USAID: Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq - What is a DART?

Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq >> USAID Home >> Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq >> What is a DART? President Discusses the Future of Iraq in Speech at American Enterprise Institute USAID Fact Sheet: USAID Contingency Plans for Humanitarian Assistance to Iraq DARTs for Iraq: How could a DART help in Iraq? DART Successes What is a DART? What does a DART look like? The DART Manual - The Field Operations Guide (.pdf format, 901k) Press & Speeches: U.S. Prepared to Deliver Humanitarian Relief to Iraq in Event of War Press Briefing On White House Inter-Agency Humanitarian Reconstruction Issues More USAID Resources: Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance Asia and the Near East Other Resources: White House Department of State What is a DART? USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) are groups of specialists trained in a variety of relief skills who assist U.S. Embassies and USAID Missions with the management of the United States Government response to disasters and complex emergencies. The activities of a DART vary depending on the type, size, and complexity of disaster or emergency to which the DART is deployed. During an emergency, the focus of a DART is to: Coordinate the assessment of the situation and report on the needs. Recommend U.S. Government response actions. Manage U.S. Government onsite relief activities (for example, search and rescue and air operations). Manage the receipt, distribution, and monitoring of U.S. Government provided relief supplies. During long term, complex disasters, the focus of a DART is to: Gather information on the general disaster situation. Assess the effectiveness of the overall humanitarian response. Identify the needs not being met by current overall response efforts. Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of current USG funded relief activities. Review proposals of relief activities for possible future funding. Advise USAID/Embassy on disaster issues. Make recommendations to USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance on follow on strategies and actions. Fund relief organizations and procure contractual services when delegated the authority. During a disaster or complex emergency response, DARTs coordinate their activities with the affected country, private voluntary organizations (PVOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (IOs), and UN relief agencies and other assisting countries. When U.S. military assets are involved with the disaster response, the DART will work closely with those assets to ensure a coordinated effort by U.S. Government resources. Last updated: Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 10:47:44 EST