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This plan outlines the the support that IFRC Asia Pacific Regional Office will provide to the national societies of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. The three countries have different institutional needs and focus areas of support. Similarly, the levels of risk and vulnerabilities vary. While in the case of Malaysia the risks of floods are an anual problem with an increased of traffic accidents and and growing increase on non-communicable diseases; Singapore faces risks that are associated to ageing and urban related emergencies such as with fires and development planning issues; and in the case of Brunei, traffic accidents, non-communicable diseases are becoming substantial concerns. In all the three countries the inclusion of the One Billion Coalition for Resilience partnership platform will contribute to scale the capacities of the national societies and participating members of the coalition to reach to more communities accross the system.

Brunei: Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) is shifting from a volunteer-based organization to a national society that will start creating a more formal structure to scale their activities by embarking on a strategic planning process which may enable it to benefit from some IFRC tools that lead to clearer risk and vulnerability identification. Focus will remain on strengthening the local volunteer based presence of BDRCS through its four branches to build deeper local credibility, sustainability and auxiliary understanding and support for the vital public humanitarian services it offers communities.

Malaysia: Malaysian Red Crescent Society regularly engages in disaster response operations especially in the monsoon floods and flash floods faced in the country, mainly from the northeast monsoon which prevails during the months of November to March, with heavy rains in the east coast states of the Peninsula, northern part of Sabah and southern part of Sarawak. Another environmental challenge which Malaysia faces, and has both health and other consequences, is periodic intense haze. The haze, attributed to be a direct result of ‘slash and burn’ activities around the region, causes pollution levels to reach record highs. When the air pollutant index (API) reaches hazardous limits, it causes a chain reaction: schools are closed, residents cannot leave their homes to undertake normal outdoor activities, flights are delayed or cancelled, ships have poor visibility, and respiratory health problems increase. It is imperative that MRCS further strengthens its capacity in the core areas of expected deliverables.

Singapore: While Singapore scores high in the humanitarian development index (9th out of 189 countries and territories), the country has challenges to address with regards to inequality and an ageing population. Singapore is also often mentioned as best performer for its economic competitiveness, rule of law and innovation-fostering environment as well as its influencing voice across the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) and beyond. In this context, Singapore Red Cross Society has raised to a recognized level of excellency with regards to safety and first aid, social care programmes, youth and volunteer engagement and growing role in international emergency response, most of time through bilateral modalities. The national society is also known to foster thought-leadership on humanitarian and development issues, including through its annual humanitarian conference and developed productive collaboration across the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement at large.