The Federation's vision is to strive, through voluntary action, for a world of empowered communities, better able to address human suffering and crises with hope, respect for dignity and a concern for equity. Its mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 185 countries.

In Brief

Period covered: 12 September to 24 September 2007

Original Appeal target: CHF 992,673 (USD 825,165 or EUR 601,620)

Revised Appeal target: CHF 1,105,000 (USD 918,537 or EUR 672,141).

Appeal coverage: approximately 95%.

Note: the updated donor report will be available on the Federation's website shortly.

Appeal history:

- On 6 September 2007 an emergency appeal was launched for CHF 992,673 (USD 825,165 or EUR 601,620) to assist 23,250 beneficiaries (4,650 families) for 9 months.

- Final report is due on 3 September 2008.

- CHF 300,000 (USD 249,377 or EUR 182,482) was allocated from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 3 September 2007.

Operational summary: Since the onset of the emergency caused by hurricane Felix, the Red Cross National Societies of Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala have been assessing the needs and delivering immediate support to the most affected families. There is a continued need for food and non-food relief items in the most affected areas to assist beneficiaries in recovering from the effects of Hurricane Felix. There is also a need for Psychosocial Support and other health activities.

Response to this Emergency Appeal has been generous, with coverage standing at nearly 95 percent. The National Societies of Canada, Hong Kong, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United States have contributed directly to the Appeal, while the Canadian and Costa Rican Red Cross Societies have made inkind contributions. The International Federation is also showing continued support through the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) and the Central America and Mexico Regional Representation Office in Panama.

Since the launch of the preliminary appeal the Canadian, Italian, Netherlands, Norwegian, Spanish and Swiss Red Cross Societies have expressed interest in doing bilateral work with the National Societies of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. For instance, In Guatemala, the Norwegian Red Cross has reached an agreement with the Guatemalan Red Cross to carry out water and sanitation and health and care activities in response to this appeal. Negotiations are also taking place to assist these National Societies in accomplishing other Health objectives.

This Operations Update number two features a new appeal target of CHF 1,105,000 (USD 918,537 or EUR 672,141). The difference in the budget is due to several reasons, mainly the bilateral nature of some on the contributions and the identification of a greater need for mobilization and transportation costs for National Society and regional staff. At the outset of the operation, it was not foreseen that the need for regional technical assistance would be large, but as more detailed assessments started to come in, the National Societies requested that more Regional Intervention Team (RIT) members be deployed throughout the duration of the operation. This naturally implies an increase in costs associated to staff and mobilization. This update outlines the basic activities planned and accomplished up-to-date. Currently, the main focus is on the continuous provision of relief items and early recovery and rehabilitation activities.

The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Panama: Stephen McAndrew Head, Pan American Disaster Response Unit, Panama, email: stephen.mcandrew@ifrc.org; phone (507) 316 1001; fax (507) 316 1082

In Panama: Fabricio López, Acting Head of Central America and Mexico Regional Representation Office, email: fabricio.lopez@ifrc.org; phone (507) 317 1300; fax (507)317 1304

In Panama, José García-Lozano, Head of Zone, Americas, email: jose.garcia-lozano@ifrc.org, phone (507) 317 1300; fax (507)317 1304

In Panama, Xavier Castellanos, Deputy Head of Zone, Americas, email: xavier.castellanos@ifrc.org, phone: (507) 317 1300; fax (507)317 1304

In Panama: María Alcázar, Zone Relationship Management Coordinator, Americas; e-mail: maria.alcazar@ifrc.org; phone (507) 317 1300; fax (507) 317 1304

In Geneva: Luis Luna, Federation Regional Officer, email: luis.luna@ifrc.org, phone (41 22)730 4274, fax (41 22) 733 0395

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org

For longer-term programmes, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal.