The Federation's 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 181 countries. For more information: www.ifrc.org
In Brief
Appeal No. 01.08/2004; Programme Update no. 3; Period covered: June to November 2004; Appeal coverage: 55.5%; Outstanding needs: CHF 1,014,068 (USD 895,800 or EUR 657,200).
Appeal target: CHF 2,281,148 (Revised in February 2004) Related Emergency or Annual Appeals: East Africa sub-regional programmes, 2005 Annual Appeal no. 05AA004.
Programme summary:
Through its sub-regional office for East Africa the Federation is supporting a number of programmes in the three national societies of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda through the provision of technical support, coordination, facilitating of cooperation, strategic partnerships and representation.
The former Head of the East Africa Sub Regional Office assumed the position of Head of Regional Delegation in Nairobi in September. An Interim Head of the Sub Regional Office was appointed on 1 December 2004; this will ensure the office is represented at important fora.
East Africa sub-region
Operational Developments
This update covers the East Africa sub-region presently including Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Updates on operational developments within the Federation-supported technical areas are organized per country. The assistance provided by the Federation East Africa sub-regional office in the areas of coordination, cooperation, strategic partnerships, representation and management, and the sub-regional organization are described in the last part of this update.
Political and economic developments in the East Africa sub region
Kenya continues to occupy its place amongst the ten most unequal nations in the world with 10% percent of the richest Kenyans controlling more that 42% of its total income. Such discrepancies are evident in life expectancy, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and education among other key indicators. The value of the Kenya Shilling fell by some 12.1% against major currencies between May and November, further impacting on the disposable income at the household level; this coupled with the current drought in some parts of the country is likely to compound the situation of the vulnerable.
A ray of hope for peace in the Great Lakes following a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in October were short lived by renewed heightening of tensions at the announcement by Rwanda that their troops might invade eastern Congo to disarm Rwandan combatants who were responsible for the 1994 genocide in the country. Further, despite the fact that preparations for the planned International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes was at an advanced stage, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) effectively cancelled a high-level inter-government meeting scheduled for early December with Rwanda and Uganda. The impasse continued to the end of November with the Democratic Republic of Congo announcing that it would be sending 10,000 more troops to the area to counter the Rwandan "invasion".
In Uganda, the government announced in November that it had deployed troops along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following reports of renewed activity by Ugandan insurgent groups based in eastern DRC. The expulsion of a Rwandan diplomat claimed to be linked with the insurgents triggered renewed tensions between Uganda and Rwanda.
On the economic front, Rwanda achieved economic progress during the course of the year marked by strong performance in the agricultural sector, which contributed to a recorded growth in GDP of 6%.3 During the month of November, the country benefited from a USD 50 million grant from the World Bank to assist in its programme of poverty reduction. This should see some improvements in the level of poverty in the targeted communities.
Similarly, Uganda benefited from a USD 257 million grant from the World Bank for the national poverty reduction programme.
For further information specifically
related to this operation please contact:
In Kenya: Mary Kuria, Secretary General,
Kenya Red Cross Society, Nairobi; Email kuria.mary@kenyaredcross.org; Phone
254.20.60.06.69; Fax 254.20.60.35.89:
In Rwanda: Alphonse Kalinganire, Secretary
General, Rwandan Red Cross, Kigali; Email rrc@rwanda1.com; Phone 250.58.54.46/7/8;
Fax 250.58.54.49
In Uganda: Robert Kwesiga, Secretary
General, Uganda Red Cross Society, Kampala; Email sgurcs@redcrossug.org;
Phone 256.41.25.91.79; Fax 256.41.25.81.84
In Kenya: Esther Okwanga, Federation
Acting Head of East Africa Sub-Regional Office, Nairobi ; Email ifrcke42@ifrc.org;
Phone 252.20.283.5253; Fax 254.20.271.8415
In Geneva: Josse Gillijns, Federation
Regional Officer for Eastern Africa, Africa Dept.; Email josse.gillijns@ifrc.org;
Phone 41.22.730.42.24 ; Fax 41.22.733.03.95
This Programme Update reflects activities to be implemented over a one-year period. This forms part of, and is based on, longer-term, multi-year planning.
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org
(pdf format* - 244 KB)