(L-R) Tom de Waha, deputy group leader HIT; Claude Hoffstetter, HIT expert; Colonel Raymond Guidat, CGDIS; Credit: CGDIS

On Friday 11 March 2022, the Luxembourg Ministry of the Interior and the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action announced the return of Claude Hoffstetter, an expert from the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (Corps grand-ducal d'incendie et de secours - CGDIS), following a humanitarian mission to Madagascar.

Following the damage caused by Cyclone Batsirai which hit the Indian Ocean and more specifically Madagascar in February 2022, Luxembourg responded favorably to a request for international assistance to support the Malagasy people.

Within the framework of the partnership of the International Humanitarian Partnership network (IHP) of which the CGDIS is a member, Claude Hoffstetter, a volunteer firefighter and member of the intervention group in charge of the humanitarian missions of the CGDIS (HIT) was deployed on Wednesday 23 February 2022 in Madagascar to support the United Nations Team of Experts for Disaster and Emergency Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC).

These teams, which are deployed in the first phase of an emergency, notably assess the needs in terms of international relief and coordinate support efforts on site. After two weeks of mission, Mr Hoffstetter arrived on Thursday 10 March 2022 at Findel airport where he was welcomed by his family, CGDIS officials and the intervention group responsible for CGDIS humanitarian missions.