The members of Norwegian Church Aid's Emergency Preparedness Roster provide an extra pool of skilled resources when special needs arise. Roster members are deployed to NCA's emergency response operations abroad or are seconded to NCA field offices, to partners within the ACT alliance or UN agencies.
The group is composed of approximately 70 individuals who have normal jobs but who are on permanent stand-by to travel to disaster areas at short notice when the need arises. Group members have expertise within the following areas:
When an emergency situation arises, the members of the roster must be able to facilitate a quick departure. Norwegian Church Aid offers various alternative departure schedules – from 72 hours to three weeks. The duration of their missions may vary from two weeks to six months, with three months as an average. In 2018 NCA deployed roster members Bangladesh, Nigeria, Niger, Ethiopia, Iraq and Sudan.
All new members of the roster must go through an induction training and a security training before deployment. In addition, all members will be invited to subject specific trainings and an annual emergency roster training. These trainings shall prepare the roster members for working in the field.