Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

You see, the American Red Cross is a founding partner of the Measles Initiative – one of the most successful global health partnerships of our lifetime. We’ve been supporting mass vaccination campaigns in more than 60 impoverished countries for nearly 10 years, but recently I’ve seen awareness of the problem and support for the solution grow exponentially.

And just in time. We’re so close to our goal, but outbreaks throughout Africa and a significant funding gap are threatening to take innocent lives and erase all of our progress. It’s comforting to know that others understand the urgency and are willing to join the effort.

Take former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, for example. They recently coauthored an op-ed to remind world leaders that measles remains a persistent problem and detail what needs to be done to end the fight – for good.

The World Health Organization estimates that the combined effect of decreased financial and political commitment may result in a return to over 500,000 measles deaths a year by 2013, erasing progress achieved over the past 18 years.

Then came an exciting partnership with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), for which all-star Candace Parker of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and well-known humanitarian Dikembe Mutombo of NBA fame donated their time and voices to a Public Service Announcement that debuted during the first round of WNBA Playoff games. Plus the WNBA, three of its teams and the American Red Cross chapters in Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle raised the bar (and funds) to help vaccinate the equivalent of 67 villages last week.

As I write this post, last season’s champs, the Phoenix Mercury, are preparing to host another Vaccinate a Village night as they face off against the Seattle Storm in the Western Conference Finals this Sunday.

This success impressed our friends over at the ONE Campaign who blogged about the partnership and showed just how important the Measles Initiative is to the success of other world health initiatives.

(The) reduction in measles deaths accounts for approximately 23 percent of all progress to date on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 — an impressive statistic worth remembering as we look forward to the MDG Summit in September and ONE’s broader work on vaccines this fall and into next year.

To round out the week, Melinda Gates shared the winner of her foundation’s poster contest with GOOD to draw attention to the upcoming MDG Summit, which, among other things, aims to improve the health of mothers and children. Designers based in Milan and New York found their inspiration in the Measles Initiative’s success, creating a message that we hope will spread – faster than the disease itself.

Although all of this high-profile support is helping, we need people like you to maintain this momentum. As we enter our tenth year of saving lives, join the American Red Cross and its Measles Initiative partners in an effort to vaccinate children — village by village — across the globe. In less than a decade, we have immunized 700 million children against measles. But this is not enough.

450 people still die each day. You can prevent this fate.

With a $1 donation, you can help vaccinate one child. With help from your friends, classmates and coworkers, you can easily help vaccinate an entire village.

Visit MeaslesInitiative.org to learn how your community, classroom or clan can make a gift that will last a lifetime.

It is the first day in country, but actually the second day of the deployment really.

The first day of the mission actually started last week already, the moment we were told that an American Emergency Response Unit was going to join the relief operation and that we were on the list. From that moment on, we started to get briefed and educate and prepare ourselves on the disaster, on the country and its particularities. Those days are dedicated on getting our lives ready, personal and professional, including shots, vaccinations, following updates more closely, etc…It is also comforting to know that former friends and colleagues for previous deployments are waiting for us on the ground. Although I have never been in Pakistan yet, it is not terra incognita..

Yet, last Friday was spent in Washington at Headquarters for briefings, operational, security, logistics, equipment, gear, etc. Departure from Dulles Airport Friday night at 11:00pm and got us to Islamabad Sunday morning at 3:30 in the morning.

First hours to get ourselves situated and after a few hours of sleep, security and operational briefing with Federation operational leadership. As team leader, I am sensing the importance of representing the American Red Cross and of its role and expectations within the Movement.

The learning curve might be steep already, but will likely become steeper in the next few days (meeting with Pakistan Red Crescent leadership tomorrow).

>> More information about the Pakistan National Red Crescent Society

>> You can donate to Pakistan relief via the American Red Cross

>> American Red Cross Increases Pakistan Flood Support to $5 million

>> Senior Vice President for International Affairs discusses Pakistan [YouTube]

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

Red Cross begins massive SMS campaign in Port-au-Prince [ReliefWeb]
The Red Cross is this week sending hundreds of thousands of SMS across Port-au-Prince in an effort to help people prepare themselves for the hurricane season.

First Aid Kit [MySpace]
Swedish folk group aiming for hearts instead of charts. You can buy a physical first aid kit from us here.

Ella [YouTube]
This is the story of Ella, a Sierra Leone Red Cross Society employee.

Pakistan Floods [YouTube]
You can donate via American Red Cross

Wordless Wednesday [Heritage Zen]
World War I Red Cross volunteers standing in front of St. Mary’s Church (Our Lady of Czestochowa), in Worcester, MA.

Archives Reveal [Smithsonian Institute blog]
During World War I, Woodrow and Edith Wilson kept a flock of sheep on the White House grounds to save costs to cut the grass, The wool was also auctioned off to raise money for the Red Cross.

I can see the headline now… [Columbus Red Cross chapter blog]
I felt a strong responsibility to tell gawkers, including my own family, to find shelter instead of watching this funnel cloud turn up in the sky on a warm evening in August while vacationing on Lake Erie – I work for the Red Cross after all.

9 year old hero saves drowning brother [ABC]
A 9-year-old boy is being credited with saving his 2-year-old brother’s life in a swimming pool accident in Joliet, Illinois, thanks to a life-saving CPR class. Take a class today.

California to deploy nation’s first mass mobile alert system [Government Technology]
California and Sprint have officially joined forces to spearhead the nation’s first mass mobile alert system, which means warnings about terrorist attacks, wildfires, hurricanes, school shootings and other emergency situations could soon be at citizens’ fingertips.

A rare fire tornado filmed in Brazil [BBC]
A ‘fire tornado’ has been caught on camera in the Brazilian municipality of Aracatuba, caused by strong, dry winds that fanned wildfires. A whirlwind of flames spiralling several metres high danced across fields, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby road, before it disappeared. The phenomenon followed weeks of drought which have sparked brush fires across the country.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

• Pakistan: IFRC quadruples emergency appeal [ReliefWeb]

You can help provide relief from the floods in Pakistan through the American Red Cross: Donate here

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

PAKISTAN: The worst flooding since 1929 has left more than 1,400 people dead and 2.5 million temporarily displaced. So far, the Pakistan Red Crescent has provided thousands of people with food packs, relief items and tents from its prepositioned supplies. The American Red Cross has committed an initial $100,000 to support their ongoing relief efforts targeted at the most vulnerable populations, including women and children.

ASIA: The number of dengue cases is rising at an alarming rate. Across Asia, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have stepped up dengue awareness campaigns to assist health authorities and to prevent further spread of the disease.

IRAQ: The ICRC continues to carry out a wide range of health care activities in Iraq, from emergency services to limb-refitting and physical rehabilitation.

NIGER: The Red Cross Society of Niger is distributing food to help thousands of vulnerable families affected by the recent drought, and providing seeds to ensure a better harvest next year.

GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

After learning a little about the Pakistani Red Crescent I became interested in what the Red Cross did on an international level. The IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) is the largest humanitarian organization in the world. It has 186 member National Societies (Such as the American Red Cross). The IFRC organizes and leads relief efforts for emergencies such as a natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane, flood, etc.) For example, if there was an earthquake the IFRC would ask the country affected by it if they needed help. If they did they would contact all the members and ask for support.

I was glad I could learn about so many aspects of the Red Cross and their mission while I was here and am really thankful for the opportunities I was granted and just feel very lucky to be able to visit and learn all this information about the great things the Red Cross is doing.