The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is an umbrella organization that provides support to 186 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies worldwide. On June 7, China.org.cn interviewed Francis Markus, China spokesperson for the IFRC, in Chengdu where he is helping coordinate the IFRC response to the Sichuan earthquake.

Can you describe the IFRC response to the Sichuan Earthquake?

The IFRC initially put out an appeal for US$19 million for the Sichuan earthquake and this has since been revised upwards to US$95 million. We expect another upwards revision.

The IFRC effort is mainly focused on the need for shelter as there is an acute shortage of tents in the disaster area. The Chinese government plans to mobilize 900,000 tents and the IFRC has pledged to deliver an additional 100,000 by the end of June. This means we have to get thousands of tents through Chengdu airport every day if we are to meet our target.

Another important issue is water and sanitation. The IFRC is providing three Emergency Response Units (ERU), two of which will provide clean and safe drinking water for 30,000 people and a mass sanitation module to provide toilets for 20,000 people. The units will be operated by teams from Austria, Britain, France and Spain.

In the longer term the IFRC will help with the process of reconstruction, especially in the more remote and vulnerable communities.

Have you had any problems sourcing relief supplies?

We are sourcing all our tents from outside China. Tens of thousands, the bulk of them, will come from Iran, as the Iranian Red Crescent just happens to have large numbers of tents available. This will simplify the logistics as there will be an easy supply chain from Tehran to here. We are also sourcing tents from Germany, Finland and Japan.

How did you select the sites of the Emergency Response Units?

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) initially singled out the places. We then sent our people in to do an assessment and finally the ERU teams themselves did their own assessments, so we had several layers of assessments. We decided on Jiulong, Banqiao and Xinglong, all in Mianzhu.

How have things gone in terms of cooperation with local governments?

Extremely well; we have had very good cooperation and support and the level of interest has been very high. The level of support from the RCSC has also been very high. We believe that during this crisis we are seeing something very new and significant in China's experience of the Red Cross movement.

After some time, the Emergency Response Units will be handed over to the Chinese Red Cross. Each ERU team has a Chinese counterpart learning the ropes and how to operate the equipment. They will take over after a few weeks. This also applies to the German Field Hospital we set up in Dujiangyan.

The RCSC is very interested in the ERUs, because there is a feeling that at some point in the future, the RCSC is going to play a much more pro-active role as a giver of assistance to other countries, so the RCSC is interested in exploring setting up its own ERUs.

Can you tell us more about the Red Cross Society of China?

The RCSC was set up in 1904 and it is commonly tagged the oldest NGO in China. After 1949 it was subsumed under the umbrella of the Ministry of Health but since 1994 there has been a process of separation. The separation is complete at the national, provincial and city levels, but at the township level you still find people wearing both government and Red Cross hats. It has been a momentous process and has opened up many new opportunities and avenues for the RCSC.

The present disaster has projected the RCSC into a much more important and prominent role than it has ever played before and we are seeing a whole new phase in its evolution.

What numbers and capabilities has the Chinese Red Cross been able to mobilize?

For this earthquake we've had more than 35,000 RCSC staffers and volunteers involved.

Are most skilled in medicine or other specialties?

Not necessarily. There have been medical teams from all over China but also volunteers from all walks of life. In the early days after the earthquake, the courtyard of the Sichuan Provincial Red Cross was packed with people prepared to do all sorts of things, such as carrying food and water supplies, disinfecting areas and so on.

How effective have the volunteers been?

Well from the Red Cross point of view there was a level of coordination and a determination to make sure people were doing what was needed and what they were capable of doing. Obviously the Red Cross was not the only rallying point for volunteers and there was some overlap and lack of coordination in places, but overall, compared to any other disaster on this scale the picture has been one of organization and order, rather than disorganization and disorder.

Have there been any gaps in the relief effort?

From the Red Cross perspective, we've been extraordinarily impressed by the speed, efficiency and commitment of the government's response to the disaster. But no government, not matter how powerful, can meet all the needs of the people at the same time and at the same pace. So there is a role for the RCSC supported by the IFRC, especially helping in more remote areas, focusing on townships where it's more difficult for the government to come in with its large scale solutions. In the urban centers the scale of construction of prefabricated housing has been tremendous, but the smaller and further away the population center, the more difficult it is for the government, and it is here that the Red Cross can step in.

Can you give us an example of the work of the RCSC?

The RCSC has been helping with the construction of prefab schools; in Pengzhou, a satellite city of Chengdu, the RCSC has funded and organized the construction of 27 prefabricated schools.

We are going to see much more of this. The RCSC received an overwhelmingly generous response in terms of donations and it will be playing a very significant role in Sichuan in the long term.

How do you see the reconstruction phase developing?

We have seen already with all the other provinces involved in twinning arrangements that things are moving at tremendous speed. China will stun the world with the pace the rebuilding process moves. But that will also serve as a reminder that it takes more than bricks to rebuild communities and lives, and we also need to focus on people's psychological well-being. The RCSC has already sent teams of skilled psychologists to teach volunteers how to counsel earthquake survivors.

Many survivors are experiencing grief, some are experiencing anger. Many people have told me they feel a sense of inertia and are not able to move forward with their lives. There's a lot of stress, but also a lot of determination and resolve to get back to their communities and start rebuilding, even if that means living in tents. I'm sure that will happen at an impressive pace, even if psychological scars inevitably remain for many people.