Annual Report 2011 Finnish Red Cross 11 May 2012 - Punainen Risti

AfricaHelp to people fleeing unrest in TunisiaUnrest in Northern Africa in the spring causedhumanitarian needs to which the FRC responded bysending shelter materials and delegates, who worked ina temporary camp set up on the border between Libyaand Tunisia. In cooperation with the International RedCross and Red Crescent Movement and the Tunisian RedCrescent, the FRC helped people fleeing from Libya toget shelter and food and to contact their families.Dozens of Finnish delegates specialized in emergencyshelter and health care were involved in internationalRed Cross operations during the spring and summer.Houses to children in RwandaThe Finnish Red Cross helped children left orphanafter the genocide in Rwanda to cope in their dailylives without their parents. The FRC has funded theconstruction of 75 houses to vulnerable families. Thelast houses were completed.Emergency assistance to Côte d’IvoireThousands of people fled their homes due to unrest inCôte d’Ivoire at the end of 2010. The Finnish Red Crossresponded fast and sent supplementary food rationpackages to the region.Adjusting to climate change in Malawiand MozambiqueThe capacities to respond to natural phenomenacaused by climate change were improved in Malawiand Mozambique. The expert bodies involved werethe Finnish Meteorological Institute and Red Cross/RedCrescent Climate Centre. In Mozambique and Swaziland,work was also done to improve the food security andhealth of HIV infected people.Rami SyedThe Finnish Red Cross helped people fleeing unrest in a camp setup on the border between Libya and Tunisia.New National Society to South SudanSouth Sudan became independent in July, and a newNational Red Cross Society was established there.Emergency relief supplies were sent to the countryand channelled to the areas suffering most, such asthe Jonglei province affected by violence.Drought in Eastern AfricaThe Horn of Africa suffered from one of the worst dryspells in decades. There were serious food shortagesespecially in Somalia. The Finnish Red Cross procuredblankets, tarpaulins, kitchen sets, soap and watercontainers to 11 400 internally displaced people.People in Somalia were also affected by conflict, andmany fled to Kenya and Ethiopia. The FRC supportedKenya Red Cross action at a new refugee camp inKenya. In addition, the FRC sent health clinic suppliesand medicine as well as an experienced team ofprofessionals to train local workers.In the summer, the Finnish Red Cross launched anappeal for Eastern Africa, which raised about 800 000euros.Programmes to improve health, sanitation and accessto clean water were continued in Burundi, South Sudan,Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Health programmes inEastern Africa were also supported through the Chainreaction cycling campaign in the summer.Help to Kenyan patients with burnsFinnish special expertise was utilized in Septemberwhen six experts in the treatment of burns from theHelsinki University Hospital travelled to the KenyattaNational Hospital in Nairobi to help victims of a gaspipe explosion in a slum.A health clinic was sent to Kenya. Water was also distributed todrought victims.Jonathan Kalan22