Red Cross Blogs

Worldwide disaster response round-up

By Ellie Matthews
April 7, 2011 at 5:06 pm

Here’s a brief round-up of how the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is helping people to deal with disasters around the world.

© ICRC/ Noora Kero

Ivory Coast: Following the disputed presidential election in November the humanitarian situation in the country has deteriorated rapidly. In response the British Red Cross has launched the Ivory Coast Crisis Appeal. The organisation has also given £475,000 from its Disaster Fund to provide immediate help for people affected by the violence.

In Ivory Coast around one million people have had to leave their homes. With many people fleeing into neighbouring countries, over 100,000 refugees have sought safety in Liberia, more than 2,000 in Ghana, over 1,000 in Guinea and hundreds more elsewhere in the region. It is estimated that 60 per cent of refugees are children.

Food, water supply and sanitation conditions in Liberian host communities are under enormous strain, with reported outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera.

The Red Cross is working in the region to help more than 100,000 people. It is distributing emergency relief items, assisting wounded people and providing medical items, water, sanitation, seeds and tools.

Donate to our Ivory Coast Crisis Appeal.

Read more about the situation in Ivory Coast and why the appeal was launched now.

Libya and region: In Libya, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) now has an office in Benghazi, and a logistical base and a warehouse in the eastern city of Tobruk. In the city of Ajdabiya it has provided about 15,000 people with food and essential household items, and supplied the main hospital with medical equipment.

As the conflict continues, lives are increasingly at risk. At the invitation of the Libyan authorities the ICRC has met with key Libyan government figures to discuss the expansion of the organisation’s humanitarian activities to the entire country.

The ICRC and the IFRC continue to work with Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies in Egypt, Tunisia and Italy to help people fleeing the conflict. The British Red Cross is working in Tunisia to provide sanitation and promote hygiene in camps near the border, and to help manage the arrival and distribution of relief items.

The ICRC has visited over 80 Libyan servicemen and other people held by the armed opposition in Benghazi to check on their treatment and conditions. The ICRC has also warned that weapon contamination now represents a major hazard for the country’s civilian population.

Donate to our Libya and Region Appeal.

© Japanese Red Cross

Japan: Following the earthquake and tsunami, more than 484 Japanese Red Cross medical teams, involving about 3,000 doctors, nurses and support staff, have been deployed in the affected prefectures. They have been assessing the needs of the survivors, and providing basic healthcare services and psychosocial support to evacuees.

The Japanese Red Cross has distributed over 125,500 blankets and 20,700 emergency relief packs.

Donate to our Japan Tsunami Appeal.

New Zealand: After an earthquake which left more than 160 people dead and at least 2,500 injured, the New Zealand Red Cross is now helping with long-term recovery in the country. Processing centres have been set up to help distribute emergency and hardship grants to the worst affected.

Donate to our New Zealand Earthquake Appeal.

Somalia: Severe drought, coupled with outbreaks of heavy fighting, has left 32 per cent of Somalia’s population – around 2.4 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance.

Since the beginning of the drought, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has distributed emergency supplies to half a million people throughout Somalia and has delivered water to almost one million. The ICRC is providing long-term support to 36 clinics and 14 outpatient therapeutic feeding centres. With the ICRC’s help, the Somali Red Crescent Society recently opened two new health clinics in Middle Juba, a region of southern Somalia affected by conflict and drought. These two clinics alone will benefit over 100,000 people in the region.

In March, the British Red Cross gave £110,000 from its Disaster Fund to help the Somali Red Crescent assist those affected by the drought.

Read more on the drought in Somalia and how the Red Cross is helping.

© British Red Cross

Yemen: After violence which left some people dead and many injured, the situation has further deteriorated in the north of the country. Renewed armed clashes have occurred in Sa’ada and Al-Jawf. Many families in camps for displaced people and elsewhere are fully dependent on humanitarian aid provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Yemen Red Crescent.

The ICRC has called upon the country’s healthcare facilities to admit any injured person regardless of their affiliations and for medical personnel to exercise total impartiality.

Read more about the situation in Yemen and how the Red Cross is helping.

*The Movement is made of 186 National Societies (including the British Red Cross), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Tags: Egypt, Italy, Ivory Coast, Ivory Coast Crisis Appeal, Japan, Japan Tsunami Appeal, Japanese Red Cross, Libya, Libya & Region Appeal, new zealand, New Zealand Earthquake Appeal, Pakistan, Pakistan Floods Appeal, Somalia, Tunisia, Yemen

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 7th, 2011 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Emergencies, International. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.