Round-up: Updates from Thailand and Guatemala

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

THAILAND: In March 2015, officials from Guinea and Liberia discovered that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa had exacerbated violence against women and hindered access to reproductive healthcare in the region. The prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence is a critical humanitarian issue and yet one that remains overlooked during health or disaster emergencies.  Globally, the IFRC is taking steps to address these gaps. Part of these efforts included a four-day training program on gender and diversity for National Societies in Southeast Asia. The training covered a range of issues, including sexual and gender-based violence, in order to increase sensitivity in Red Cross Red Crescent programming towards all disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, women, children and those with disabilities.  The training brought together 10 National Society representatives from areas of health, disaster management, international relations and organizational development.

GUATEMALA: In response to the damage caused by the landslide in El Cambray II, the IFRC, through the Guatemalan Red Cross, allocated funds to meet the most urgent needs of affected families. The funds will be used to provide assistance to 1,250 people. The aid will be distributed for three months by the Guatemalan Red Cross, through pre-hospital medical care, psychosocial support, and health promotion, including epidemics control, sexual and reproductive health and hygiene promotion. Additionally, activities will be focus on supporting families whose sources of income have been affected by the death of the people supporting or providing for them, or those families requiring nutritional support, through a non-conditional cash transfer program.