The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.
VANUATU: Nine months have passed since Tropical Cyclone Pam swept through Vanuatu. The impact.jpg.aspx;.pdf;?width=400&height=215 "20150412_Vanuatu_WS_mainpic1jpg-(1).jpg")
of the cyclone was devastating, affecting almost 190,000 people - 70% of the island nation’s population. In recent months El Niño has dealt cyclone-hit communities in Vanuatu a double-blow causing reduced rainfall and drought-like conditions in much of the country, affecting local food production and reducing the availability of fresh water on some islands. To help communities tackle the drought and prepare for the onset of the Pacific cyclone season, the Australian Red Cross is working with the Vanuatu Red Cross and the IFRC to pre-position emergency relief goods in key communities across all six provinces of the country.
INDIA: Heavy rain associated with Cyclone Rovan has affected 3 million people across three states. Since it made landfall in November, the Red Cross has distributed 3,000 packets of food, blankets, towels, clothes, sheets, pots, kerosene stoves, plastic buckets, tarpaulins and mosquito nets. Red Cross branches also cooked rice with tamarind, chappatis and other food for people forced to evacuate to schools, places of worship or community centres. The Red Cross also helped recover bodies, and transported them to mortuaries before returning them to their families. Other activities included setting up an emergency helpline, running health camps, carrying out hygiene promotion campaigns and educating them on how to avoid dengue and malaria, collecting blood and clearing downed trees from roads.