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 185 countries.
In Brief
Period covered by this Final Report: 28 December 2005 to 31 August 2006.
History of this Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)-funded operation:
- CHF 200,000 was allocated from the Federation's DREF to respond to the needs of this operation-
refer to the DREF Bulletin for more information.
- DREF Bulletin Update no. 1 was issued on 4 May 2006.
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 Summary
In 2005, a Yellow Fever outbreak was confirmed in South Kordofan (Sudan), following tests conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak, which had caused 142 deaths in a total of 556 cases by December 2005, was declared no longer an immediate risk by WHO on 20 December 2005.
In the initial response by the Sudanese Red Crescent (SRC), 150 volunteers from the South Kordofan branch of the National Society carried out house-to-house visits in Kadugli and Dilling for vector control and health education. The Red Crescent volunteers were also incorporated into 75 vaccination teams formed to fight the outbreak. In summary, the intervention of the SRC and the International Federation provided the much needed support to the Ministry of Health's (MoH) response plan.
During the vaccination campaign, over 90 per cent of the target populations were vaccinated; populations in fixed settlements and semi-permanent nomadic camps were covered. However, nomadic populations were only partially covered (estimated at 60 to 90 per cent). Mobile vaccination teams functioned well on all transit road points and weekly markets. However, due to the long lasting conflict in many parts of Sudan, including South Kordofan, the country's infrastructure is still weak. Large rural areas and off-road townships are often difficult to reach, if not completely out of the SRC volunteers' reach, and therefore were more vulnerable to the spread of the epidemic.
The Federation's health delegate in Sudan, as part of an assessment, observed that meeting the immediate needs of the outbreak did not fully address the vulnerability of communities recovering from years of conflict as compared to focus on longer-term needs to improve on community risk reduction. As part of the longer-term strategies to lessen the impact of health emergencies in South Kordofan, a comprehensive plan for the development of a pilot primary health care project, involving volunteers with skills in health emergencies, was initiated to support the existing community-based first aid (CBFA) programme in South Kordofan. It was also noted that the situation in South Kordofan could be replicated in other states of Sudan. Therefore, the project was further developed as a pilot for potential replication in other regions. Part of the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) allocation allowed for the initial pilot project to be undertaken. This formed the cornerstone of the health programme for the foreseeable future.
For further information please contact:
- In Sudan: Osman Jaffer, Secretary General, Sudanese Red Crescent Society, Khartoum; Email: srcs@sudanmail.net; Phone:+249.183.77.20.11; Mobile: +249.912.31.88.88
- In Sudan: Gunnar Strom, Federation Head of Sudan Delegation Khartoum, Email: gunnar.strom@ifrc.org; phone +249.9.123.04.023, fax +249.183.770.484
- In Kenya: Per Jensnäs, Federation Head of Eastern Africa Regional Delegation, Nairobi; Email: per.jensnaes@ifrc.org; Phone +254.20.283.51.24; Fax +254.20.271.84.15
- In Kenya: Youcef Ait Chellouche, Acting Disaster Management Coordinator, Nairobi; Email: youcef.aitchellouche@ifrc.org; phone +254.20.283.52.11; fax +254.20.271.50.87.
- In Geneva: Amna Al Ahmar, Federation Regional Officer for East Africa, Africa Dept.; Email: amna.alahmar@ifrc.org; Phone +41.22.730.44.27; Fax+41.22.733.03.95.
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