Mr. Kassem Chaalan is the Disaster Risk Reduction Program Manager at the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC). Mr. Chaalan has started his journey with the LRC as early as 1993 as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in Tyre branch of Southern Lebanon. From an EMT he has been assigned as a head of station and from that point onwards as the Program Manager for the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program. The DRR program was initiated in 2012 as a pilot in Tyre. Mr. Chaalan has been instrumental in the expansion and scaling up of the program systematically to include North, Beqaa and South regions of Lebanon.
He has had a remarkable role in enhancing the DRR work not only at the LRC level but also at the national level. In addition to his work as a Program Manager, Mr. Chaalan is an instructor within the LRC on topics of General Training Course, Mass Casualty Incidence, Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support, Cadre Training and Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction. Prior to joining the Lebanese Red Cross, Mr. Chaalan has worked with BACTEC International as a Senior Medical Coordinator and Trainer for more than 8 years. BACTECT International is a British Company concerned with Explosive Ordnance Survey, Clearance and Disposal (EOD) and Landmine Clearance. Several missions outside Lebanon have been conducted by him with the aim of establishing standard operating procedures and capacity building.