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 185 countries.
In Brief
Period covered: 8 March to 27 April 2007;
Appeal target: CHF 904,100 (USD 741,065, EUR 561,552); contributions made through the Federation are expected to be CHF 704,700 and the remainder is expected to be received through direct assistance.
(The Contributions List is currently being compiled and will be available on the website in due course)
Appeal history:
- Launched on 15 February 2007 for CHF 605,450 (USD 484,360 or EUR 373,735) for 6 months to assist 7,188 families (35,940 beneficiaries)
- Appeal revised on 5 March 2007 to CHF 904,100 (USD 741,065, EUR 561,552) for 6 months to assist 10,000 families (50,000 beneficiaries)
- Final Report is therefore due on 15 November 2007.
- Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 120,000.
Operational Summary:
The revised Emergency Appeal seeks to support 10,000 families (50,000 people) affected by the severe floods in the departments of Beni, Cochabamba and Potosi through the Bolivian Red Cross (BRC) Plan of Action, which includes: the distribution of food parcels, toolkits, and mosquito nets, health promotion and prevention activities against dengue and malaria, improving the National Society's capacity to respond to emergencies, and strengthening the BRC telecommunications system. After evaluations carried out in Beni and Potosi, the BRC identified a further 19 families to be supported within the Plan of Action.
To date, the BRC has completed distributions in the departments of Cochabamba and Potosi and is currently in the process of carrying out distributions in the department of Beni. When distributions are complete, families affected by the floods will have received food parcels, toolkits and mosquito nets. In the department of Beni, BRC volunteers have carried out health promotion activities by distributing leaflets and complementary campaigns via radio and television on the prevention of malaria and dengue have been carried out by the BRC.
The BRC continues to coordinate with all national and local authorities, and with humanitarian organisations working in the country to ensure that the needs of those affected are responded to effectively, without duplicating efforts. The Disaster Management delegate from PADRU and two deployed Regional Intervention Team (RIT) members supported the operation for more than two months in the field. At present, the Federation is supporting the National Society through the Lima Regional Delegation and the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU).
Contributions to the Appeal to date through the Federation include those from American Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross, Monaco Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross, the Italian Government, Globeleq (private donor from the United States), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the contribution from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF).
Thanks to the support of the Monaco Red Cross, the number of beneficiaries may increase by 300 families, in the Beni department. This will be confirmed after assessments on the ground have taken place to ensure appropriate beneficiary selection.
Bilateral contributions made directly to the BRC's Plan of Action include those from the Chinese Government and the Spanish Red Cross. The German Red Cross is supporting the BRC in the form of distributions of kitchen sets and hygiene kits to 3,000 affected families in the department of Beni. The Colombian Red Cross provided support in the form of clothing, sheets, blankets and other personal items and are coordinating with the BRC. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has also made a bilateral contribution of medicine for children to the BRC branch in Beni.
All contributions will support the BRC's Plan of Action to support families affected by the floods.
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 Bolivia: Dr. Abel Peña y Lillo, President, Bolivian Red Cross, e-mail cruzrobo@entelnet.bo, phone (5912) 220 2934/ 212 9225 fax (5912) 235 9102
- In Peru: Giorgio Ferrario, Head of Lima Regional Delegation; e-mail giorgio.ferrario@ifrc.org, phone (511) 221-8151, fax (511) 441-3607
- In Panama: Stephen McAndrew, Head of PADRU, e-mail stephen.mcandrew@ifrc.org, phone (507) 316 1001; fax 316-1082
- In Geneva: Olaug Bergseth, Federation Regional Officer, Americas Department, Geneva; email olaug.bergseth@ifrc.org, phone (41 22) 730-4535, fax (41 22) 730-0395
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 (NGOs) 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.