International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 22 November 2002
Omar Valdimarsson in Manila
Some 250 delegates of 49 National Societies are attending the 6th Regional Asia-Pacific Red Cross Red Crescent Conference, which gets under way in the Philippine capital, Manila, on Monday 25 November. In addition to the 36 in the Asia-Pacific region, National Societies from the Middle East and a number of sister donor
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 20 November 2002
Jennifer Inger
Children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic are rightly the focus of much attention on Universal Children s Day. However youngsters in AIDS-affected households become vulnerable long before their parents die. Memory projects can provide an effective means of bringing children and parents together to share family memories an
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 19 November 2002
Sebastien Carliez in Baghdad
Officially, there are 233 HIV-positive people in Iraq , of whom 121 have developed AIDS. Not a big issue, one may think, in a country with a population of 24 million. Unfortunately, most Iraqis refuse to recognise HIV/AIDS as a threat, or even that it exists. The challenge is to persuade them that early prevention
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 14 November 2002
Following his announcement of a US$100 million commitment to tackle HIV/AIDS in India , the Microsoft chairman and humanitarian activist, Bill Gates, met on Wednesday the Vice-President of the International Federation, Murli S. Deora, in Mumbai. Deora briefed Gates on the Red Cross Red Crescent s concerns about HIV/AID
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 12 November 2002
A total of four million dollars has been committed by the International Federation and the OPEC Fund for International Development in what is being seen as the start of a new partnership in combatting HIV/AIDS in Asia Pacific. The region has one of the highest increases in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world with mo
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 12 November 2002
Sushila Kukathas in Laos
A framed wedding photograph sits next to a sputtering generator that keeps the television alive and Poom Mah Intidet s two young sons distracted. The image is of a robust, bright-eyed young man standing proudly next to his demure bride. The achingly thin, grey-faced father now watching over his children bears little re
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 11 November 2002
Anasuya Basu in Hyderabad
Our society is orthodox in many ways but we have to find ways to get the message home that AIDS kills, said Dr. Vimala Ramalingam, Secretary General of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS). HIV-AIDS is the most important issue of the day. It is easy to develop a child s mind so care must be taken to give them the right
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 11 November 2002
The International Federation s world-wide campaign on stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS took to the streets of Geneva today, the world s humanitarian capital. Over the next three months, a tram painted with anti-stigma messages will ring its bell on behalf of people living with AIDS as it ru
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 24 October 2002
Omar Valdimarsson in Fiji
- What s the matter? Don t you love me? - Of course I love you, my darling, but you promised not to hurt me... The audience s eyes are glued to stage - a girl and a boy who find themselves alone in the boy s apartment. He says he doesn t need a condom - everything will be just fine. Besides, he loves her very, very muc
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 15 October 2002
Dr. Habibullah Choudhury, HIV/AIDS Coordinator, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society
Experts are predicting that the AIDS pandemic could be set to explode in Bangladesh . According to official figures, there were 182 HIV-positive men and 35 HIV-positive women in the country at the end of last year. However, no one knows the actual figure. Many people living with HIV/AIDS are unwilling to be tested and
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 07 October 2002
John Sparrow in Warsaw
Floods are eating away at Central Europe s social fabric, exacerbating poverty and hampering human development in countries burdened with social and economic transition. Billions of euros are poured into relief but far too little is done to prevent disasters and the crippling social, economic and personal losses they b
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 04 October 2002
Solveig Olafsdottir, Harare
Both the Netherlands and Swedish governments announced their support this week in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, for Red Cross HIV/AIDS programmes across southern Africa which will provide assistance to millions of people living in communities affected by the virus. The Federation s US$14 million regional programme wi
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 2 October 2002
This child is two years old. His mother is HIV-positive but fortunatelly, he has tested negative for the virus, says Matron Joyce Clarke, manager of the Guyana Red Cross children s convalescent home in the Guyanese capital, Georgetown. Daren, the little boy she is holding, is one of 27 children who are in the Red Cros
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 18 September 2002
Marietjie Naude in Eenhana, Namibia
Meme Ndiapo is a victim of discrimination and stigmatisation. Her normal life was suddenly disrupted when she had to flee from her family because of physical abuse and threats from her husband that he would kill her. Meme Ndiapo was experiencing tremendous headaches and neck pain. For a couple of months she had to move
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 16 September 2002
Elizabeth Kahurani
Alarmingly high rates of HIV/AIDS infection in Africa are pushing governments throughout the continent to declare national disasters. A network of 30 million African youths, all members of an alliance of the world s seven biggest youth organizations are to join forces to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the continent.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 12 September 2002
Ilmira Gafiatullina, in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
It s a normal day for Svetlana Trubetskaya, one of six Kazakhstan Red Crescent nurses working on the tuberculosis (TB) prevention campaign in Ust-Kamenogorsk city, the industrial centre of east Kazakhstan. Today, the first place she visits is the municipal fire station. An easy site. she says of the disciplined group
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 27 August 2002
Grethe Ostern in Livingstone, Zambia
It s just the two of them now; Likezo, 13-years-old and her father Lumano Matale, 34. Likezo s mother died in March, and she knows that her father is very ill. Likezo and millions of other children in southern Africa have sick and dying parents who are no longer able earn money to feed their children. In the rapidly de
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 20 August 2002
Grethe Ostern in Livingstone, Zambia
Six-year-old Evelina Mangiolo and her nine-year-old sister Loveness are two of Zambia s orphans. More than 870,000 of Zambia s children have lost one or both parents. Of these, 65 per cent lost their parents to AIDS-related illnesses. Evelina s ribbed chest and swollen stomach are clear signs of malnutrition. The food
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 16 August 2002
Marietjie Naude in Ekolola, Namibia
Joseph is 14 years old. Instead of enjoying a carefree teenage life, he is confronted with the reality of HIV/AIDS and poverty every day of his life. His mother died of AIDS; Joseph cared for her and watched, helplessly, as she died. His father left the family shortly thereafter. Now, Joseph lives with his grandmother
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 7 August 2002
Raimond Duijsens, Netherlands Red Cross, Amsterdam
The Netherlands Red Cross joined in Amsterdam s colourful and exuberant Gay Pride canal parade last weekend to promote tolerance for people living with HIV/AIDS. Tolerance in general was the theme of this year s Gay Pride parade, giving a serious tone to the bright festival which attracts many spectators each year.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 5 August 2002
Grethe Ostern in Malawi
They are children struggling to provide for younger sisters and brothers after having lost their parents. They are grandmothers left with the burden of caring for the orphans of their dead children. They are people weakened by HIV and AIDS and unable to fend for their families, elderly who live alone and have no-one to
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 2 August 2002
Helge Kvam in Kuito, Angola
Alexander Kangende is 19 years old. He loves to act and he likes to do something useful. That s why he joined the Angola Red Cross as a volunteer. Four times a week, a group of peer educators - one should perhaps call them actors - perform in the camps for displaced people in the central Angolan town of Kuito and its s
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