The agreement signed between the ICRC and the MDA in June 2003 marked an important step in deepening cooperation between the two organizations, which had been working together closely for some time before that. In 2004, this agreement culminated in the signing on 9 June of a 2-year Cooperation Framework agreement and a one-year extension to the project agreements on Movement Integration, Law and Fundamental Principles, Emergency Medical Services/Disaster Preparedness Management and Restoring Family Links as per ICRC standard critieria. The total value of the cooperation budget for 2004 amounted to 2.2 million USD.

The ICRC will continue to develop this partnership in 2005. Activities will include continued support for the MDA's medical mission, the strengthening of the MDA's capacities in areas of special expertise (e.g. volunteers and emergency medical services), continued support for tracing activities and assistance and support for the establishment of a dissemination unit within the MDA. Dissemination activities at all levels within the MDA and the further integration of the MDA into the Movement are also priorities.

The areas of cooperation include:


Medical care

Between 1996 and 1998 the ICRC helped the MDA to expand its blood bank, providing funds to buy medical equipment. Operational co-operation aimed at reinforcing the MDA's ambulance and blood transfusion services progressed steadily in 2002. In 2003, the MDA had to expand its medical services to cope with mass casualties caused by incidents such as suicide bombings. The ICRC helped offset increased staff costs by paying some of the additional overheads incurred.

In 2004, the ICRC continued its financial and technical support to the MDA to ensure that it could provide an efficient national emergency medical service and respond effectively to more than 1,100 daily calls. The ICRC supported the purchase of blood bags and, in 2003, 272,000 blood units were donated.


Restoring family links

In 2002, the ICRC provided funds for the establishment of an MDA tracing service capable of restoring contacts between separated families, tracing missing persons and helping Israeli victims of the Holocaust with the necessary paperwork to receive compensation.

In 2004, technical and financial support from the ICRC and the British Red Cross allowed the MDA tracing unit to continue to provide services to people in Israel wishing to re-establish family links. The MDA tracing service continued to develop a computerised database system, initiated in 2003, to permit a more effective and efficient management of the existing 2,000 case files plus a monthly average of 70 new requests. This computerised database will also help the MDA follow up tracing cases with 13 National Societies including the Ukrainian Red Cross, the Hungarian Red Cross, the Russian Red Cross and the American Red Cross.

In December 2004, the ICRC provided financial assistance so that the MDA tracing officer could visit the International Tracing Centre (ITC) in Arolsen, Germany to follow up and deal with outstanding Israeli cases. It is planned that the MDA Tracing Officer will visit the ITC on an annual or biannual basis.


International Humanitarian Law and Fundamental Principles

The ICRC is supporting the MDA's efforts to have the programme "Exploring Humanitarian Law" introduced into the Israeli school system. The programme, run by the ICRC in some 70 countries worldwide, seeks to educate young people on the need to respect basic humanitarian rules at all times.

In 2003, the ICRC provided financial support and expertise for the MDA's annual plan to promote IHL and knowledge of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. ICRC staff contributed to two IHL seminars organized for MDA employees and took part in IHL sessions at MDA summer camps. New printed and electronic material on IHL and the Movement was prepared in close cooperation with the ICRC.

In 2004, all MDA training courses and workshops for staff and volunteers included a component on IHL, the Movement and Fundamental Principles.


Disaster Management

In October 2002 the MDA created a disaster management unit, with the ICRC providing financial support for staff costs and office set-up. The unit is intended to enable the MDA to take part in international operations of the International Federation or the ICRC during large-scale emergencies abroad (see below). It is also looking at ways to strenghthen the MDA's role in responding to natural disasters in Israel.

In 2003, the MDA organized its first disaster management workshop for its staff in cooperation with the ICRC, the International Federation and the American Red Cross. The German, Norwegian and British Red Cross societies as well as the Palestine Red Crescent also took part.

A second workshop was held in 2004, highlighting the importance of the initiative.Currently the MDA is drafting a disaster management policy and collaborating with the Israeli government in the preparation of a national earthquake preparedness plan.

In January 2005, the MDA assisted in responding to the tsunami disaster by sending a tracing officer to support the ICRC's delegation in Sri Lanka for one month.


Enhancing MDA's international profile

With the support of the ICRC and the International Federation, the MDA has increasingly fulfilled the role of a fully-fledged national society at the international level:

In recent years the MDA has contributed to emergency operations or joint activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement:

• 1999 (October) - an MDA doctor carried out a mission to Kosovo as ICRC "staff on loan" to study the possibility of implementing a blood transfusion project under ICRC auspices;
• 2000 (May) - the MDA organized the delivery of 40 tonnes of relief goods to Ethiopian famine victims in close coordination with the ICRC;
• 2004 (November) – 6 MDA staff and volunteers participated together with Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies from the Balkans and Eastern Europe in a Regional Disaster Response training session in Turkey organised by the International Federation and the ICRC.

Following the visit in 2003 of the Secretary General and Health Director of the Uganda Red Cross a joint first aid operation was developed that will involve MDA experts helping the Uganda Red Cross to set up a first aid training centre in Kampala in 2005. This initiative will be financially supported by the ICRC and the Danish Red Cross.
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Since December 2000 the MDA has hosted a representative of the International Federation at its headquarters in Tel Aviv, with the aim of facilitating the full integration of the MDA into the International Movement. The ICRC and the International Federation have helped the MDA develop contacts with various national societies (Uganda, Britain, Germany, Norway). MDA specialists have also taken part in the last three annual meetings of National Society legal advisers, organized by the ICRC in Geneva.

In September 2004, the ICRC and the International Federation supported the MDA in organising their first International Youth Exchange (IYE) in Israel for 16 volunteers from the MDA and 17 volunteers from the USA, UK, Bulgaria, Norway, Denmark, Uganda and Jordan. The aim of the IYE was to exchange experiences on protecting human dignity and to explore responses to disasters. The IYE will be repeated in 2005 with volunteers from more National Societies invited to participate.


See also :

Magen David Adom society, website of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen

Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center, American Red Cross website