International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 17 December 2003
Pekka Reinikainen, in Mombasa
I have listened to the enchanting monotone of the woman s song for the best part of an hour. Accompanied by a tight rhythm of a drum, it is now starting to get under my skin. If I were still a smoker, I might be able to quit here and now, relying solely on the support of this hypnotic tune. They are praising God, our
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 16 December 2003
Markku Niskala, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
How will we know when the world has finally woken up to the real extent of the threat posed by communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS? How many more World Aids Days will pass before we see the kind of response called for by Nelson Mandela, who recently described the challenge of combating HIV/AIDS as greater than the c
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 16 December 2003
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched its annual appeal for 2004 in Geneva today. The appeal seeks 217.6 million Swiss francs to support programmes and operations around the world with an unprecedented emphasis on health programmes which account for just over 40 per cent of the t
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 15 December 2003
Christopher Black in Dakar
As the 6th International Conference on Home and Community Care for People Living with HIV/AIDS closed in the Senegalese capital Dakar, Red Cross Red Crescent participants met to discuss lessons learnt and to share ideas on future plans. The Conference brought together more than 2,000 people, including representatives o
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 8 December 2003
Andrei Neacsu in Nairobi
A healthy-looking young man sits surrounded by a serene-looking group; an adult couple have their hands on the young man s shoulders, while kneeling in front of him, another youth holds his hand. The young man is HIV positive, but he and those with him are protected enveloped in a bright light, embraced by protective h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 5 December 2003
The issue is to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS on vulnerable people , said Dr Tito Fachi, President of the Zambia Red Cross Society, at the start of a powerful address to an International Conference Commission on reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS. It is the most serious threat to human dignity. In 2002, he told delega
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 3 December 2003
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is today calling for governments attending the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva, to fulfil existing commitments made to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Among the commitments made at a special U
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - December 1 2003
Felicita Nanuses in Geneva
Living with the virus is not the end of the world. When I joined the support group of the Soweto Red Cross home carers, they gave me hope and another chance in life, said Paul Musi, a young HIV-positive member of the Soweto branch Red Cross volunteer s choir who spoke out about his status at the International Federati
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 30 November 2003
Juan Manuel Suarez del Toro*
In 1984, France and the United States officially announced the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS. That discovery marked the onset of a pandemic whose scope and impact is as yet unknown. Twenty years are, of course, a mere grain of sand in time, but in epidemiological terms, AIDS has so far caused the death of mor
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 30 November 2003
A major effort to complement global efforts to get more people with AIDS on anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment has been announced today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva as the organization marks World AIDS Day. A model for treatment programmes will be implemented by six Afr
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 30 November 2003
Roy Probert in Geneva
The Soweto Red Cross volunteers choir sings a song: I m going to let it shine, this little light of mine. The 27 members of the group have been illuminating the Federation s General Assembly in Geneva, just as they light up the lives of hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS in their township. It is fitting that the c
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 27 November 2003
A fund to address the unprecedented challenge that HIV/AIDS is posing to the work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent has been launched today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and represents another step forward in the organization s efforts to support its own people living with AIDS
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 27 November 2003
Solveig Olafsdottir in Harare
Shamiso Madora is 32 years old and has been a Red Cross volunteer in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe , since 1985, when she was still at school. She started as a nursing assistant, but in 1998, she joined the Red Cross home-based care programme, which provides support to families living with HIV/AIDS. She wanted to work within h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 14 November 2003
Teresita Usapdin in Laos and Pekka Reinikainen in Uganda
The Lunar New Year is a time for renewal and rebirth in Laos . During the festival, people make wishes for the New Year and clean their houses in preparation for a fresh start. It was while she was cleaning her home during the New Year festival in April 2002 that Daoloy Thaviphone, a housewife with two young sons, disc
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 14 November 2003
Jemini Pandya in Geneva
Meetings are rarely memorable. But one such gathering in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, last week marked a significant development in Red Cross and Red Crescent work to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Six African Red Cross societies - Ethiopia , Kenya , Namibia, Uganda ,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 6 November 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Nairobi
I told the audience I was going to introduce them to someone who is HIV positive. They were clearly curious - many turned their heads towards the door to see this person entering. I told the person was already in the room and they became uncomfortable, checking who was sitting in the next chair. When Mildred Macharia,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 4 November 2003
Agatha Mweti of the Namibia Red Cross
Pamela was a 12-year-old African girl. Her father had died and her mother was dying of AIDS. Pamela had not been tested and might well have been HIV-positive herself. She had an older brother and three younger sisters alive and two more that had died. None had been vaccinated. When I met her she was not attending schoo
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 31 October 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Munyonyo, Uganda
There had been 800 or so participants to the conference from all over the world – all bringing with them their experiences of living with HIV/AIDS and their work to defeat the virus. There was a lot to deal with during the five-day gathering. The need for positive people to take the lead in fighting HIV/AIDS, how to pr
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 30 October 2003
His friends ran away from him at school after his blood tests showed that he was HIV positive. Little by little, the friends were moved to new schools by their parents. After one week, his mother told him he no longer had to wake up early for school, because she would teach him everything he needed to know at home. Thi
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 29 October 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Munyonyo, Uganda
It s a partnership of more than two years standing. And one people from both the International Federation and the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) believe is bringing tangible benefits to those with the disease. But how this partnership is working and its current effectiveness were issues being exam
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 29 October 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Munyonyo, Uganda
Thirty-nine-year-old Ramon Acevedo is weeping as he sits during a quiet moment at the 11th International Conference for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda , which he is attending as part of a Red Cross and Red Crescent delegation. But the tears are not sad. They are tears of gratitude as he reflects on his experienc
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 28 October 2003\
Pekka Reinikainen in Munyonyo, Uganda
We came with a strategy. It all started with us sounding an nduru - a warning shout of a kind, and the village of Uganda came together to respond and repel this threat, said President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda as he officially opened the 11th International Conference for People Living with HIV/AIDS in his capital city
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 27 October 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Munyonyo, Uganda
Zuleikha Abdallah looks ravishing. But 17 months ago, when Kenya Red Cross (KRCS) project officer, Hassan Musa, visited her for the first time in her quarters in the Majengo area of Mombasa town, it was a different story. She was grey, skinny, undernourished, afraid and unable to walk. It took her half an hour just to
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 21 October 2003
Bijoy Patro in Kathmandu
You talk so much about condoms, why don t we get to see any here? The query came from a young man to a group of people sitting on a dais. You want them? I ve got some here, a female voice retorted. Stand up. Come here. Have one. October 11 was the ninth time Nepal had marked Condom Day.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 19 October 2003
Geneva/Bangkok-- A decision by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) to finance HIV/AIDS prevention and care programmes among injecting drug users in Thailand and Russia , has been welcomed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as a significant step in tackling the issu
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 13 October, 2003
Bangkok - At a press conference in Bangkok today international organisations, health professionals, activists and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) called donor countries to fully fund the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund is facing a funding gap of $3 billion in 2004 alone. The boa
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 26 September 2003
Building partnerships with People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is the surest and fastest way to stem the pandemic and bring much-needed support to vulnerable members of the community, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said today. The International Federation is among the few to have e
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 26 September 2002
Rosemarie North in Yangon
When San San Maw started her teashop discussions on sexual health and life skills, people would ask if she was dying of AIDS. It wasn t that she looked sick, says the 28-year-old. It was because she was thin. Some people think if you are skinny you have HIV; if you are fat you don t. They also think only ugly people ha
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 26 September 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Nairobi
The International Federation s greatest strength is its network of 97 million members, volunteers and employees. It allows the Red Cross and Red Crescent to respond immediately and facilitate access to people in need of assistance, care and treatment. We aim to use this unique grassroots network to turn the tide of HIV
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 26 September 2003
Andrei Neacsu in Nairobi
In the bowels of the imposing Kenyatta International Conference Centre, in the heart of Nairobi, the talk is of HIV/AIDS. Thousands of people from around the world are busy discussing what future actions can be employed to combat the virus. Here, where the 13th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmit
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 24 September 2003
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has urged the insurance industry to create health insurance products covering HIV/AIDS-related illnesses to serve the rapidly emerging needs of corporate Africa in providing care for their HIV-positive work force. Businesses operating in African count
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 24 September 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Nairobi
Down the mine shafts of South Africa , every third person drilling for minerals is estimated to be HIV-positive. In any given medium-sized Kenyan enterprise, ten per cent of the workforce carries the virus. It s a grim picture that Chief Financial Officers of companies active in Africa are studying with growing concern
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 23 September 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Nairobi
The International Federation s regional delegation in Nairobi has launched the first of a series of publications documenting best practises in HIV and AIDS work in the region. First off the presses is an English language booklet on the experience of the Tigray Branch of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) in deliver
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 23 September 2003
Marko Kokic in Opuwo
How are we supposed to have children wearing those things, comments a Himba elder watching Red Cross volunteers demonstrate to a group of young people how to apply a condom to a wooden penis. The question is simple but the implications are profound for a small group of tribal pastoralists living in north-western
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 22 September 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Nairobi
HIV/AIDS is a galloping emergency. Our people are dying, says Shimelis Adugna. He is president of the Ethiopian Red Cross. And he means business. If we bury our educators, if the workers who build our roads die, if the mothers and fathers of our children are perishing, then this is not just an emergency. This is a que
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 22 September 2003
The President of the International Federation of Red and Cross Red Crescent Societies, Juan Manuel Suarez del Toro, is to call today for governments to adopt an Equitable Contributions Framework based on GDP to ensure the sustainability of the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. Speaking tonight to the UN General
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 19 September 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Nairobi
We need to provide 90 percent of young people with access to proper preventive information and effective peer education by the year 2005, says Dr Elizabeth Mbziwo, the International Federation s Health Advisor for Africa, outlining the goals for Red Cross Red Crescent HIV/AIDS work among young people. By 2010 we need
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 18 September 2003
The following is an open letter to OECD governments, signed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other concerned groups in the Fund the Fund campaign: Re Honouring Commitment Made Under the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS As concerned international development organis
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 12 September 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Kampala and Nairobi
When David Mukasa boarded a Geneva-bound plane at Uganda s Entebbe airport on 29 July, he was very much aware of the seriousness of his mission. Since the end of July, David has boarded lots more airplanes at many other airports as one of the four core members of the Federation s Care and Treatment Mission Team. The te
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 10 September 2003
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies today formally agreed with the World Health Organization to step up collaboration on the prevention and control of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS in 11 countries of South and South-East Asia. The International Federation will also seek to boos
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 5 September 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Urban ills are growing in southern Africa. In the humanitarian crisis gripping the region, aid efforts have been greatest in rural areas. The needs of towns and cities have been overshadowed, although often they are more acute. Red Cross home-based care services provide critical support to those most at risk from an en
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 4 September 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Urban ills are growing in southern Africa. In the humanitarian crisis gripping the region, aid efforts have been greatest in rural areas. The needs of towns and cities have been overshadowed, although often they are more acute. Red Cross home-based care services provide critical support to those most at risk from an en
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 3 September 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Urban ills are growing in southern Africa. In the humanitarian crisis gripping the region, aid efforts have been greatest in rural areas. The needs of towns and cities have been overshadowed, although often they are more acute. Red Cross home-based care services provide critical support to those most at risk from an en
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 2 September 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Urban ills are growing in southern Africa. In the humanitarian crisis gripping the region, aid efforts have been greatest in rural areas. The needs of towns and cities have been overshadowed, although often they are more acute. Red Cross home-based care services provide critical support to those most at risk from an en
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 1 September 2003
Statement presented to the 59th Session of ESCAP by the International Federation Delegation, Bangkok. 1 - 4 September 2003 Chair, Thank you very much for giving the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies the opportunity to speak during this crucially important debate. It enables us to add furt
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 1 September 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe
Urban ills are growing in southern Africa. In the humanitarian crisis gripping the region, aid efforts have been greatest in rural areas. The needs of towns and cities have been overshadowed, although often they are more acute. Red Cross home-based care services provide critical support to those most at risk from an en
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 27 August 2003
Cristina Estrada in San Felipe
I have learned a lot, says Beatriz, who lives in Recta de Apolonio, a land occupation on the outskirts of San Felipe, capital of Yaracuy province. I learned how to deal with an institution, how to defend myself and to talk to people. Wherever I go I introduce myself as a community promoter . She says that change is in
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 5 August 2003
Raimond Dusijens, Netherlands Red Cross
With hundreds and thousands of spectators lining Amsterdam s famous canals, the Canal Pride was a great opportunity for the Netherlands Red Cross to highlight and support the International Federation s global campaign against the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS - The Truth About AIDS. PASS IT ON...
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 28 July 2003
Marko Kokic in Maputo
Fourteen-year old Fernando Alfredo is going through difficult times. He lives in Bairro Chamanculo, one of Maputo s many slums with his mother, Cristina, who fell ill a year ago. He lost his father at about the same time. Their less than modest home is situated within a labyrinth of fences made from flattened steel dru
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 25 July 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Silele, Swaziland
Around 30 per cent of Swaziland s population will need humanitarian aid this year, even more than in 2002 when famine threatened Southern Africa. Driven by the AIDS pandemic, the crisis extends beyond food and drought to breakdowns of community and the coping capacities of families. Red Cross health clinics and their h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 24 July 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Silele, Swaziland
Around 30 per cent of Swaziland s population will need humanitarian aid this year, even more than in 2002 when famine threatened Southern Africa. Driven by the AIDS pandemic, the crisis extends beyond food and drought to breakdowns of community and the coping capacities of families. Red Cross health clinics and their h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 23 July 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Silele, Swaziland
Around 30 per cent of Swaziland s population will need humanitarian aid this year, even more than in 2002 when famine threatened Southern Africa. Driven by the AIDS pandemic, the crisis extends beyond food and drought to breakdowns of community and the coping capacities of families. Red Cross health clinics and their h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 22 July 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Silele, Swaziland
Around 30 per cent of Swaziland s population will need humanitarian aid this year, even more than in 2002 when famine threatened Southern Africa. Driven by the AIDS pandemic, the crisis extends beyond food and drought to breakdowns of community and the coping capacities of families. Red Cross health clinics and their h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 21 July 2003
John Sparrow and Selma Bernardi in Silele, Swaziland
Around 30 per cent of Swaziland s population will need humanitarian aid this year, even more than in 2002 when famine threatened Southern Africa. Driven by the AIDS pandemic, the crisis extends beyond food and drought to breakdowns of community and the coping capacities of families. Red Cross health clinics and their h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 18 July 2003
Rosemarie North in Freetown
In the past, midwives in Sierra Leone believed that babies choked because food lodged in their heads. The solution was to blow on the top of their skulls or perhaps to tap their feet. When people had wounds, the only solution was to wipe away the blood. Women gave birth in the bush without clean water or equipment.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 18 July 2003
Rosemarie North in Freetown
In the past, midwives in Sierra Leone believed that babies choked because food lodged in their heads. The solution was to blow on the top of their skulls or perhaps to tap their feet. When people had wounds, the only solution was to wipe away the blood. Women gave birth in the bush without clean water or equipment.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 17 July 2003
Statement by Bernard Gardiner, HIV/AIDS Global Programme Manager, International Federation, to the ECOSOC Substantive Session of 2003, Geneva.
Mr. President, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies approaches this debate on HIV/AIDS against the background of the address to the High Level Segment of this Session of the Council on 1 July by our President, Mr Juan Manuel Suarez del Toro. In that statement, the President made it clear
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 15 July 2003
Marko Kokic in Soweto
Some people who visit for the first time say that there are a lot of scrap yards here, jokes Red Cross volunteer Vusi Mtembu referring to the makeshift shanties that spread out as far as the eye can see. Driving a little further he points to identical rows of low-cost yellow brick housing, Those we call matchboxes, h
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 14 July 2003
Statement by Dr. Massimo Barra, President of the Red Cross European Regional Network on AIDS (ERNA), to the ECOSOC Substantive Session 2003, Humanitarian Segment, Geneva. No organization can defeat AIDS on its own; governments cannot do it all themselves. Nor will politically correct speeches and debates change the cou
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 14 July 2003
You can live with HIV, but you can t live with the stigma that surrounds it, said one anonymous contributor to the pre-cursor of the global e-forum that is being launched today by the International Federation and Health and Development Networks (HDN). Despite efforts to combat the disease, HIV/AIDS is spiralling out o
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 14 July 2003
A leading Federation figure has called for a coalition of the willing to reverse the HIV/AIDS-driven disaster unfolding in Southern Africa, and criticized the governments that sit on the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria for failing to deliver. Addressing the United Nation s Economic and Social Counci
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 11 July 2003
Statement delivered by Mr. Abbas Gullet, Director, Disaster Management and Coordination Division, International Federation, to the ECOSOC Substantive Session, Humanitarian Segment, Geneva. 11 July 2003 Mr President, It is a particular honour for me to be able to address the Humanitarian Segment of the Economic and Soci
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 11 July 2003
The former South Africa president, Nelson Mandela, has highlighted the role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in combating the terrible and threatening scourge of HIV/AIDS. Delivering the British Red Cross humanity lecture in London on 10 July, Mandela said that when one spoke of the International Red Cross, o
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 10 July 2003
Varaidzo Dongozi of the Zimbabwe Red Cross
Jabulani Tshuma faces each day with increasing difficulty. He is HIV-positive, and he suffers from various symptoms related to the disease. His body grows weaker, largely due to a continuous loss of fluids, caused by the diarrhoea he has had for the past three months. The main challenge the 23-year-old encounters every
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 1 July 2003
The president of the International Federation, Juan Manuel Suarez del Toro, has urged the UN system to adopt a new strategy to address the way HIV/AIDS interacts with food security and poverty, and to consult more closely with affected communities. Suarez del Toro was addressing the high level segment of the United Nat
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 1 July 2003
Youth representatives from 44 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have gathered at the Italian Red Cross Training Centre in Jesolo Lido, 40 km from Venice for the biennial European Cooperation Meeting (ECM), a pan-European event that has been going strong since 1992. The main themes of the meeting reflect the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 25 June 2003
John Sparrow in Johannesburg
More than a million people affected by hunger and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa will have been helped by the region s national Red Cross societies when a one-year relief operation makes way for longer-term action in July. By the end of April, through the International Federation s Southern Africa Food Security Operation,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 20 June 2003
Pekka Reinikainen and Andrei Neacsu in Nairobi
Peter, a skilled senior mechanic, is rumoured to have been infected by the HIV virus. Some of his work mates start openly avoiding him. Others whisper things about him behind his back. Gradually, Peter becomes isolated. As rumours gather speed, no one in the department seems willing to touch anything in Peter s immedia
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 20 June 2003
Javier Hourcade in Fiji
Officially, there are just over 7,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the Pacific, with two thirds of the cases concentrated in one country alone - Papua New Guinea . In the rest of the islands the prevalence rate is currently low - at one per cent. The figures don t seem too alarming but the Pacific is a complex region
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 18 June 2003
Arzu Ozsoy and the Media Department of Turkish Red Crescent
On June 11, the Turkish Red Crescent Society, TRCS, or Kizilay as it is known in Turkish, celebrated its 135th anniversary. Already well respected for its disaster response and psychological support capabilities, Kizilay, the only indigenous, nationwide, volunteer- and community-based humanitarian organisation in
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 6 June 2003
Solveig Olafsdottir in Gaza province
Antonieta Antonio Cumaio has nothing to do all day but wait for her father to come back from the fields. None of her neighbours wants anything to do with her. Her illness makes them uncomfortable and they do not want to be near her. Although she is only 28, she has been sick for five years. Finally, when she could no l
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - Geneva, 5 June 2003
Geneva, June 5 - A contribution of only 150 million Euros (US$175 million) to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria made at the G8 summit in Evian, is not only a huge disappointment but also a continued failure of rich countries to deliver on promises made, say AIDS activists. We welcome the decision
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 4 June 2003
Juan Manuel Suarez del Toro*
When more than 14 million people faced the threat of famine last year, a pre-emptive intervention with food aid began that by February 2003 had averted mass starvation in southern Africa. A sigh of relief could be heard from New York to Rome. Another crisis had passed and world attention focused elsewhere. But the hung
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 28 May 2003
A desperate need for new forms of response to the unrelenting crisis consuming southern Africa brought an emergency appeal from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies today. And it warned that the policy of donors, governments and humanitarian agencies will soon lag behind the region s gro
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 27 May 2003
John Sparrow in Evusweni, Swaziland
Chief Delezi Masilela did the unthinkable. He stood up in his rural community in central Swaziland and said he was HIV positive. It sent a shudder through the homesteads of Evusweni and his family counselled him to be silent. They said he was bringing shame upon them, and one of his wives soon left him. The traditi
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 19 May 2003
The leaders of the world s richest nations were today asked not to betray the hopes raised among the world s poor by the establishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), diseases which kill six million people each year. Non-governmental organizations from the US and Europe today publicly launched
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 9 May 2003
Living stamps and graffiti artists brought the Red Cross/Red Crescent s anti-stigma message onto Geneva s main shopping street on 8 May. The event demonstrated how the Federation s global campaign against discrimination towards those living with HIV/AIDS could come alive at local level. The World Red Cross Red Crescen
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 8 May 2003
John Sparrow in Berea
The orphans crime had been that they were hungry. For much of the day they had laboured at a well, a slight 12-year-old boy and his younger sister drawing water for villagers in the Berea district of Lesotho . They were paid in food for their services. At home the youngsters, who had lost their parents to AIDS, waited
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 8 May 2003
Jessica Barry in Abidjan
Victorine is a cashier in a soft drinks dispensary near a noisy market in Cote d Ivoire s commercial capital Abidjan. This 37-year-old mother of two works 12 hours a day, six days a week. There is no fan to stir the heavy, humid air and in a month s time the place will be stifling, but Victorine is not complaining. T
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - Geneva, May 8, 2003
Millions of people around the world are being needlessly infected and killed by HIV/AIDS more than 20 years into the pandemic because of the continued stigmatisation, discrimination and marginalization of people living with the disease, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned today.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 22 April 2003
Javier Hourcade, HIV/AIDS Anti-stigma Campaign Manager
The innovative regional response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Americas during the last decade has been based on the active participation of the affected communities. This response can best be summed up by the word diversity . At the community level, networks of organizations promoting harm reduction, the rights of w
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 16 April 2003
Marko Kokic in Guatemala City
The familiar sound of children playing fills the air. Little Pablo screams with joy as he hurtles down a slide. Yesenia rocks back and forth on a swing singing along to the disco music playing on the radio. Korama and Etelvina dance while Fernanda runs around giggling. The playground at San Jose Children s Home is like
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 10 April 2003
Omar Valdimarsson in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Every day, it becomes more urgent for governments to provide efficient and practical measures to help injecting drug users lead healthy lives, such as increased access to treatment and harm reduction programmes. Harsh and even violent policies to force individuals to change only succeed in turning the war on drugs into
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 9 April 2003
France Hurtubise, in Beijing
Liu En Yun never dreamed of ever cooking his own meals. Actually, over the last few years, he had hardly thought about food at all. He would only worry about how to get the money for his daily heroin. Nowadays, he has a new goal - teach other drug users how to keep away from drugs and from a disease that comes with it,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 7 April 2003
Omar Valdimarsson in Chiang Mai
The 14th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm, co-sponsored by the International Federation, has begun in the Thai city of Chiang Mai. The tone was on Sunday set when members of the Thai Drug Users Network greeted the arrival of Thai Public Health Minister Dr. Sudarat Keyuraphan with protests
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 5 April 2003
Governments need to stop treating people who are at high risk from HIV/AIDS as social evils and urgently address the stigma, discrimination and marginalization of these groups if global efforts to combat the disease are to be achievable, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The cal
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 4 April 2003
Galina Obukh in Molodechno
They say every cloud has a silver lining. That is how the Molodechno branch of the Belarus Red Cross (BRC) started its harm reduction programme. When its visiting nurses service was scaled back, it left it with a large number of unused disposable syringes. Knowing this, our administration asked me to start a syringe ex
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 24 March 2003
Global efforts to counteract a tuberculosis (TB) emergency are being greatly threatened by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies today on World TB Day. TB is now the single biggest killer of people with HIV/AIDS, while HIV represents the greatest threat to acti
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 19 March 2003
The leaders of the world s richest nations were today asked not to betray the hopes raised among the world s poor by the establishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), diseases which kill six million people each year. Non-governmental organizations from the US and Europe today publicly launched
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 6 March 2003
Ever-increasing numbers of women living with HIV/AIDS will have catastrophic social consequences unless they are given more of a voice in the battle against the disease, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as it marks International Women s Day on March 8. The backbone of the family
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 5 March 2003
John Sparrow in Swaziland
Kaliba is very hot, very dry and very prone to disaster. A small rural community of 2,800 souls in southern Swaziland , it suffers the inter-related ills of poverty and pestilence. So much so that a cholera outbreak there has not caused much of a commotion. In a country ravaged by the combined effect of one of the worl
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 3 February 2003
The vast majority of people living with AIDS will continue to be denied access to life-saving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) unless considerable additional resources are provided to the Global Fund for the fight against HIV/AIDS, said Dr. Massimo Barra, the new representative of non-governmental organisations from devel
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 29 January 2003
A veteran of the Italian AIDS response and senior official of the Italian Red Cross, Dr. Massimo Barra, has been selected as a member of the board of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. He will represent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from developed countries for a period of one year. Barra s appo
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