1260400 ifrc africa zone activities en lr

Africa zone activities November 2011 – July 2013

www.ifrc.orgSaving lives, changing minds.

© International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, 2013

Any part of this publication may be cited, copied, translated into other languages or adapted to meet local needs without prior permission from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provided that the source is clearly stated.

Requests for commercial reproduction should be directed to the IFRC Secretariat at [email protected]

All photos used in this study are copyright of the IFRC unless otherwise indicated.

Cover photo: Aapo Huhta/IFRC

P.O. Box 303CH-1211 Geneva 19SwitzerlandTelephone: +41 22 730 4222Telefax: +41 22 733 0395E-mail: [email protected] site: www.ifrc.org

Africa Zone Activities 2011-20131260400 09/2013 E 1,000

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network, reaching 150 million people each year through our 187 member National Societies. Together, we act before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people. We do so with impartiality as to nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, class and political opinions.

Guided by Strategy 2020 – our collective plan of action to tackle the major humanitarian and development challenges of this decade – we are committed to ‘saving lives and changing minds’.

Our strength lies in our volunteer network, our community-based expertise and our independence and neutrality. We work to improve humanitarian standards, as partners in development and in response to disasters. We persuade decision-makers to act at all times in the interests of vulnerable people. The result: we enable healthy and safe communities, reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen resilience and foster a culture of peace around the world.

Follow us:

3

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Africa zone activitiesNovember 2011 – July 2013

Table of contents

Introduction 4

Strengthening community resilience 5

Disaster risk reduction 6

Early action 7

Health 10

Africa zone emergency responses map November 2011 – July 2013 8-9

Governance 12

Youth and volunteers 13

Contact information for Africa zone and regions back cover

4



IntroductionAfrica is a continent on the move, attracting attention as a destination for investment. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Africa zone and its National Societies continue to position themselves as credible investment partners. 2012 and 2013 were promising years. African National Societies committed themselves to pursuing local partnerships with government, civil society and the corporate sector.

Partnerships with the private sector were scaled up not only to access resources but also to benefit from their expertise and technologies in specific areas. IFRC is working with the African Development Bank, the Land Rover Foundation on water and sanitation, and telecom companies on cash transfer programming.

IFRC also provided support through the signing of memorandums of understanding with UNECA, IGAD and CILSS, and increased collaboration with Japan and China. A cooperation agreement was also entered into with the African Union, giving IFRC permanent observer status and resulting in the passing of draft legislation on disaster law.

5



Strengthening community resilience

A twin track approach was used during the food crisis in seven countries in the Sahel to reach more than 1.7 million people with food or food vouchers; 25,000 with com-munal vegetable gardens; and 170,000 farmers with livestock, seeds, fertilizers, and tools. Communities talk of using the knowledge gained to sustain activities in the years ahead.

In Mali, citizens could not earn a living after conflict forced thousands from their homes. Through a rapid assessment and new plan of action, beneficiaries returning home will receive not just emergency aid, but longer term assistance through food and non-food items, seeds and fertilizer, training on agricultural methods and cash programming.

Using alternative agriculture production, a programme by the Ethiopia Red Cross in the drought prone Tigray region will see food security improve for 10,500 people. Similar projects are underway in Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.

Through trainings, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo National Societies are now proposing more relevant food security and malnutrition projects; implementation rates and reporting have improved. Beneficiaries have a good grasp of food production and marketing techniques, and are implementing mi-cro projects to increase income.

A twin track approach addresses short term emergency needs while simultaneously attending to longer term recovery in a way that encourages community strengthening.

IFR

C

6



Food insecurity in southern Africa in 2012 saw National Societies in Lesotho, Ma-lawi and Zimbabwe provide emergency food aid for 35,000 people. However, activities to strengthen community resilience to food insecurity were also a priority through initiatives focusing on conservation agriculture, knowledge sharing on crop diversi-fication, promotion of sustainable use of land and water resources, and the use of renewable energy technology.

Disaster risk reductionThe Zambezi River Basin Initiative, the Lake Victoria Basin Initiative and the Sen-egal River Basin Initiative are flagship long term projects to build resilience and increase disaster risk reduction (DRR) capacities in southern and eastern Africa and in the Sahel.

The projects are based on an integrated approach, utilizing the Movement’s substantial geographical and community level presence, technical expertise, and partnerships. They target 130 communities in the Sahel, 235,800 acutely vulnerable people across seven southern African countries, and 364,977 direct beneficiaries in the Lake Victoria region.

With thousands of people moving to cities in search of better livelihoods, IFRC launched an urban DRR programme in July 2013 to address risks associated with urban dwelling (fire, flooding, congestion, poor construction). It focuses on eight Afri-can cities in every region: Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Kam-pala, Nairobi, and Yaoundé.

Risk mapping is part of the urban DRR programme. In Kenya, Uganda and several Na-tional Societies in Central Africa, risk mapping is already underway, and will be used to guide project design. In Cameroon, the Red Cross trains motorcycle drivers on first aid.

Ale

x W

ynte

r/IF

RC

7



In Kenya and Namibia, National Societies use the Rapid Mobile Phone-based survey (RAMP) to collect malaria data and submit it using mobile phones. IFRC, together with technical partners, developed this low cost, user-friendly method which al-lows preliminary results to be available within 24 hours and full reports within three days.

DRR education has also been at the core of National Societies work in East Africa. National Societies in Comoros, Madagascar, Uganda and Kenya have been working with district and school administrations to empower the most vulnerable by teach-ing life skills to children who, as agents of change, in turn teach their communities.

Early actionEarly action is a paradigm shift for people and agencies which have grown accus-tomed to equating humanitarian action with crisis response. Communities which have adopted this paradigm shift appreciate the opportunity to make decisions about how to avoid recurrent extreme losses.

Based on lessons learned from the 2011 drought, East Africa region committed to focusing on early action, with beneficiary communication at the core of program-ming. A surge capacity pilot project underway in Kenya and Uganda trains Red Cross volunteers in nutrition, and water and sanitation to support communities and gov-ernments to scale up activities to prevent crises.

IFR

C

8



Total number of people assisted

7, 278,024

Total funding requested

81,692,462 CHF

Average appeal funding coverage

52.7%

Mali NigerMauritania

Guinea Bissau

Gambia

Burkina Faso

Guinea

Sierra LeoneCôte d’Ivoire

Ghana

Nigeria

Benin

Chad Sudan

South SudanCentral African RepublicCameroon

Gabon

Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

UgandaKenya

Tanzania

Burundi

Angola

Namibia

Zambia

Malawi

Botswana

Lesotho

Mozambique

Madagascar

Comoros

Seychelles

MauritiusZimbabwe

Sénégal

Africa zone emergency responsesNovember 2011 – July 2013

Floods DREF and Emergency Appeal

Storm DREF and Emergency Appeal

Population Movement DREF and Emergency Appeal

Floods Emergency Appeal

Storm Emergency Appeal

Population Movement Emergency Appeal

Food Insecurity DREF and Emergency Appeal

Other Operation DREF (fire, explosion, landslide, plane crash)

Health Epidemics DREF and Emergency Appeal

Floods DREF

CaptionsStorm DREF

Population Movement DREF

Drought Emergency Appeal

Complex Emergency Emergency Appeal

Civil Unrest DREF

Food Insecurity Emergency Appeal

Other Operation Emergency Appeal (fire, explosion, landslide, plane crash)

Health Epidemics DREF

9



Mali NigerMauritania

Guinea Bissau

Gambia

Burkina Faso

Guinea

Sierra LeoneCôte d’Ivoire

Ghana

Nigeria

Benin

Chad Sudan

South SudanCentral African RepublicCameroon

Gabon

Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

UgandaKenya

Tanzania

Burundi

Angola

Namibia

Zambia

Malawi

Botswana

Lesotho

Mozambique

Madagascar

Comoros

Seychelles

MauritiusZimbabwe

Sénégal

10



During the 2012/2013 rainy season, six emergency operations were launched in southern Africa to support 64,629 people affected by flooding. Aside from providing vital assistance, National Societies focused on the replenishing and prepositioning of stocks to better respond to future disasters.

Mozambique Red Cross has a simple but effective early warning system through its active network of local volunteers. Their basic strategy is to facilitate the creation of local disaster committees who are trained and equipped in disaster response and in community-based early warning systems. Their effectiveness was proven in the 2013 floods; only 113 lives were lost compared to the over 900 in the 2000 floods.

HealthNational Societies are finding success in responding to epidemics through mobiliza-tion of volunteers, awareness raising, and preventative measures.

During a polio immunization campaign in Burkina Faso in October 2012, every trained Red Cross volunteer reached an average of 25 households per day, resulting in many more families being made aware of the disease and the benefits of immunization. In Cote d’Ivoire, 750,000 children were reached during a similar campaign. In 2013, the National Society was a key government partner during the campaign rollout, using trained volunteers to help reduce the number of non-compliant houses.

When cholera surfaced in Guinea in February 2012, volunteers distributed materials and hygiene kits to 25,000 households, educating families on cholera prevention, wa-ter treatment and hygiene. In Niger, more than 60,000 people were reached through door to door visits and media campaigns when cholera infected seven regions.

During a measles campaign in Benin, 907 Red Cross volunteers were mobilized in six communities to reach more than 250,000 children.

In Uganda, 100 volunteers have been mobilized to respond to Ebola outbreaks, pro-viding community sensitization and disease surveillance to 1.6 million people.

In Burundi, youth groups are taking to the stage to disseminate messages on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and pregnancy. Forty youth groups were trained in interactive drama and now perform in schools and in open air forums.

Understanding the role of climate in seasonal disease patterns has been critical in targeting health actions at the right time. Climate information is being used to pre-vent and mitigate the risk of infectious disease through early warnings and pre-paredness such as with the Health Risk Management in a Changing Climate project in eastern Africa.

Malawi Red Cross piloted universal coverage of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to reduce mortality due to malaria, particularly in children under the age of five and new mothers. Through its volunteer network, 234,745 people were reached.

11



Gre

g R

odla

nd B

uick

/IFR

C

12



Governance Between November 2011 and July 2013, there were at least 97 internationally rec-ognized disasters in Africa zone, however, these reflect only a small fraction of the disasters that actually occurred.

A tangible strategy is therefore required that focuses on building national institu-tions with a capacity to respond. African National Societies are well placed to take on this role, reputationally and legally.

During the 8th Pan African Conference (PAC), National Societies committed to strength-ening their governance, management and right to self-determination. Through ten key action points, seven indicators, plus the creation of an oversight team, the Africa Gov-ernance Group, it is important for all partners to support the transition of National Societies from international aid dependency to domestic self-reliance. In Central Africa, National Societies received trainings on a variety of subjects includ-ing humanitarian governance, disaster law, finance and logistics. The result is better monitoring of activities, improved reporting and communication, and improved cred-ibility which has led to greater trust, and funding, from public authorities.

The seven National Societies in the West coast region are aligning their strategic development plans with Strategy 2020. IFRC provides tailor-made technical support where required, such as including the Liberia Red Cross in the Intensified Capac-ity Building Initiative. A regional resource database contains information on people available to deploy during an emergency. It is linked to logistics data and is being up-graded to capture lessons learned to promote peer learning and support. Databases in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Sierra Leone National Societies will soon be linked to the regional one.

In the Sahel, all National Societies now have standardized manuals for administra-tion, logistics, human resources and finance procedures. Exchange visits for peer-to-peer governance support also occur, usually when a new board is elected or during an institutional crisis.

In southern Africa, organizational development workshops are being carried out for the governing boards of all National Societies, which are also being supported to become self-sufficient by maximizing opportunities for internal investments. This is being done through the promotion of the auxiliary role of National Societies with their respective governments. IFRC leadership has met with the governments of Mo-zambique and Malawi.

Given the cycle of recurring disasters in East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, IFRC has worked with National Societies to develop a regional framework promot-ing continuity between emergency and long term interventions to strengthen com-munity resilience. Key components include peer to peer learning, promotion of best

13



practices and trainings in various sectors, from monitoring and evaluation, to fi-nance, resource mobilization, emergency response and communication. Governance trainings also took place to support newly formed boards and the creation of the South Sudan National Society.

Youth and volunteers Realizing the critical role of the more than one million Red Cross Red Crescent youth volunteers in Africa, National Societies committed, during the 8th PAC, to “realize a culture of inclusion at all levels of decision making for youth representatives, as agents of change, operationalized in national youth policies and statutes in every African National Society.”

Thirty-eight youth delegations attended the Youth Conference as a prelude to the PAC and produced a Youth Declaration urging their leadership to focus on build-ing community resilience, encouraging youth entrepreneurship, establishing strong partnerships, and increasing peer-to-peer education.

In the West coast region, volunteers in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Togo are actively involved in capacity building through the Learning Network. The region also has a youth development plan that includes youth in the governing bodies of all regional National Societies.

In Central Africa, a regional youth focal point ensures National Societies consider issues facing youth when developing their activities, and involve them in decision making.

IFR

C

14



In November 2012, and following the Johannesburg recommendations, the Camer-oon Red Cross invited two youth representatives to sit on its steering committee. An annual regional youth forum is also held in Cameroon, to strengthen capacity, cre-ate solidarity, initiate income generating activities, and to prepare youth to assume leadership roles.

In the Sahel, volunteer development is encouraged through youth exchanges and networking. In December 2012, youth from Senegal and Mali attended the Global Youth Conference in Austria.

In East Africa, investing in youth and volunteers is at the core of the regional resil-ience framework. The Burundi Red Cross has a countrywide network of more than 300,000 volunteers delivering sustainable local services in 98 per cent of the coun-try’s communities. The Kenyan Red Cross has fully embraced the use of social media to engage and mobilize youth and volunteers to better respond to emergencies and to share vital information with thousands of people.

In southern Africa, Zambia Red Cross youth volunteers are involved in blood dona-tion drives, first aid trainings, campaigns against drug and alcohol abuse, youth em-powerment workshops, disaster risk awareness and drama groups to inform com-munities on the risks of HIV/AIDS. This year alone, youth camps have been held across Zambia, with one meeting attracting 520 participants.

Ben

oist

Mat

sha-

Car

pen

tier

/ IF

RC

Humanity The International Red Cross and Red Cres-cent Movement, born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battle-field, endeavours, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and lasting peace amongst all peoples.

Impartiality It makes no discrimination as to nation-ality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. It endeavours to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and to give prior-ity to the most urgent cases of distress.

Neutrality In order to enjoy the confidence of all, the Movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial, reli-gious or ideological nature.

Independence The Movement is independent. The National Societies, while auxiliaries in the humani-tarian services of their governments and subject to the laws of their respective countries, must always maintain their autonomy so that they may be able at all times to act in accordance with the principles of the Movement.

Voluntary service It is a voluntary relief movement not prompted in any manner by desire for gain.

Unity There can be only one Red Cross or Red Cres-cent Society in any one country. It must be open to all. It must carry on its humanitarian work through-out its territory.

Universality The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, in which all societies have equal status and share equal responsibilities and duties in helping each other, is worldwide.

The Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

IFRC regional offices

Central AfricaYaoundé, CameroonDenis DuffautRegional representative+237 77 11 77 [email protected]

Eastern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands Nairobi, KenyaFinn Jarle RodeRegional representative+251 731 974 [email protected]

SahelDakar, SenegalMomodou Lamin FyeRegional representative+221 77 332 56 [email protected]

Southern AfricaGaborone, BotswanaAlexander MatheouRegional representative+267 713 [email protected]

West AfricaAbidjan, Cote d’IvoireDaniel SayiRegional representative+225 453 47 [email protected]

www.ifrc.orgSaving lives, changing minds.

This publication provides a snapshot of activities and achievements undertaken by the Africa zone between November 2011 and July 2013, key among them, the 97 emergencies to which Red Cross Red Crescent staff and volunteers responded. It emphasizes the focus on building community resilience through the twin track approach and beneficiary communications, while recognizing the importance of good governance and the added value of volunteers.

IFRC Africa zone

Nairobi, KenyaAlasan SenghoreDirector+254 020 283 [email protected]

Addis Ababa, EthiopiaStephen OmolloHead of Humanitarian Diplomacy+251 11 518 [email protected]

1260400 ifrc africa zone activities en lr

Documents

african national societies

member national societies

ifrc secretariat

lives of vulnerable

humanitarian network

volunteer network

development challenges

local needs