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…
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: The ICRC has begun distributing food to 55,000 residents, internally displaced persons and refugees. It’s the biggest relief operation the ICRC has ever carried out in the country.
AZERBAIJAN: Earlier this week, acting as a neutral intermediary, the ICRC repatriated an Azerbaijani citizen, formerly interned in Armenia, and the body of an Armenian citizen who had died in Baku in October.
PAKISTAN: Stagnant pools of flood water create a high risk of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever. The ICRC is distributing 200,000 mosquito nets to help prevent the spread of disease.
INDIA: This week, India launched a series of mass measles vaccination campaigns, supported by technical assistance from the American Red Cross and its Measles Initiative partners. In 2008, three out of four children who died from measles were in India. By the end of 2012, the country hopes to have protected 134 million children against this deadly and highly contagious disease. To support the worldwide efforts of the Measles Initiative, visit our holiday gift catalog and make a donation that will save another mother’s child.
GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies