Regional Centre for Emergency Preparedness (eCentre)

Participants at an eCentre training listen during a simulation exercise in Hua Hin, Thailand, in 2019.

About the eCentre

The UNHCR Regional Centre for Emergency Preparedness (eCentre) was founded in Tokyo in 2000 through a grant from the Trust Fund for Human Security by the Japanese government.

The eCentre's main focus is to strengthen the operational capacity of UNHCR partners and other actors in emergency prepardeness and response, protection, safety and security and to encourage interagency collaboration in the context of humanitarian emergencies.

The eCentre plays a unique role within UNHCR as the only dedicated platform to building emergency preparedness capacities targeting government partners and NGOs throughout Asia and the Pacific.

The eCentre focuses on three main areas:

To strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacities through learning initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region,
To provide tailored and targeted technical support to UNHCR and their partners in the Asia- Pacific region, and,
To establish further regional emergency preparedness and response mechanisms to ensure UNHCR’s participation and contribution to overall emergency coordination.

What we do

The eCentre conducts innovative capacity-building activities and provides tailored training and technical support to operations in the field.

Since 2000, the eCentre has trained about 7,000 practitioners. On average, it runs or supports 8 to 12 events each calendar year.

The eCentre’s core regional trainings include:

Basics of International Humanitarian Response (BIHR)
Security Risk Management (SRM)
Essentials Humanitarian Negotiation (EHN)
Safety in the Field (SIF)

The eCentre’s initiatives and country-operation tailored trainings are developed around specific themes which include but are not limited to:

Emergency preparedness and response
Inter-agency contingency planning and Emergency Simulation Exercise
Protection in preparedness

This support is available throughout the year on request from UNHCR country operations to the eCentre through the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. For more information, please contact the eCentre.

Our partners and networks

The eCentre partners with governments, local and international NGOs and UN agencies.

The eCentre is co-funded by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNHCR.

Furthermore, the eCentre relies on external service providers with additional support from operational partners as well as internal divisions within UNHCR, including the Division of Emergency, Security and Supply (DESS), the Global Learning and Development Centre (GLDC), and the Division of Information Systems and Telecommunications (DIST).

Participants of the "Basics of International Humanitarian Response (BIHR)" taking part in an immediate needs assessment activity in Hua Hin, Thailand. 2022

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Where we operate

The eCentre is part of UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. It supports UNHCR operations within the region.

2024 Regional Trainings	Dates
Security Risk Management (SRM) Workshop	18 – 22 Mar \| Online
Essentials of Humanitarian Negotiations (EHN) Workshop	20 – 24 May \| Online
Safety in the Field (SIF) Workshop	07 – 11 Oct \| Hua Hin, Thailand
Basics of International Humanitarian Response (BIHR) Workshop	28 Oct – 01 Nov \| Online