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
This DREF Bulletin is being issued based on the situation described below reflecting the information available at this time.
- CHF 18,000 (USD 14,634 or EUR 10,909) was allocated from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 29 June 2007 to cover the costs of assessment missions.
- An additional CHF 170,000 (USD 138,211 or EUR 102,595) was allocated on 17 July 2007 to support the resulting plan of action.
This operation is expected to be implemented over 3 months, and will be completed by 29 September 2007; a Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 29 December 2007). Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.
This operation is aligned with the International Federation's 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.
Background and current situation
Since June, a severe cold wave is affecting ten departments in the high Andean region of Peru (Puno, Tacna, Arequipa, Moquegua, Apurímac, Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, Junín and Pasco), which are characterized by high levels of poverty and low human development indicators. Extreme cold waves are a recurrent problem in this area, which is regularly affected by these weather patterns during the southern hemisphere's winter season. The winter in southern Peru typically begins in June, but the coldest months of the year are usually July and August. The National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI) issued several alerts as rain, strong winds and snow storms with temperatures of -25°C swept through the region. The cold front will continue until September and the lowest temperatures are expected for July.
A polar cold front has already affected many other countries in South America such as Argentina - Buenos Aires had the surprise to see snow falling in the capital and its surroundings, which had not been seen since 1918 - Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay, causing the death of dozens of homeless people and the blocking of airports and roads.
On June 15, 2007, the Peruvian government declared through the Supreme Decree Nº 050-2007-PCM, a state of emergency for a period of 60 days in the following 13 departments in the country: Ayacucho, Apurimac, Arequipa, Cajamarca, Cusco, Junín, Huánuco, Huancavelica, Loreto, Moquegua, Pasco, Puno and Tacna.
Six days later, on June 21, 2007, through Emergency Decree (E.D) N º 018-2007-PCM, urgent measures were established for the departments affected by extreme frosts and the anticipation of a harsh cold front in the coming days; the same day, through the S.D. N º 052-2007-PCM, the government declared an elevated State of Emergency as a result of low temperatures in the Departments of Puno, Tacna, Arequipa, Moquegua, Apurímac, Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, Junín and Pasco for a period of sixty (60) days with the request for immediate actions seeking the reduction and minimization of the existing risks, in line with that established in the former S.D N ° 50-2007-PCM.
The cold wave is mainly affecting areas located 3,800 metres above sea level. The most recent figures indicate that 67 children under the age of five have died from respiratory illnesses as a result of this extreme weather. This weather is also causing the loss of crops and farm animals - mostly llama, alpaca and sheep - which will have a long-term negative impact on the economic situation of the already poor communities in the area, and will certainly increase their actual vulnerable situation and reduce their coping and resilience capacities.
The Regional Health Services have prepared a Contingency Plan for the cold season, focused on the areas over 3,000 m above sea level.
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
- In Peru: Dr. Pabel Angeles Chaparro, National Relief Coordinator, Peruvian Red Cross, e-mail: coord-socorros@cruzroja.org.pe, phone (511) 4700606
- In Lima: Luis Rolando Duran, Acting Head, Regional Delegation for South America, Rolando.duran@ifrc.org phone (511) 221 8151, fax (511) 441 3607
- In Panama: Stephen McAndrew, Head, Pan American Disaster Response Unit; e-mail Stephen.mcandrew@ifrc.org, phone (507) 316-1001; fax (507) 316-1082.
- In Geneva: Olaug Bergseth, Federation Regional Officer, Americas Department, Geneva; e-mail 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 (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