RedR

RedR (pronounced 'Red R') is an international NGO whose stated mission is to “rebuild lives in times of disaster by training, supporting, and providing aid workers to relief programmes across the world.” It was originally an acronym for Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief, although it is no longer used as such.

RedR delivers training to the humanitarian sector and their staff, enabling them to respond to the needs of disaster hit communities, efficiently and safely. In order to improve future response, RedR focuses on capacity building and disaster risk reduction for communities affected by natural and man-made disasters.

They further help to ensure that skilled professionals are always available to respond to major global emergencies through an aid worker recruitment service and by advising and training potential new relief workers.

The RedR Federation comprises several nationally accredited RedR organisations who all share a common vision and mission. These include RedR organisations in Australia, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and UK.

1980s
RedR was founded in London in 1980 by engineer Peter Guthrie following time spent delivering aid during the Vietnamese Boat People Crisis. Mr. Guthrie said: “When I returned [from the refugee crisis in Malaysia] I saw the pressing need for engineers to help in this sort of work and compiled a register of engineers who could be called upon at short notice to work with frontline relief agencies.”

On the advice of Oxfam’s chief engineer Jim Howard, Oxfam provided seed funding and RedR was formally registered as a charity.

In 1985, RedR faced its first major challenge with the onset of the Ethiopian Famine. A significant number of RedR Members were required to work on relief programmes in Ethiopia and neighbouring Sudan. In 1988, The Princess Royal became President of RedR, a position she still holds today.

1990s
In 1991, RedR UK’s training programme began.

In 1992, RedR Australia was founded. It commenced with a register of engineers and soon after began delivering training for humanitarian workers.

In 1994, the Rwanda crisis erupted and over 100 RedR Members were deployed to the Great Lakes region, while RedR New Zealand was established. A year later, the first ever edition of ‘Engineering in Emergencies: A Practical Guide for Relief Workers’ by RedR Members Jan Davis and Robert Lambert was published.

In 1998, RedR launched its Technical Support Service for relief workers in the field and the following year their first regional training – Security Management - in Tirana, Albania.

2000s
In 2003, RedR UK merged with International Health Exchange (IHE), an organisation that improved the preparation and recruitment of health professionals for overseas emergency situations. RedR UK set up a programme office for the first time in East Africa.

In 2005, in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, RedR launched a ‘Learning Support and Capacity Building Programme’ in Sri Lanka and commenced a similar programme in Pakistan following the 2005 earthquake. In the same year, RedR established a programme in Darfur, Sudan, in response to the country's civil war and trained 4,000 national and international aid workers over the next five years.

RedR UK and RedR Australia became involved in the UN Cluster approach in 2006. RedR leads the training of aid workers within a number of cluster groups, including WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Emergency Shelter, Health and Nutrition.

In 2009, RedR UK linked with Oxford Brookes University to offer credit-rated courses in six of its training courses.

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, RedR established a programme and trained 1,000 relief workers to support the response. 91% of trainees were Haitian nationals. RedR Lanka was also established in its own right to help assist in long term capacity building in Sri Lanka.

In 2011, RedR UK set up a country programme in South Sudan to assist with ongoing insecurity in the region.

Starting late 2014, UK Redr took over training of UK NHS staff being deployed to Sierra Leone to respond to the Ebola Crisis in that country.

Training
Though RedR started as a register of engineers for disaster relief, for over 20 years it has also delivered training across the globe for the humanitarian sector and their staff.

UK Programme
RedR's UK programme delivers a range of training courses, from a basic introduction to the sector to specialist courses for professional aid workers. RedR offers credit rated courses in partnership with Oxford Brookes University in an effort to further professionalise the humanitarian sector.

Course subjects delivered include: safety, security, logistics, shelter, WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene), project management, and training of trainers.

The President of RedR UK is Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.

RedR Australia
RedR Australia was founded in 1992 by engineer Jeff Dobel. Its founding bodies were Engineers Australia, Consult Australia, Professionals Australia, and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA).

RedR Australia selects, trains and deploys humanitarian experts to support humanitarian crises around the world. It maintains a roster of more than 1000 senior humanitarians and 80 humanitarian trainers, and every year it trains and deploys hundreds of humanitarians across a wide range of skill profiles. In FY23, these humanitarians worked in 40 countries across the world.

RedR Australia is the implementing partner for the Australia Assists Program, the Australian Government's humanitarian civilian deployment program, which is run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The Australia Assists Program deploys technical specialists to help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from natural hazards and conflict. In FY23, the program deployed 116 senior humanitarians to 37 countries around the world to address a wide range of humanitarian needs. The program was established in 2017.

RedR Australia also delivers a range of humanitarian training courses, including Essentials of Humanitarian Practice (EHP), Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT), Humanitarian Logistics in Emergencies (HLE), Water and Sanitation in Emergencies (WASH), Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPHA), as well as bespoke courses for professional aid workers. RedR Australia maintains educational partnerships with the University of New South Wales, Western Sydney University and RMIT University. RedR Australia's training courses are highly regarded and in FY23 they received an average participant satisfaction rating of 92%.

RedR Australia is a Standby Partner to 16 United Nations agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Women. These partnerships allow RedR Australia to deploy their roster members to work with these UN agencies following the onset of humanitarian crises and in complex emergencies.

RedR Australia also maintains a wide array of partnerships with governments, including the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; international NGOs such as FHI 360 and Habitat for Humanity; civil society organisations such as Pacific Community (SPC), ASEAN, Rotary and Fiji Council of Social Services; and the corporate sector, including Arup and GHD.

RedR Australia is a leader in gender equality in the humanitarian sector. In FY23, 50 per cent of RedR Australia's UN deployees identified as female. It is currently the only UN Standby Partner to achieve a parity between male and female deployees.

RedR Australia is also committed to cultural diversity, with 82 nationalities represented by roster members in FY23.

RedR Australia maintains offices in Melbourne, Australia; Suva, Fiji; and Amman, Jordan.

In July 2023, humanitarian lawyer Dr Helen Durham AO became RedR Australia's CEO. Previously, Durham was the Director of International Law and Policy at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to Durham, Kirsten Sayers served as CEO of RedR Australia and stepped down in early 2023.

In September 2023, RedR Australia launched a podcast called Humanitarian Conversations in which experienced humanitarians discuss "what it means to be a humanitarian in today’s world". Interviewees include Dr Helen Durham, Peter Grzic, Mel Bencik and Katherine Harries. The podcast is hosted by Sally Cunningham.

Country Programmes
RedR UK has country programmes in Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Pakistan. These programmes have been set up in response to the ongoing humanitarian crises in these regions and the needs of the various humanitarian organisations operating there. With high levels of insecurity, there is a focus on security training for aid agencies working in the field.

Pakistan
RedR set up a new training programme in Islamabad in 2010 to support the humanitarian community within the country following the ongoing internal conflict in the North-West of the country. This follows a previous programme set up in response to the 2005 earthquake, which ran until June 2006.

Courses currently delivered focus on security management, humanitarian training and humanitarian practice and principles.

Sudan
RedR established its Sudan Programme in 2005, specialising in safety and security training for aid workers due to the ongoing conflict in Darfur. It provides Staff Welfare and Critical Incident Training to humanitarian staff to help workers move on from traumatic experiences faced in insecure environments. As well as security training, RedR delivers a range of courses aimed at improving the capacity of both local and international aid agencies.

South Sudan
RedR UK set up a new operation in South Sudan in preparation for the country's separation from Sudan in July 2011. The training programme is based in the capital Juba and is unique to the country.

East Africa
RedR UK opened its humanitarian training centre in Nairobi, Kenya in September 2011. This was in response to the Horn of Africa Food Crisis in the summer of 2011. Funds for the project were raised partly through RedR's East Africa Appeal.

Bespoke Training
RedR Australia, UK and India provide an international bespoke training and consultancy service, covering all major aspects of humanitarian work. Disciplines include: Security Management, Personal Security, Training of Trainers for the Humanitarian Sector, Project Management in Emergencies, and Logistics.

RedR tailor their existing modules or devise new courses to meet the needs of an organisation they are training. RedR trainers go to these organisations wherever they are around the world.

Recruitment Service
RedR provides a recruitment service for aid agencies, governments and private sector companies responding to major disasters through its Member's register, which currently has a pool of about 1,700 specialists. RedR's recruitment register focuses on all areas of the humanitarian sector, but specialises in engineering, health, logistics, security, and management consultants.


 * Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, RedR provided 79 people within the first three months.
 * Following the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, RedR provided 80 people within the first three months.
 * Following Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar 2008, 140 RedR members were waiting to be deployed as and when they were needed.

Technical Support Service
RedR UK provides free online technical advice to humanitarian agencies and aid workers worldwide. This service gives access to 150 technical experts – including aid workers, academics and specialists from the corporate sector – who aim to reply to any query within 24–48 hours.

Vision, Mission and Values
RedR states its vision is a ‘world in which sufficient competent and committed personnel are available and responding to humanitarian needs.’

RedR believes in the provision of humanitarian assistance to people wherever it is needed to relieve suffering and sickness.

A key idea they integrate when responding to disasters is that people and communities affected by disasters themselves should be empowered to develop skills for immediate and future disaster response.

RedR Federation Members

 * RedR UK (1980)
 * RedR Australia (1992)
 * RedR India (2003)
 * RedR Malaysia (2005)
 * RedR Indonesia (2007)