North Africa Archives

Image credit: WHO Libya

This Learning Needs Assessment identifies capacity gaps and learning needs among engineers and technical specialists engaged in response efforts in Libya.

Understanding these gaps is essential for developing targeted training programs, that can enhance the skills and knowledge required to address the complex challenges posed by the conflict.

The LNA also assessed the existing strengths among engineers, so RedR can recommend the best ways that humanitarian partners can leverage best these capabilities.

Download publication

Using the findings to train disaster responders on the most urgent topics

Subsequently, RedR conducted this in-depth and detailed Learning Needs Assessment to better inform the ongoing training response to the disaster in Libya. The overarching questions that this Learning Needs Assessment seeks to assess are:

What are the current capacity gaps and learning needs amongst humanitarian responders to
the Libya floods?
What are the capacity strengths amongst humanitarians responding to the floods?
How can humanitarian partners best utilise these strengths?

It enables RedR to tailor our response to the evolving needs of the crisis. By understanding the specific learning needs and capacity gaps, RedR can provide training that is most relevant and impactful, thereby enhancing the overall response in Libya.

Key findings

Various trainings were identified as a need such as:

coordination
needs assessment
water management
WASH
flood effect on structures and infrastructures
Rapid Damage Assessments
Accountability to Affected Populations
Humanitarian principles
protection
personal safety and security.

There is a shift in needs now that Libya is no longer in an emergency phase but is now in a transitional phase. Some of the trainings that are more of a priority now are DRR and climate
change.

Caption

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud.
 QUOTE SOURCE

Caption

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud.
 QUOTE SOURCE

Caption

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud.
 QUOTE SOURCE

Caption

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud.
 QUOTE SOURCE

Caption

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud.
 QUOTE SOURCE

Yousra, a participant in a RedR case study, and training participant, conducts mental health first aid training in Libya in response to the September 2023 flood.

Yousra is a mental health physician, with experience working with many different organisations, locally and internationally.

Working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Capacity Building Assistant, she runs training and workshops on mental health, especially for migrant groups in schools and other community contexts. She is also the founder of Mwja, an enterprise providing training and raising community awareness about mental health. Yousra is experienced in supporting people through crisis contexts. In 2019, she founded an NGO platform to raise awareness around managing stress created by the civil war in Libya.

The flood in Libya, caused by the breaking of two dams following Storm Daniel on 11 September 2023, caused over 30,000 people to lose their homes, with more than 10,000 people having lost their lives. The disaster causes widespread psychological trauma for those affected by the flood, as well as for those who respond.

I received many calls regarding psychological assistance for affected people. This prompted me to think about preparing a training programme. There is so much need. I wanted to qualify others in providing psychosocial first aid sessions. Even at a basic level, we need to make sure the right help is available to the right person, at the right time.

Through RedR’s Training of Trainers programme, Yousra developed her skills in online training delivery, learning to improve interactivity, and ensure participants take in what they’re learning. “In addition to a certificate that may help me develop my career”, says Yousra, “valuable information and a network of relationships with trainers and attendees is the biggest gain for me.”

Equipped to develop her own online training for mental health support workers working with those affected by the Libya floods, Yousra is launching her own online programme in February 2024. With specific expertise for disaster contexts, Yousra will pass on her expertise in psychological first aid, self-care for responders, and empower her participants to begin their own basic steps to facilitate support group for adults and children.

Thanks for your support for RedR’s work in Libya, generously supported by H2H and FCDO. If you’d like to give financially to support this and similar projects for disaster-affected communities all over the world, you can do so here.

Basma’s support for people affected by the floods in Libya September 2023.

Since the floods that devastated the city of Derna in Libya last September, Basma El-Werfally has been working with her team to provide support.

Chair of Meras Organisation for Development, a youth volunteer and development organisation, Basma lead a large campaign in the aftermath of the flood, giving food, household items, and other essentials to families who had lost everything.

Founded in 2017 to strengthen the role of civil society in Libya, Meras usually focuses on capacity development, particularly of women and young people. Their first project strengthened social entrepreneurship among organisational leaders, and Meras went on to support capacities for various vulnerable groups affected by conflict, adopting projects for economic and political empowerment of women and young people. With several projects implemented with funding from the European Union and local partners, Meras aspires to implement many programs that enhance its role as a Libyan civil society organization contributing to achieving sustainable development in Libya.

Although Basma was experienced in working in contexts of conflict, the flood brought a new kind of disaster on an unprecedented scale. Alongside the challenges of the emergency response including lack of available data, security and political challenges, and a widespread lack of confidence in donor organisations, Basma and her team were also profoundly affected psychologically by the disaster.

Although she is already an experienced coach and trainer, Basma had never worked in a humanitarian disaster of this kind. RedR’s Training of Trainers programme equipped Basma with the humanitarian knowledge she needed to train others, with the specific skills needed in emergency disaster response contexts.

Now, we are forming teams of disaster response trainers. Many people are still very affected by the flood damage. In 2024 I’ll be providing much more training to empower people.

This training has directly given us the tools to develop our skills in this field. We will continue to respond.

Thanks for your support for RedR’s work in Libya, generously supported by FCDO and H2H. If you’d like to give financially to support this and similar projects for disaster-affected communities all over the world, you can do so here.

Using the findings to train disaster responders on the most urgent topics

Key findings

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum

Newsletter