Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - April 15, 2005
Roy Probert in Geneva
Nine programmes from around the world have been selected to receive grants from the fund. They range from the purchase of a new ambulance for the Mali Red Cross to the construction of a new training centre in Papua New Guinea.
The fund, established in 1912 by Empress Shoken of Japan, supports Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian activities worldwide. The empress died on April 11 1914 and the anniversary of her death is traditionally marked with the annual allocation of funds.
Successful projects are selected by a joint International Federation-International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Commission according to a number of criteria. Funds go those Societies that are in greatest need or have least benefited from the Fund in the recent past.
The growing impact of traffic accidents was a recurring theme in this year's successful applications. One of the main purposes for the new fully equipped ambulance for Mali was to cope with increased number of road accidents. It was a similar story for the Red Cross Society of Eritrea (RCSE), whose "Safe Journey" project aims to train more first aiders, improve the National Society's ambulance service and raise awareness among the public about road safety.
"Before independence in 1991, there were only 6,000 motorised vehicles in Eritrea. Today there are 55,000, but many are very old and not roadworthy. Making matters worse is the poor state of our road infrastructure, a lack of road signs and the fact that people are not used to wearing seatbelts," explains RCSE Secretary General, Alganesh Kidane.
"Our project seeks to contribute to a reduction in mortality and morbidity caused by road accidents through general community awareness, training of specific groups and effective first aid and transport service to victims," he adds.
Another successful application which made mention of the burden imposed by road accidents was the one submitted by the Peruvian Red Cross (CRP), which will expand and decentralise its National Training Centre. In its application, the CRP recalls that Peru has one of the highest road accident mortality rates in the Americas, with 10 people dying every day. Between 1990 and 2000, over 31,000 people died on the country's roads.
"The Peruvian Red Cross is seeking to strengthen community-based organisations with a view to promoting their empowerment as instruments of their own development. To this end, we intend to open three regional training centres, where instructors will be trained to train other volunteers and first aid courses will be offered to the wider community," says CRP President Edgardo Calder<=n Paredes.
Elsewhere in the Americas, the Argentine Red Cross will receive a Shoken Fund grant to initiate a process of Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment in communities at risk from natural disasters, beginning by training volunteers in a VCA workshop.
The training of community-based volunteers is a constant theme in this year's Shoken Fund awards. One grant was given to the Papua New Guinea Red Cross to develop a training centre in New Ireland province, which will allow the branch there to expand its programmes and better serve the community.
The important work that the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) is doing in the field of HIV/AIDS has also been recognised. It has been allocated funds to boost HIV prevention work among intravenous drug-users (IDUs) in Yunnan province, recognised as being the province most threatened by the virus.
"Our project aims to train former drug-users to be peer educators who can disseminate knowledge about HIV/AIDS prevention among IDUs, such as through behavious change and the use of clean needles and condoms," says Ms. Long Yi, of the RCSC External Liaison department. "It also provides ex-drug-users with life skills training which will help them find a job and re-enter society. The target population will be completely involved in designing the project."
Elsewhere in Asia, the Cambodian Red Cross, celebrating its golden jubilee year, will implement a project to promote International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and humanitarian values. This includes working "towards changing ambivalent attitudes towards women, the trafficking of women and children and discrimination towards people affected by or living with HIV/AIDS".
The promotion of humanitarian values, as well as health promotion, is also an important element for another National Society based in a country recently affected by conflict: Serbia and Montenegro. The national Red Cross society's project, entitled "I know how to be healthy, I will learn to be humane", recognises the need to increase the number of trained young educators for preventive health activities.
"The Serbian Red Cross has concluded that preventive health programmes aimed at children and youth are a key national interest. While children and youth are the basic target group, the promotion of healthy lifestyles is directed at the whole population," says Milovan Jankovic, Secretary General of the Serbia and Montenegro Red Cross Society. "Our principal aim is to raise the awareness of every individual about personal responsibility for one's own health.
The health of young people is also a priority for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which successfully applies for funds for a programme to promote children's health and the early detection of diseases and disabilities at a primary health care centre in Anabta, near Tulkarem.
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