The Red Cross Round-up

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.

Sierra Leone: The deadly Ebola outbreak that hit Guinea in early February continues to affect those across West Africa. Now, in Sierra Leone, women seem to be the most affected as they are the ones who take care of sick family members and relatives. There is a lot of fear, denial and stigma attached to the highly contagious disease, as it is the first time it has appeared in Sierra Leone. Some communities are not letting authorities or humanitarian actors enter, while many of those who may have come into contact with the virus and need to be watched, disappear and are, therefore, unable to be traced.

Konneh, a volunteer with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society, shares his story of how he and his community have been affected by the deadly disease. The Sierra Leone Red Cross Society is currently focusing largely on educating communities on how they can protect themselves and help prevent the spread of the Ebola virus disease. Similar emergency operations have been launched in Guinea and Liberia. Preparedness operations are underway in Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal in the event the virus begins to spread even further. 

Paraguay: The Parana and Paraguay rivers have overflowed and are affecting thousands of families in Ñeembucú, Alto Parana, Presidente Hayes and Alto Paraguay, as well as the municipalities of Ayolas and Asuncion. According to the National Emergency Service, 15,000 families are now living in shelters or with family members. As the waters of the Paraguay river continue to rise more families are moving to some 60 government shelters to seek refuge.

In response, the Paraguay Red Cross has joined government authorities and other local and regional humanitarian actors in assessment activities. Together humanitarian actors plan to deliver food parcels, clothing and blankets to the most affected and vulnerable areas.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies’ Pan-American Disaster Response Unit has recently deployed field staff to support the Paraguay Red Cross and local authorities during damage and needs assessments. For the second time this year the IFRC has also activated a Regional Response Unit specialized in Water and Sanitation to support the National Society’s response operation to cover some 1,000 families in Asunción and Ñeembucú. IFRC is also supporting this operation through its Global Logistics Service which is mobilizing Water and Sanitation kits to assist some 2,000 people with hygiene promotion activities.

Glossary:

IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies