The
Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.
SOUTH SUDAN: The ICRC has launched a new initiative to help thousands of people fleeing the
violence in South Sudan. A new web page (
http://familylinks.icrc.org/south-sudan) has been set up which enables people to trace family members with whom they have lost contact. Since the beginning of the crisis in December 2013, the ICRC and the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the region have been very active in restoring family links among the refugees. More than 68,000 phone calls have been facilitated, almost 2,000 messages distributed and 400 tracing requests opened.
IRAQ: Recent fighting in and around Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, has forced tens of thousands of people to flee to the cities of Baghdad, Habbaniyah and Amiriyat al-Fallujah, leaving most of their belongings behind. The ICRC is bringing urgently needed aid to the displaced. Since January, the ICRC has provided food and other relief items to over 30,000 people displaced from Anbar, including those who fled to the neighbouring province of Salaheddin. ICRC teams have distributed bottled water to thousands of displaced people in Baghdad, and its engineers have repaired water supply systems serving over 21,000 people in Anbar province. All these efforts to support the Iraqi communities who are bearing the brunt of conflict will continue and be stepped up in the coming months.
JORDAN: As the Syrian crisis enters its fifth year, the hardships endured by millions of people in Syria and neighbouring countries continue to grow. According to recent figures, the number of Syrian refugees in Jordan stands at almost 680,000, with approximately 85 per cent of them living in host communities. In an effort to address the humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan, the ICRC has continued providing the newly arriving Syrians, who stay initially at four ICRC-supported transit facilities in the north-eastern border area, with often daily essential assistance, including three cooked meals per day, drinking water, blankets, mattresses, hygiene items and basic medical supplies.