioned in Bangkok were sent to the Philip-pines.

”When the typhoon swept along, infrastruc-ture disappeared, we managed to get there be-fore that.”

Most severe disasters occur outside Europe. But one of the ERCC’s main tasks is obviously to make it easier for member states to volun-tarily support each other, as in the major for-est fire in Sweden in summer 2014. The ERCC mediates contact between the requests for help and the offers of help. For transport, the EU covers 55% percent of the cost.

”We are like an insurance policy. States pay for us and get a return when something hap-pens,” said Bart Materne.�� Have requests increased since prepared-

ness was raised?”Yes, we are more known now and therefore

contacted more. And the new EU legislation means that we no longer need a request from outside the EU, it is enough that the United Nations confirms the need.

But at the same time we just mediate. The resources or material deployed comes from the member states. Sweden is one of the coun-tries that is quickest in deploying personnel

and experts.”EU humanitarian aid is, among other things,

about providing financial assistance chan-neled through humanitarian organizations such as the UN. EU and UN cooperation dur-ing emergencies and disasters has evolved for the better over the years.

“previously when assessment teams were sent to disaster areas, there could be a bit of ri-valry over who got there first. Now everyone sees the benefits, and the principle is that in the EU the EU leads, in the rest of the world it

High alert – ERCC at work round the clockBrUSSelS • EU readiness has the resources to react quickly. Nowadays, staffing is round the clock. The ambition is to be the hub for international responses and assistance for EU member states.

Bart Materne is satisfied with the resources the ERCC has received, and that there are staffing round the clock. The ERCC can manage three operations simultaneously. Photo: PER LARSSoN, tJUgoFYRA7

Important”Without staff, we would be like an electri-cal appliance shop, just a lot of equipment.”Bart Materne, ERCC

Arya Honarmand, on loan from the MSB to the EU Commission. Photo: PER LARSSoN

msb international operations magazine 31eU/ercc

echo�� ECHO is the Euro-

pean Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department.�� Established in

1992 with humani-tarian aid as its pri-mary role. Since 2010 ECHO has also been responsible for civil protection. The purpose of the merger was to ef-fectively coordinate operations and hu-manitarian aid both in and outside Eu-rope.�� In addition to the

EU’s 28 member states, Iceland and Norway also partic-ipate in the civil pro-tection work. �� The humanitarian

aid budget of € 1.3 billion a year (about SEK 12 billion) is less than 1% of the total EU budget. Aid is given as a dona-tion, mainly through the UN, and is dis-tributed almost en-tirely outside the EU.�� Civil protection

has a budget of € 180 million (about SEK 1.7 billion) a year.�� Staff: 300 at HQ

in Brussels and 400 at 44 field offices in 38 countries.

ercc�� The Emergency

Response Coordi-nation Centre is the operational hub of ECHO. �� Established May

2013 with the aim to become faster and more effective at disasters and crises.�� Coordinates EU

operations every-where, both emer-gency preparedness and purely humani-tarian aid.�� Staffing is round

the clock, 365 days a year. 08.00 - 20.00 - four people. Then from 20.00-08.00 - two people.�� To meet staff-

ing needs there is a total of 21 person-nel. Eight on con-tract, eight tempo-rary agency workers, and five second-ed from member states.�� The ERCC pre-

decessor, the Mon-itoring Information Centre (MIC) had two people on duty from 09.00-17.00, the rest of the time was on-call, tele-phone standby.

is the UN,” said Arya Honarmand.He believes that Sweden has been largely

responsible for the organizations coming to terms.

”Sweden pressed for a removal of dupli-cation, mainly via Kjell Larsson and others at the SRSA and later the MSB. The break-through came during an exercise in the Swed-ish-Norwegian border area in 2009, where the EU and the UN were forced to cooperate. That exercise is the basis for why the EU and the UN now cooperate so well, and Sweden can be proud of that.”

giovanni de siervo , who works with partner-ships, remembers how the EU and UN had co-ordination centres next to each other after the earthquake in Bam, Iran in 2003.

”There was some misunderstanding, and after that nobody talked to each other for a while. But after a time good cooperation devel-oped. Today the EUCP and UNDAC, provide

the organizations’ coordination and assess-ment teams, some jointly. And we cooperate on developing frameworks and guidelines.”

Some of those on the Field Staff Roster ready for deployment have been trained by both the UN and the EU.�� is it not possible to merge parts of your

activities?”There are some things that are different,

such as legal protection of personnel, insur-ance and more. It is not legal to represent both. However, we can formalize what we can do to-gether. Today, we only have an informal agree-ment. We are currently developing more for-mal frameworks for collaboration,” said Gio-vanni De Siervo.��Would it be possible to agree to joint train-

ing of field staff so as to facilitate coopera-tion?

”I don’t disagree, it might save money. But so far, it is difficult to implement. We have al-ready started exchanging places on each oth-er’s exercises.”

Per LarSSOnMSB Magazine ”TJUgOfyra7”

High alert – ERCC at work round the clock

Bart Materne is satisfied with the resources the ERCC has received, and that there are staffing round the clock. The ERCC can manage three operations simultaneously. Photo: PER LARSSoN, tJUgoFYRA7

This photo is from an exercise on the Swed-ish-Norwegian border 2009. The exercise was considered to be the starting point for closer cooperation between the EU and the UN in in-ternational relief work. Photo: StIg DAhLÉN

In Revinge in the south of Sweden, UNHCR staff train to deal with emergency re-fugee situations. The tents they sleep in have been er-ected by camp builders on exercise.

�� “We learn a lot by building for those who are going to use the camp,” said Jonas Sykfont, course manager for the camp builders.

11 white tents stand together in a sheltered grove, about 1 km from Revinge, a MSB college in the very south of Sweden.

“The camp is built in the same way as we have done be-fore, for example, when we built for UN staff after the earthquake in Haiti, and most recently after the typhoon in the Philippines,” said Jonas Sykfont.

He is the course manag-er for the IHP (International Humanitarian Partnership), which is responsible for, among other things, building base camps for various UN agencies during major disasters.

14 people are taking the IHP course in Revinge in March. They come from Sweden, Ger-many, Denmark and Norway, countries that have many simi-larities, but still can have com-pletely different standards for electrical equipment for ex-ample.

“It is far better to stand here on an exercise and realize that our plugs don’t work with Dan-ish plugs, than to find out in South Sudan,” noted Jonas Sykfont.

The 11 tents now form a base camp for the UN refugee agen-cy (UNHCR), which is hold-ing its own course, Workshop on Emergency Management (WEM). Participants have had a lot of input into how the tents should be divided into dorms, offices, and a canteen where the freeze-dried food is eaten.

this is the second year that the IHP has used its exercise to build a camp for the UNHCR course.

“Now it will be part of the

UNHCR exercise to try living in the camp,” said Jonas Sykfont.

The IHP also benefits from seeing how the camp they have built up is used.

The UNHCR exercise in-cludes both men and women. Some of the groups have cho-sen to use two tents as dorms, to give men and women a dorm each.

susheela balasundaram shares her dorm with four fe-male colleagues.

“We have everything we need here, it’s a five star camp,” said Susheela, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Like most of the 41 partici-pants on WEM she is employed

at a UNHCR field offices. After completing the exercise, they will be part of the UNHCR rap-id response team, which can within 72 hours, be ready for deployment at a disaster.

Susheela Balasundaram is satisfied, not only with how the camp works:

“It’s one of the best exercis-es I’ve been on. A very realistic simulation.”

earlier in the day she was in the simulation when the observ-ers from the UNHCR came to a border-crossing. In the sce-nario the location is Uganda, in the borderlands to South Su-dan where fighting is forcing people to flee. About seventy

role-players suddenly appear. Many of them acting as refu-gees, from two ethnic groups in conflict with each other, some of them are soldiers.

Martin Fisher from the Office for Coordination of Humani-tarian Affairs (OCHA) is play-ing a village elder.

He shouts to the UNHCR of-ficer who is cruising along be-tween the military’s threat-ening rifle barrels, hands out-stretched begging for food and severely ill requiring immedi-ate medical care.

“Hey, can’t anyone try to find out what we need? This is OUR village, refugees are killing our cattle and taking our food. Who

cares about us?”Afterwards, he explains that

the scenario is quite realistic. A genuine refugee situation is chaotic and it is difficult to de-termine who to take care of first in the long list of urgent needs.

“There is never time to do everything perfectly,” said Martin Fisher.

in the practical part of the 10 day exercise, a traffic accident and a tough security exercise are also included.

“We give participants a chance to try to work in a crisis. It is an opportunity to think: Am I the right person for this? Can I cope with the heavy pres-

IHP and UNHCR benefit from each other’s exercises in Sweden

Revinge’s role-playing casualties play convincing hungry and sick refugees. Photo: ANNIKA N LINDqVISt

32 msb international operations magazineeXercises

“The facilities are excel-lent, just what we need!” said Martin Fisher who works for OCHA.

He is one of the interna-tional visitors who regular-ly come to Sweden to hold training courses.��The MSB has two colleg-

es – Revinge in the south of Sweden and Sandö, on an is-land off the east coast of Swe-den. The majority of the stu-dents are doing basic training for the Swedish fire service or taking various in-service training courses

But quite a lot of the visitors to Revinge and Sandö have come from many different countries to attend courses.

In 2014, the two MSB col-leges held six courses and ex-ercises for various UN bodies, and five training events for the EU Civil Protection Mecha-nism.

annually the Msb trains more than 500 people in the context of the EU Civil Pro-tection Mechanism and the UN.

In addition, a growing num-ber of field staff who attend MSB courses are from other countries.

“Revinge and Sandö have established cooperation with international actors. The MSB is the public face of interna-tional contact,” said Jerker Bergsten at Revinge.

The format of training var-ies. Sometimes it involves large exercises, sometimes more theoretical courses. The colleges provide all the prac-tical elements: food and lodg-ing, logistics, transport and a training ground. They also help with staff who lead the

exercises, and with some of the lecturers.

“We can provide staff with great expertise in the interna-tional field,” said Jerker Berg-sten.

the option of being able to use the same personnel be-tween on national and inter-national courses strength-ens the Swedish training pro-gramme - and globalization inspires.

Many of those training for the Swedish fire service are interested in working on over-seas operations.

“We are also noting that the

various fields are becoming more integrated. Not least in summer 2014 when Sweden requested assistance from the EU to fight a major forest fire. It is very useful when we can connect the national with the international perspective,” said Lars Norén at Sandö.

And Martin Fisher from OCHA, which has regular-ly run training courses at Re-vinge, feels that cooperation works well, ”We really value MSB support and partnership. Everything is very well organ-ized here. ”

anniKa n LinDQViST

IHP and UNHCR benefit from each other’s exercises in Sweden

ihp Facts�� The International Humanitar-

ian Partnership (IHP) is a vol-untary multinational network between eight governmental emergency management agen-cies in Europe, active in the field of humanitarian assistance.�� In addition to helping to

build camps for UN agencies, the network can also help with communications equipment, various types of infrastructure and ready modules tailored for

various types of event.�� The IHP includes the fol-

lowing: l Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB)l Estonian Rescue Board (ERB)l Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC)l Danish Emergency Manage-ment Agency (DEMA)l Norwegian Directorate for Ci-vil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB)l UK Department for Internatio-nal Development (DFID)

l German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW). l The Luxembourg Rescue Ser-vices Agency (ASS LUX).

�� The IHP is led by a chairper-son, the chair alternates be-tween the member organisa-tions. From 1 July 2013 to 31 De-cember 2014 the chairperson has been, Christian Di Schiena MSB. From January 2015 till July 2016 Norway has the chair.�� You can read more at www.

ihp.nu

sure?” said Jon Andersen, who is responsible for training at Revinge.

There are 14 peopIe on the IHP course. In addition to the camp they built for the UN-HCR, they have erected two tents for themselves. Of the fourteen IHP participants, most of them have extensive experience in international as-signments.

but david lage is new. He is 27 years old and worked for eight years as a plumber, a much sought after skill, but he has not yet had time to be deployed on a mission.

“I learn a lot from the experi-ence of others,” he said.

The first time that IHP and UNHCR coordinated their ex-ercises was in March 2013, it was an extremely cold win-ter for southern Swedish con-ditions. A snowstorm ripped a hole in one of the tents and the frozen participants had to spend the night inside Revinge college.

For the exercise in 2014, the Norwegian manufacturer rein-forced the tents and the camp technicians have learned from the mistake and erected tents in a more protected position than last year.

“On an exercise mistakes are forgiven. They aren’t in reality,” said Jon Andersen.

anniKa n LinDKViST

Revinge’s role-playing casualties play convincing hungry and sick refugees. Photo: ANNIKA N LINDqVISt

MSB Sandö conducts many international training courses. This photo is from the 2014 Mine Action Induction Course.“With this demonstration we want students to understand the effect of explosives in vehicles (car bombs) and to teach the im-portance of always performing vehicle security searches in high risk environments,” said course manager Jörgen Mohlin. Photo: BJÖRN LUNDIN

“The facilities are excellent”

33msb international operations magazine eXercises

When Monday’s simulation was completed, the instruc-tors summarized what went well and what the partici-pants should have thought more about; for example, to immediately arrange for an interpreter and not to get caught up in details, but to try to observe the whole sit-uation.

��The participants com-mended the entire simula-tion, and one of them shout-ed out, ”Those who played the villagers and refugees, they were simply amazing! Are they

part of a theatre company, or what?”

Bengt-Göran Malmström chuckled contentedly when I later called him and forwarded the praise.

during this exercise , he played an old man who lived with his son in the village the refugees arrived at. The military had come for his son and threw him in jail, and he tried to get help from UNHCR observers to free his son.

When Bengt-Göran Malm-ström took early retirement from the Swedish Armed Forc-

es 10 years ago, he became one of MSB Revinge’s casualty role-players. This fixed group consists of 25 people. The youngest is 20 but the majority are pensioners.

two to three times a week the casualty role-players are em-ployed to act on the various training courses held at MSB Revinge, for example, the basic two year programme for fire-fighters, and the training course for incident commanders.

”The instructors tell us what the injuries are, and that helps with the theatrical make up. We

may have been in a car crash or a fall. Sometimes we are in a boat and in distress,” said Bengt-Göran Malmström.

During such large exercises, such as the UNHCR exercise, there aren’t enough casualty role-players so extra people are called in.

”We got help from two school classes, one from Östra Grev-ie Folkhögskola and one from Drottning Blanka Gymnasi-um. There were about 70 peo-ple playing villagers and refu-gees,” said Roger Bergström, MSB Revinge, who manages the casualty role-players.

The assignment as a casualty role-player is popular.

”I have a waiting list of peo-ple wanting to be involved. Many people have been wait-ing for up to two years.”

the casualty role-players re-ceive an hourly wage, but it isn’t that which attracts them. Bengt-Göran Malmström said, “We learn a lot about medi-cal care. Now, for example, we have learned how to use a defi-brillator. And then there is the social aspect. We have fun to-gether.”

anniKa n LinDQViST

Casualty role-players make exercises realistic

MSB has no problem finding casualty role-players. Many want to participate and they act with such empathy that they practiced sometimes think it´s for real.

msb international operations magazineeXercises34

Team leader is a sought af-ter skill.

After a break of several years the MSB has re-start-ed its course for aspiring team leaders.

�� Logistician Ulrika Aunes has been seconded from the MSB to various UN agencies.

“I would like to take a more prominent role in a team. It would be a natural step for me,” she said.

She was one of fifteen stu-dents on the Team Lead-er Course in early June. The course coordinators Gunil-la Lindström and Jörgen Mo-hlin from MSB Sandö have both training and experience as team leaders.

For six days, the students were taught about team devel-opment, conflict management, legal aspects of the MSB’s inter-national operations, and gen-der and environment.

The day the MSB Operations Magazine visited the course media relations and safety/se-curity were two of the subjects on the schedule.

Johan robertson and Maria Svensson have been out in the field as security advisors. They ask students to list three seri-ous security problems and fig-ure out simple rules about how the problems should be han-dled.

“You need something that both you and the team think is usable. It doesn’t help a great deal with 26 pages of informa-

tion in an action plan, if you don’t know where that bind-er is. And the safety informa-tion you get from your clients tends to be at the macro level, while your biggest safety issue is more tangible. Perhaps you can’t physically go to a certain corner of the camp because there are too many snakes there,” said Maria Svensson.

sema panboon has been a team leader on numerous in-ternational missions and leads a scenario during the course.

He also stresses the impor-tance of adapting to the actual situation.

“It’s great to be prepared for various scenarios, but you have to be flexible and use what works in reality. A team leader has his or her own role, but al-so has overall responsibility for how the group works and re-quires a deeper understanding of how people react in different situations.”

The MSB’s predecessor the Swedish Rescue Services Agen-cy held courses for team lead-

ers. The MSB hasn’t done so be-fore, but held two such courses in 2014.

“We often send out teams, but we have too few people on the Field Staff Roster that can serve as team leaders. Now we want to expand that group. Not least, we want to add more women as team leaders,” said Helen Hagström, MSB HR Of-ficer responsible for team lead-ers.

Janek sönum employed by the Estonian Bomb Squad, he

has been on operations for the MSB in Congo Brazzaville and Mali and would love to go out again; though he is not sure about going as a team leader.

“It seems so responsible. However, it will be easier for me after this course as a team member to better support the team leader.”

Ulrika Aunes on the other hand feels that the course has prepared her well for such a task, “I’m learning a lot, even from the other students.”

anniKa n LinDQViST

Wants more team leaders ��A sought after skill on Field Staff Roster

Helen Lundberg, Ivo Palm, Dean Simpson, Kristina Olsén and Edmunds Akitis all have experience of international operations. They all completed the team leader course. Photo: ANNIKA N LINDqVISt

They all have experience from the field. Now they are ready to be team leaders. Course managers were Gunilla Lindström (white coat in the middle) and Jörgen Mohlin (far right).

msb international operations magazine eXercises 35

Solar power project in the DRC– a true win-win situationA project that both provides environmental benefits and saves money for interna-tional relief missions.

Sounds almost too good to be true, but this win-win situation has proved possi-ble in a project in the Dem-ocratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

��The key to it is solar energy. The MSB in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) in five locations in the DRC has been running a pro-ject where the cost of fuel for the diesel generators has been halved.

”The cost of installation of solar cells and other necessary items is covered within two to three years in the form of fu-el saved. There is also a signif-icant saving in the transport chain,” said ICT expert John Isaksson, MSB Logistics & Sup-port Section.

During autumn 2014 John and his colleague, electrical

expert Sölve Aronsson, worked on the follow-up of the instal-lation work at the five sites.

“The 3.0 kW that the solar cells, in favourable weather, generate at each location per day, charge a battery power bank. That can provide indoor and outdoor lighting and electricity needs for three days without sun. The battery bank also provides night lighting,” explained John Isaksson.

the solar panels are at the WFP offices and warehouses in Kinshasa and Goma, as well as in the more remote locations of Kalemi, Bukavu and Bunia. The road network in this huge country is often very poor and so transporting diesel to the middle of nowhere costs a lot.

The generators often run

round the clock, which leads to high costs for fuel and main-tenance, as well as a negative impact on the environment in terms of carbon emissions. The impact on staff when it comes to noise and inhaling diesel fumes is also a factor.

Sida (Swedish Internation-al Development Cooperation Agency), WFP and the Howard Buffet Fund have financed the venture.

in a press release Sida officer Francois Landiech said, “The money saved by this project is reinvested in aid and so the WFP can reach out with food to more people forced to flee as a result of armed conflicts and natural disasters.

So the project is environ-mentally friendly, smart and cost-effective. We tested the lighting in Kinshasa and it worked perfectly. Lighting is extremely important for safe-ty at night.”

Katarina Runeberg, Envi-

ronmental Adviser at the MSB, added,

”The MSB has tried various ways to make energy consump-tion more efficient. With the positive outcome in the DRC, the MSB is now starting a pro-gramme with the aim of devel-oping a complete project for al-ternative electricity supply and energy efficiency.

When we get access to a number of different technical solutions a selection of solu-tions will become possible based on local conditions, and will ensure long-term sustain-able field operation.”

the concept specifies that lighting should consist of LED bulbs or other low-energy bulbs. Another factor, that is emphasized to reduce electric-ity consumption, is to increase awareness among individuals about how to use electricity.

According to the project plan the MSB is responsible for the technical expertise and train-

ing for operation and mainte-nance.

“Ensuring the maintenance in the long term will be impor-tant. There are risks with elec-tricity, e.g. cables and other in-stallations need protecting. Another example is that solar panels are meant to last at least ten years, but many roofs are in such poor condition it is doubt-ful they will last that long. So it is important to carefully con-sider where the panels should be placed,” said John Isaksson.

MSB experience from the pilot project is so positive that the concept will be used in the construction of offices and ac-commodation for humanitari-an crises.

Or as John Isaksson says:”During operations it is

about saving energy and the environment, and thereby al-so money. This feels like the fu-ture. ”

STig DaHLÉn

Here is a follow-up of the installation of solar panels on the WFP roof in Goma. On the left, technical engineer Patrick O’Doherty (on the MSB Field Staff Roster) and Sölve Aronsson, electrical expert from MSB Logistics & Support Section. Photo: JohN ISAKSSoN

John Isaksson

36 msb international operations magazinesolar proJect

“I have chosen to work for the MSB, because I know that a Duty Officer will ring me if there is unrest in the country where I am,” said WASH Specialist Anna Hjärne, during an event day for operational female field staff.

��The MSB is working hard to increase the percentage of women deployed on opera-tions.

One reason is that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men.

Another is that operations are more effective and it be-comes easier to reach out to an entire population in an opera-tional area.

Female field staff generally have an easier time connecting with women and children than male colleagues.

Another reason is that fe-male staff become role models

for girls and women in opera-tional areas.

Of the 1,513 people registered on the MSB Field Staff Roster there are 447 women, i.e. 30%.

Among those, the percentage up to end of November 2014 that had been deployed on an operation was 29%.

Male dominance is partly ex-plained by the requests the MSB receives from the inter-national community, which are often addressed to professions in which mostly men work, such as ICT and mechanics.

But that isn’t the whole truth. Also from the female dominat-ed medical and health care sec-tor, it is mostly men who apply for the Field Staff Roster.

The MSB has adopted an ac-tion plan to increase women´s participation. The goal is that women, by the end of 2015, should make up at least 40% of field staff that have been or are

deployed on operations.One part of the action plan

was an event day in Stockholm in September 2014. About 200 women from the Field Staff Roster, who live in Sweden, were invited.

The response was huge. Even more would have liked to have attended, but only 50 could fit in the room.

”Everyone seems to think it is a good initiative,” said Camilla Abelson Bergling, who is a programme manager on the HR Section, and produced the action plan.

by way of questionnaires to field staff the HR Section identified that women gener-ally value the MSB’s various support functions very high-ly when considering accepting assignments in tough opera-tions.

WASH Specialist Anna Hjärne confirmed that view.

She has been working on over-seas operations for ten years, the last few years for the MSB.

”When I was in Haiti and vio-lent demonstrations broke out, the MSB Duty Officer rang me to find out if I was OK. For me, that kind of thing is important.”

Some of the participants had felt questioned on the basis of their sex when working on op-erations.

Others had never been se-lected for deployment, even though they had been on the Field Staff Roster for years. They especially called for brave recruiters, who don’t only ask those with experience, but dare to give new people a go.

Several said that everyone who works with MSB opera-tions should read up on gen-der; and the MSB should try to influence the UN’s receiving organizations so that qualified people aren’t just nominated but are also accepted.

One tip directed straight at the women on the Field Staff Roster was to revise their CV and formulate them in such a way that they are consistent with the United Nations pro-files.

and although many thought that the difference between women and men is often exag-gerated, there are in fact some things to consider.

In some settings you may need to pee in the field, so a woman have to acquire strate-gies to solve lavatory issues.

Dress codes are anoth-er thing that those who have worked in Muslim countries are well aware of.

”Why not simply add a shawl to the women’s personal equip-ment?” was a proposal that the MSB received on the event day.

anniKa n LinDQViST

Kerstin Oldgren-Degerman, Lina Eklund and Helena Svensson discussed how more women should be selected for operations. Helena Svensson had her 7 month old son Mattis with her at the event day. Photo: ANNIKA N LINDqVISt

At least 40% women as field staff��MSB action plan goal before the end of 2015

37msb international operations magazine gender

The MSB moves beyond ad hoc secondments in new re-gional collaboration with UNICEF in the East Asia and Pacific region.

��Over the past three decades the East Asia and Pacific re-gion has witnessed a severe in-crease in disasters, and domi-nates all disaster impact cate-gories (occurrence, fatalities and people affected, as well as economic damage) across the world.

Nonetheless, not all coun-tries are equally vulnerable to disasters and experience has shown that money spent on disaster risk reduction is well

worth the investment.UNICEF is one of the actors

striving to continuously con-tribute to a decrease in vul-nerabilities in countries in the East Asia and Pacific region and this through the develop-ment of early warning systems, national risk information pro-grammes, and by increas-ing risk awareness amongst UNICEF personnel.

While much progress has been made by UNICEF and its partners in reducing risk and strengthening resilience in the region, more needs to be done, especially in terms of strength-ening national and provincial

capacities for risk assessments and preparedness.

“UNICEF is a crucial play-er in strengthening resilience in this region and in order to do so, UNICEF Country Of-fices need enhanced capaci-ties when it comes to risk as-sessments and emergency pre-paredness. Moreover, there is plenty of good practice in this field and major opportuni-ties from the Country Offices to learn from each other,” said Mr. Jakob Wernerman, MSB Programme Manager.

Moving beyond simply sec-onding experts to individu-al UNICEF Country Offices,

the new collaboration focuses on strengthening UNICEF ca-pacities in the whole region by strategically placing experts in Thailand, Cambodia and Fiji that will support the 14 Coun-try Offices in the region.

additionally, the project in-cludes the development of UNICEF specific training for disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness for the region, technical back-of-fice support from MSB HQ to seconded experts, and a lessons learned workshop at the end of the project aimed at strength-ening UNICEF knowledge management connected to

emergency preparedness. “With Asia and the Pacif-

ic being one of the most disas-ter prone regions in the world, the importance of improved emergency preparedness to effectively respond to and re-cover from disasters, is funda-mental. The MSB is very excit-ed to be working with UNICEF to strengthen its ability to con-tribute to this important task,” said Mr. Wernerman

The project will run for one year from March/April 2015. Sida will fund the initiative with approximately SEK 5 mil-lion (US $ 570,000).

CaMiLLa anDerSSOnPrOgraMMe OffiCer, MSB

Collaboration with UNICEF inEast Asia and Pacific Region

In 2014 the MSB conducted 212 missions, of which 176 international aid operations and 36 were operations with national support resources.

��As such then, the number of international aid operations has increased from 157 in 2013, while the number of opera-tions with national support re-sources has decreased from 43 in 2013.

As part of the 212 interna-tional operations in 2014 the MSB signed 374 contracts with experts from the MSB’s Field Staff Roster personnel, which is an increase on the 300 signed in 2013.

The direct costs for the exe-cution of international aid ac-tivities amounted to SEK 219 million (USD 26 million) in 2014, compared to SEK 172.9 million in 2013.

The greatest increase in the number of operations can be found in the area of humani-tarian aid. Reasons for this in-clude the need for internation-al support to deal with the out-break of Ebola in West Africa, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philip-pines, flooding in the Balkans, the worsening situation in Iraq, and the refugee crisis caused by the civil war in Syria.

More international missions during 2014

2014 2013 2012

Humanitarian aid operations 129 113 81

Humanitarian mine action 5 7 12

Early recovery 8 8 1

Civil conflict management 16 13 10

Disaster Risk Reduction 18 16 18

Total operations (aid) 176 157 122

National support operations 36 42 19

The Swedish Response Team 0 1 0

Operations in non-aid countries 0 0 1

Total operations (non-aid) 36 43 20

total all operations 212 200 142

Msb operations

Philippines 18

Iraq 15

CAR 13

Jordan 12

South Sudan 9

Lebanon 8

West Bank/Gaza 7

Other 94

Total 176

2014 2013 2012

UNICEF 37 32 25

OCHA 30 23 14

WFP 28 29 24

UNHCR 24 26 22

UNDP 11 8 3

UNMAS/UNOPS 2 13 10

Total 132 131 98

By category 2012-2014

By UN partner 2012-2014

By country 2012-2014

Every year Sweden and the MSB conduct many international aid operations. More unusual is when Sweden asks for help from other countries. In summer 2014 that is what happened in connection with a large forest fire. Water bombing planes from France and Italy of this type carried out ac-claimed and valuable fire extinguishing work.

The MSB’s modern camps are usual-ly built with prefabricated modules. They are of a weight that allows them to be erected by field staff without the need for cranes. Photo: MSB

38 msb international operations magazine

anneli bergholm söderDirector Coordination and Operations Depart-ment, MSB

colUMn

The art of doing right in difficult situations

��MSB ran two treatment centers in Monrovia and a rap-id response ETU in the remote village of Greenville and con-tributed to the treat-ment and isolation of Ebola cases in an area with very little international sup-port.

��After an intense autumn fighting our larg-est mission to date – the Ebola crisis in West Africa – we now reflect back on the mission.

Was it difficult and full of challenges? Abso-lutely! So, what makes one mission more diffi-cult than the other and how do we plan for the unexpected?

Handling sudden incidents in our society is our everyday operations. Last year alone MSB was active in 176 international missions, from mine action in Gaza and in the Central Afri-can Republic to early recovery in the Philip-pines and disaster risk reduction in Iraq. Not to mention our numerous humanitarian oper-ations, including Ebola.

i am confident to say we have the resources, competence and experience to face most chal-lenges, both at home and abroad.

The request for support and the planning of a mission such as Ebola is based on projected needs determined by a third party, often phys-ically located far away from the affected area.

This is why good communication and close collaboration between the stakeholders – from affected national authorities to interna-tional actors – is absolutely key! Even more so when the needs are constantly changing.

The Ebola mission, being time critical by nature, involved components with long lead time, such as recruitment of personnel out-side our roster and quite complicated trans-

port logistics, where it was crucial to find safe means of transport for the virus not to spread to other countries in case of medical evacua-tions.

We had to work faster than normal and against the clock in order to secure a timely delivery, something which would have been impossible without the support and coopera-tion with our partners.

For example, we quickly called upon our well-established network of authorities in Sweden to find a joint medevac solution while our sister agencies made sure that medical staff could be released from their everyday work in order for MSB to deploy them with short notice.

At the same time, thanks to the smooth and efficient work of our partners in the Interna-tional Humanitarian Partnership, the IHP could swiftly pull together a joint effort to-wards the affected population, in support of the WHO and other UN agencies and partly funded by the EU.

I could give many good examples of cooper-ation but I think the magazine will speak for itself. However, there is no doubt that strong relationships are critical to quickly carry out operations of this caliber.

a professional information management is also essential with multiple stakeholders in-

volved. In our role as a national emergency management agency we ensure that Swed-ish actors are well coordinated during nation-al crises and that information to the public is correct and consistent.

For this purpose, MSB initiates joint FAQs, we run a joint agency web portal for informa-tion to the public and we gather all relevant ac-tors for coordination conferences to approach potential and actual crises.

Our core competence in monitoring and analysis enables us to quickly detect possible crises and to analyze their potential conse-quences and impact on society.

Working in a constantly changing environ-ment is never as efficient and stringent as we wish, why a flexible and solution-driven ap-proach is crucial to continuously identify, plan and execute the best solution in every new sit-uation that arise. It’s all about “doing the most right in a difficult situation”.

Unfortunately, we see no decline in conflicts and disasters why we are fairly sure that the intensity and need of collaboration between MSB and our international partners will only increase in the years to come.

In this ever-changing landscape, reaching across country borders, we need to be ready for the unexpected and to ensure that we have the capacity to handle what is coming – together with our partners all over the globe!

Photo: JohAN LUNDAhL

39msb international operations magazine colUMn

MagazineMSB international Operations

The ruthless violence of armed extremist groups on civilians in Iraq has created a critical refugee situation. At the end of 2014 there were nearly two million IDPs in Iraq.

In 2014 the MSB started 12 missions for five UN organ-isations in Iraq to ease the strain on refugees.

��The largest single operation for the MSB is to lead and co-ordinate the work of building a refugee camp in Shekhan, southeast of the town of Du-hok in the KR-I (Kurdistan Re-gion-Iraq). The camp is being built at the request of the UN-HCR.

This operation is within the framework of the IHP. Since mid-August the MSB had had four people on site.

”The camp will provide ac-commodation for approxi-mately 6,000 refugees, main-ly from the vulnerable ethnic

group the Yazidis. Bad weather delayed construction with for a month, but in February, we hope that the refugees will be able to move in,” said Christian Pettersson, programme officer at the MSB.

Accommodation will be in tents. Most families will get two tents of about 10m2 each, a bedroom and a living area. In total there are approximate-ly 1,000 tents. A large propor-tion of the tents (donated by the Swedish Lions) were trans-ported to Iraq by the MSB and set up. The remaining tents are from the UK.

in the process of building the camp valuable help came from two organizations that were not involved from the begin-ning, the International Organ-isation for Migration (IOM) and Action Contre la Faim/Ac-tion Against Hunger (ACF).

“It was the IHP team on site that initiated cooperation with

both organizations. The IOM has helped with roads, elec-tricity and the kitchen build-ings being erected next to the tents. The ACF has provided water, sanitation and hygiene. Two very professional organi-zations, whose work provides great value to the camp,” said Christian Pettersson.

the camp is divided into blocks, where each block has a toilet and a kitchen. In the ref-

ugee camp there are also facili-ties for local authorities, police, clinics and education.

”after the is advances in sum-mer 2014 half of Kurdistan’s schools were closed down, which affected hundreds of thousands of children in the region. Therefore, major ef-forts are being made to get ed-ucation in motion again.”

Most of the MSB operations are being conducted or near the

town of Erbil. The MSB here, also in the context of IHP co-operation, has supported the OCHA by building a coordina-tion and monitoring centre in Erbil.

Until the middle of January 2015 the MSB has started oper-ations in Iraq to a value of USD 2.9 million, of which approxi-mately half went towards the refugee camp in Shekhan.

Broad support to help Kurdish refugees

Sema Panboon from the MSB’s Field Staff Roster and IHP coordinator showing some of the tents donated by the Swedish Lions.

Operation type Org number Location Start end

Civil Military Coordination Officer OCHA 1 Erbil 2014-08-04 2014-11-26Engineer WFP 1 Erbil 2014-07-12 2015-03-12Humanitarian Affairs Officer (HAO) OCHA 1 Erbil 2014-11-28 2015-02-28HAO Assessment Coordinator OCHA 1 Erbil 2014-08-25 2014-11-25IHP Coordination Support OCHA 4 Erbil 2014-06-30 2014-07-17Information Management Officer (IMO) OCHA 1 Duhok 2014-11-04 2015-02-03IMO ETC Cluster (telecommunications) WFP 1 Erbil 2014-12-01 2015-02-01IMOs UNICEF 2 Erbil 2014-09-30 2015-03-31IMO P4 OCHA 1 Erbil 2014-03-15 2014-09-15Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) UNDP 6 Erbil 2014-10-15 2015-02-15Site Engineer/ Site Planner UNHCR 1 Erbil 2013-06-28 2015-06-30Project Manager (Office&Accommodation) UNHCR 1 Erbil 2014-07-12 2015-06-30IHP IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Camp UNHCR 5 Duhok 2014-08-17 2015-02-28GIS Officer WFP 1 Erbil Not started

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