中国红十字会在汶川地震应急救援中的作用

The key role played by the Red Cross Society of China in the Wenchuan Earthquake disaster relief efforts

5·12汶川地震发生后，中国红十字会第一时间启动一级救灾响应预案，利用自身组织的国际性、社会性、专业性、灵活性的优势，向国内外发出紧急救助呼吁，派出紧急救援队开展医疗救援和心理救援，接待并安排境外医疗救援队和红十字会国际联合会援助的ERU应急队参与救援。引进国际联合会救灾装备，保障灾区群众基本生活需求。总会和各级红十字会先后共派出107批紧急救援队，37批心理救援队，为灾区近23万群众提供了紧急医疗救援服务。总结此次地震救援经验教训：救援队伍的派遣及灾害现场的协调；应急物资保障和储备调配机制；灾区医疗需求的评估问题等方面拯待进一步解决和完善。

Immediately after the powerful earthquake that struck Wenchuan on May, 12, the Red Cross Society of China reacted quickly by activating the first-level disaster contingency plan. Taking advantage of its own international, social and professional characteristics, the RCSC appealed urgently to the Chinese public and the intemational community for emergency medical rescue and psychological support teams to the quake-hit areas offering the emergency medical rescue and counseling services. The RCSC made detailed arrangements for foreign rescue teams and the teams of EItU supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to carry out the rescue operations in the disaster areas. There had been 107 batches of emergency rescue teams and 37 batches of teams for psychological relief respectively sent by the RCSC and its local branches at various levels to quake-affected areas to provide the emergency medical assistance arid provisions for as many as up to 230,000 quake-affected residents. A lot of efforts had been made to ensure that the basic necessities of daily life were available to all those who had been affected by the earthquake there in Wenchuan. Many pieces of rescue equipment provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies had been intro;tuced into China for the first time ever. We have summed up the experience and lessons gained from the emergency rescue operations. The issues of how to coordinate rescue teams dispatched to the disaster sites, improve logistics support and make the assessment of medical needs for disaster areas need to be addressed to respond to challenges to come in the future.