This Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up is courtesy of Scott Waggoner, from Cross Blog: Award-winning Red Cross news and views from Oregon and beyond
Welcome to the Worldwide Wednesday 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…
PHILIPPINES: Relief continues to pour in for Typhoon Washi, that killed well over 1,000 people and devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Teams of Red Cross volunteers are supporting doctors in treating survivors that received wounds nearly a week ago. In addition to typical first aid, the Red Cross is using psychological first aid for the extensive suffering many survivors are facing. The IFRC, ICRC, and Philippine Red Cross continue to address relief needs by sending thousands of relief kits, addressing water shortages, and supporting damaged health care facilities.
LIBYA: Libyan Red Crescent volunteers based in the eastern city of Benghazi are continuing to address a large number of displaced individuals from the conflicts earlier this year. Over the last ten months, 200 volunteers ran a camp that sheltered 75,000 people. The camp remains full as of early December, and is now seeing refugees escaping the violence in Syria.
MALI/NIGER: With support from the ICRC, a campaign to vaccinate 4.5 million animals has just been launched in the northern parts of Mali and Niger. The animals will be treated against parasites and immunized against diseases such as sheep and goat plague, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, camel pasteurellosis, and sheep and goat pox. These vaccinations will provide food security in this region with a highly sensitive economy, erratic climate conditions, and a history of food emergencies.
MAURITANIA: Poor rains in Mauritania this year have had a devastating effect on crops and livestock, leading to an inevitable rise in malnutrition. Between 10 and 15 per cent of the population is malnourished, and the figure is even higher among children. An IFRC team is monitoring the situation by screening children using a basic toolkit; bracelets to measure arm circumference, height gauge and scales. In addition to the problems that are normally associated with malnutrition, children are also more prone to disease and less able to fight off infection.
GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies