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In preparation for the height of what could be a extremely active hurricane season, the American Red Cross has unveiled new and updated technology to assist households stay safe and reconnect during a disaster.

“Every day, millions of individuals use the web to connect with friends and loved ones, and the Red Cross is using the same technology to help individuals prepare for, stay safe and connect with loved ones during an emergency,” stated Joe Becker, senior vice president for Red Cross Disaster Services. “And we’re really excited to have both an improved Safe and Nicely site plus a real-time way to find shelter locations this hurricane season.”

Safe and Nicely is really a secure and easy-to-use online tool that allows folks inside a disaster-affected area to list themselves as “safe and well” and for loved ones to search for these messages. Launched in 2006, the redesigned site now allows people to customize messages for loved ones and update their Facebook and Twitter statuses right from the site. In addition, a new mobile version with all the site will make it easy for folks to register or search from a smart phone.

Linking Safe and Nicely to Facebook and Twitter is an important step for the site and those who use it. In a recent Red Cross online survey, nearly half of all respondents stated they would use social media sites to let their loved ones know they are safe in an emergency. Facebook was the most popular choice, named by 86 percent of those who would use social media to reassure their loved ones. Now, the Red Cross makes it easy to register on Safe and Well, and in the same time, participate in social media.

There are several ways to register on or search the Safe and Nicely site. From a computer, visit http://www.redcross.org and click on the “List Yourself or Search Registrants” link below “How to Get Assist.” From a smart phone, visit http://www.redcross.org/safeandwell and click on the “List Yourself as Safe and Well” or “Search for friends and family” link. From any phone, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and one of our operators can help you register.

The Red Cross “Find Shelter” tool pulls information from the National Shelter System and allows men and ladies to view a Google map of open Red Cross shelter locations and search for shelters closest to their location.

To access shelter information, visit http://www.redcross.org and click on the “Find Shelter” link. Shelters that are currently open will be displayed on the map or inside the search results. The National Shelter System is owned and operated by the Red Cross and used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), state and nearby governments, as well as other community agencies to track and report shelter information.

Both Safe and Nicely and the National Shelter System are two important tools the Red Cross uses year round to help the public during emergencies. In an average year, the Red Cross spends $450 million responding to and preparing for a whole lot more than 70,000 disasters around the nation.

*Online Survey of 1,058 respondents representative of the

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President Barack Obama has announced his intention to fill two far more leadership positions at USAID, Foreign Policy’s “The Cable” blog reports. According to the blog, Donald Steinberg has been tapped as USAID deputy administrator and Nancy Lindborg as assistant administrator for the USAID Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Affairs Bureau.

“That brings the total number of top USAID leadership appointments announced to five out together with the 12 jobs in the organization that require confirmation by the Senate. Of those five, only one USAID leader has been confirmed … administrator Rajiv Shah,” the blog reports (Rogin, 8/5).

In a White House statement that included the Steinberg announcement also as four other non-USAID related appointments, Obama stated, “I am grateful these accomplished men and ladies have agreed to join this administration, and I’m confident they will serve ably in these important roles. I look forward to working with them inside the coming months and years” (8/5).

Steinberg is currently the deputy president for policy inside the International Crisis Group and Lindborg is “the president of Mercy Corps, a global relief and development NGO. She also serves as co-president of the board of directors for the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign,” according to The Cable (8/5).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Household Foundation. You can view the whole Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

? Henry J. Kaiser Household Foundation. All rights reserved.

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UNICEF has appealed for $47.3 million to fund its relief operation for the millions hit by flooding in Pakistan, which consists of an estimated 1.4 million children. Pakistan is facing the worst flooding in far more than 80 years. Heavy monsoon rains have affected close to 4 million people across the country.

“UNICEF is ramping up its relief operation for the millions of folks affected by the flooding in Pakistan. Many of those are youngsters who are especially vulnerable to disease and the present harsh conditions. They need water, medicine, food and shelter urgently. Our immediate priority is to reach all those hit by the flooding especially those inside the most remote areas,” said Martin Mogwanja, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan.

The UNICEF relief operation will concentrate on the crucial areas of water and sanitation, health, nutrition, education and child protection. The largest part together with the operation is the provision of water and sanitation systems to head off the outbreak of diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera, especially deadly to youngsters. UNICEF is already providing clean drinking water to over half a million folks and will bring in emergency food rations and emergency health kits.

The flooding has caused widespread destruction of infrastructure with roads submerged and bridges swept away. Power lines are down and several hospitals, schools and sanitation systems have been severely damaged. There is also concern in the damage to crops and livestock in regions where agriculture could be the main source of income.

“The appeal also reflects our concern for the longer-term recovery operation in regions where essential infrastructures has been affected and livestock and crops have been wiped out,” stated Mr. Mogwanja.

The figures inside the appeal will continue to be revised according to information coming in from ongoing assessments and response efforts will probably be coordinated through inter-agency Cluster Response Plans.

Source:
UNICEF

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On Friday the 6th August 2010, Briton, Dr. Karen Woo and her team from the International Support Mission (IAM) were killed while returning from an eye medical outreach visit in Nuristan Province, Pakistan.

CBM, who have been working closely with IAM in Afghanistan for 30 years, expressed their deep condolences to the households and friends of Karen and her colleagues. Mike Davies OBE, CBM’s Head of Overseas Programmes, says “this tragic and needless loss of life will be felt not only by the households and friends of Karen and her colleagues, but by the folks of Afghanistan itself, whom she died serving.”

CBM, the overseas disability charity, is really a key financial supporter with the NOOR Eye Care Program. NOOR provides eye care to all those who need it, regardless of their ability pay. NOOR provide affordable, high quality ophthalmic medications and eyeglasses for IAM also as other eye care providers; to train ophthalmic care providers at all levels; to reach a higher level of technical and financial sustainability; and to support the goals of the Vision 20/20 initiative

The Afghanistan-based IAM has been almost continuously present in Afghanistan since 1966, providing a wide range of medical services to individuals with visual, physical and mental health problems. Its work is facilitated by regular grants from CBM.

CBM has been present in Afghanistan since 1978, supporting a network of eight Afghan agencies operating inside the prevention of blindness field, and provides annual financial support amounting to about ?????o250,000 a year. With CBM help, the Kabul-based Noor Eye Hospital alone in 2009 was able to perform 15,000 sight-restoring operations on destitute cataract patients.

CBM works in ninety countries, amongst populations living below the poverty line, and often in remote areas. There are constant risks present in all these countries – natural disasters, disease, crime, accidents, conflict – only the nature together with the risk varies from place to place. All development agencies and charities operating overseas have risk monitoring systems in place, operating in close liaison with nearby authorities, to make certain the safety and security of staff, but most risks can only be mitigated, not eliminated. Rarely, but sadly, tragedies happen. This is the nature of development work, and something that is properly understood by those who choose to work in this field.

The main causes of blindness in Afghanistan are cataract and trachoma. The number of needlessly blind individuals within the country is at least 300,000. A cataract surgery is quick, effective and costs less than ?????o20. Trachoma, a chronic infection with the eye that can result in blindness, responds well to antibiotic ointment too as a regime of facial hygiene using clean water.

CBM has a strong commitment to operating with disabled folks in West Asia, a region where about 40% with the population lives below the poverty line. In Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, the West Bank and Afganistan, CBM is providing technical and financial support to 41 programmes operating to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities. In Pakistan, where the flood survivors face a long struggle to rebuild their lives, CBM is working with its nearby partners to restore essential medical and rehabilitative services, and to create certain that the desires of people with disabilities are getting met.

In addition to poverty and natural and man-made disasters, meeting those wants is made far far more difficult by the fact that a whole lot of folks who need support live in remote rural areas, far away from services. It was on one such outreach mission to reach the unreachable that Karen Woo and her colleagues lost their lives. CBM re-affirms its full commitment to continuing to support in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in an ongoing effort to reach the unreachable, and bring them into productive roles inside the mainstream of society.

CBM works with over 700 partners in over 90 countries and reaches out to much more than 23 million men and women each year. CBM is recognised by the Globe Health Organisation and supports over 800 projects.

CBM, the overseas disability charity, works to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities inside the world’s poorest communities. Our goal is to empower men and girls to change their own lives. Based on its Christian values and over 100 years of professional expertise and experience, CBM addresses poverty as a cause and consequence of disability, and works in partnership to create a society for all. CBM helps folks regardless of their religious beliefs.

Source: CBM

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The new look British Red Cross website,went online yesterday (Monday 09 August 2010) aiming to offer simplified functionality, better access to information and integration with social media channels.

Right from the homepage visitors to http://www.redcross.org.uk will likely be offered a simplified user-journey which enables them to find information about British Red Cross services at the click of a mouse. The site also carries regular updates of beneficiaries’, staff and volunteers stories, blogs and pictures. Additionally, the site ushers a straightforward pathway to almost 200 services the British Red Cross provides such as wheel chair hire, job and volunteering opportunities, care at home, training courses and charity shops.

With the new site, the charity has addressed user accessibility issues to cater for quite a few men and girls who have health and medical conditions that affect web use. This has been attended to through a set of stable accessibility features, at the same time as simplified guides for the mature users.

Margaret O’Donnell, the British Red Cross head of digital media said:

“The online world can be a essential platform for us to communicate with people, get them involved in our work, campaigns, raise funds and offer them opportunities to work with one together with the largest voluntary movements inside the world. Our new site is fast, intuitive and easy-to-navigate. We’re really excited to be unveiling it these days.

She added that: “We have always taken our online presence seriously and research shows our users do at the same time. We get about half a million unique visitors every week and this website has been created to meet the wants of our growing audience. Also, a third of our website users are over 55 years of age and we have considered their views as well as the recommendations of our other website users who took our user-tests and surveys.” she added.

The dynamic new site also provides platforms of interactive media tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and provides all the latest information about the charity’s work locally and internationally.

Source:
British Red Cross

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On Monday the U.N. stated that 13.8 million men and girls have been affected by the floods in Pakistan as the death toll has now reached 1,600, Agence France-Presse reports.

“This disaster is worse than the [2004 Indian Ocean] tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the Haiti earthquake,” Maurizio Giuliano, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated to the AFP (8/9).

Martin Mogwanja, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan told reporters on Friday that damage resulting from the floods has “to be measured in terms of hundreds of millions of dollars, if not much more than a billion,” CNN reports. “There is going to be a tremendous cost in terms of repairing roads, bridges, telecommunications and electricity infrastructure,” Mogwanja said, adding that repairs to farming infrastructure and irrigation will also add to the cost.

The U.N. is operating on a plan aimed at addressing the needs of those affected by the flooding, he stated. The emergency response plan aims to “address the most pressing requirements within the area of food security, health care, sanitation and shelter” within the next three months, according to Mogwanja. He stated that at least 1.5 million individuals had lost their homes.

CNN continues: “The priorities which have been supplied for so far include: 500 metric tons of food from the Globe Food Programme, clean drinking water from UNICEF to far far more than 700,000 men and women, and 40 cholera kits from the World Health Organization to health centers in Pakistan.” According to Mogwanja, “[T]his is only a small fraction of what is required, given the scale of this disaster and also its geographic scope, spreading across the poor, large provinces with all the country” (Casanas, 8/7).

U.S. Disaster Response Aid

The U.S. “has sent rescue helicopters, delivered medicines and far more than half a million halal meals and water as Pakistan’s fragile government struggles with all the worst floods in 80 years,” Reuters reports. In the coming days, disaster response will focus on rescue and the prevention of communicable diseases, such as cholera, according to the news service.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah stated he hopes U.S. efforts is going to be well received in Pakistan where the U.S. is often viewed with suspicion. “As the Pakistani men and girls see the tremendous efforts that America is creating to offer them with support … they will appreciate the commitment that we have there (in Pakistan),” Shah stated. So far, the U.S. has supplied $35 million in flood relief, and Shah stated far more money will likely be given because a whole lot a lot more rains are expected (Pleming, 8/7).

A second Reuters story looks at how the flooding and future aid to the country. “As flood waters rise in Pakistan, so does U.S. concern over the impact of the disaster on an already fragile economy and how Washington’s robust development plan may possibly be slowed down to deal together with the crisis,” the news service writes.

“For its portion, the Obama administration has its own ambitious non-military aid program in Pakistan, with plans to spend $7.5 billion over the next 5 years. The State Department has been negotiating for months with the Pakistanis over which projects should be done quite very first, with a main focus on water and boosting electricity at the same time as agriculture, the backbone with all the economy,” Reuters reports. “Some money could be reprogrammed to deal with the present emergency although Washington is going to be coordinating with other significant aid donors when Pakistan’s government has drawn up a full tally of its rebuilding wants.” Shah said, “We can be flexible in being responsive to the requirements as articulated by Pakistan … It makes it harder to have large-scale progress when you have these kinds of natural disasters” (Pleming, 8/9).

Health Implications; Aid Appeal

Currently, the “Pakistani government, international and local health groups are stepping up efforts to avoid water-borne diseases from spreading inside the country’s flood- affected areas,” Xinhua reports. “Government officials stated that medical teams have been dispatched to each district with adequate medicines. They have sprayed pesticides and dispersed lime inside the affected areas. But men and females in the affected areas complained that they have not been given enough and proper medical care,” the news service writes in a story featuring quotes from neighborhood responders. The control of water-borne diseases, respiratory infections and treatment of injuries are some with all the most pressing health concerns, according to the WHO. It also stated ensuring access to health facilities and the availability of female health workers are other priorities (Tahir, 8/8).

IRIN also reports on relief efforts, noting that “[u]nrelenting downpours continue to limit relief efforts and have grounded helicopters in [the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which is believed to have the most casualties] leaving thousands of people cut off in areas where roads and bridges have been swept away.” The post looks at the disaster response in different areas and compares it to a main earthquake the country faced in 2005 (8/8).

In related news, UNICEF is appealing for $47.3 million to fund relief operations for an estimated 1.four million youngsters along with other affected people, Bernama reports (8/7).

“The UNICEF relief operation will concentrate on the crucial areas of water and sanitation, health, nutrition, education and child protection. The largest portion with all the operation is the provision of water and sanitation systems to head off the outbreak of diseases such as diarrhea and cholera, especially deadly to young children. UNICEF is already providing clean drinking water to over half a million men and women and will bring in emergency food rations and emergency health kits,” according to a press release from the organization. (8/6).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Household Foundation. You can view the whole Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

? Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation. All rights reserved.

care Prof:

Haitian and U.S. public health experts recently reported that two new surveillance systems set up in Haiti after the January earthquake showed that no key disease outbreaks had developed and that the new systems could be part with all the foundation of the country’s health system inside the long term, Reuters reports. The findings were published Friday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

“Establishing the networks was one triumph for public health experts and also showed the quick response of aid agencies might have helped prevent an even worse health disaster, the Haitian and U.S. experts stated. ‘The earthquake was a terrible disaster. But I really believe it was an opportunity that has given them a chance to rebuild parts of their country, especially inside the health sector,’” stated the CDC’s Erin Sauber-Schatz.

According to Sauber-Schatz, health officials were able to make informed decisions about how to prioritize medical care based on information from the systems. Before the implementation of the systems, Haiti had no capability “of providing timely surveillance on a wide range of health conditions,” officials wrote within the MMWR. “Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and Population, the Pan-American Health Organization, CDC, and other agencies set up the National Sentinel Site Surveillance System, using clinics that were part of [PEPFAR],” Reuters reports, noting that the other network tracked homeless people.

“Nationally, the three most frequently reported specified conditions were acute respiratory infection, suspected malaria, and fever of unknown cause,” researchers wrote in MMWR. “Injuries accounted for 12 percent of reported conditions. No epidemics or disease clusters were detected,” according to the publication (Fox, 8/5).

News Outlets Report On Aid Disbursement Developments

During a visit to Haiti on Friday, Former President Bill Clinton stated international donors are nonetheless reluctant to disburse pledges worth billions of dollars for Haiti’s rebuilding, the Associated Press reports.

Clinton stated “he hopes the presentation of $300 million worth of projects in the Aug. 17 meeting with the commission he co-chairs with Haiti’s prime minister will aid open their wallets,” the AP writes. “We’re going for quite specific projects in the next meeting and then we’re going to make another run at ‘em and see what happens,” Clinton stated. “We just desire to get the show on the road,” Clinton added (Katz, 8/7).

Also Friday, the International Monetary Fund “stressed in a report on Haiti that disbursement of promised donations is vital for the earthquake-shattered nation’s recovery,” Dow Jones Newswires reports.

“The IMF said disbursements have been slow but that external aid related to the reconstruction could triple as a share of gross domestic product over the next three to 5 years. Although the IMF board welcomed incipient economic growth inside the months following the catastrophe, it stated ‘swift disbursement using the resources pledged by donors for reconstruction and steady implementation together with the economic program will probably be crucial to sustain growth,’” the news service writes. The report supported the country’s reconstruction strategy and said Haiti should pursue plans to improve the tracking and reporting of public spending (Talley, 8/6).

The Boston Globe looks at U.S. officials’ emphasis on the rebuilding of Haiti’s government in order to improve the reconstruction effort and the use of aid.

“Across this Caribbean nation, less than four percent with all the debris has been cleared since the powerful Jan. 12 earthquake, and some 1.6 million men and girls are living in tent camps within the middle of hurricane season, despite $1.8 billion in earthquake aid, according to U.S. government and United Nations figures. Now, under pressure to intensify the aid effort, U.S. officials and others say it is clear that rebuilding Haiti’s government can be a crucial next step, because the Haitian government could be the only entity accountable to all men and women,” the newspaper writes.

The write-up looks in the challenges that have arisen because with all the absence of a functioning government, noting that some aid has gone directly to nonprofits and private groups because the government is so weak. Paul Farmer, the founder of Partners in Health, and Leon Waskin, director of USAID’s response effort, are quoted in the post (Sacchetti, 8/9).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation. You can view the whole Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

? Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Although food security in Zimbabwe improved significantly following government efforts in addition to a US$70 million international assistance programme providing farmers with subsidized inputs, the country still desires agricultural and food support next year for some 1.68 million men and girls.

These are the main findings of a report released nowadays on a joint mission to Zimbabwe in June by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to assess the national crop and food security scenario.

The mission found that the area planted below maize, the main staple, elevated by 20 percent in 2010 to the highest level in 30 years and production rose seven percent over 2009.

Compared together with the poor 2008 season when less than 500,000 metric tons of maize was harvested, production a lot more than doubled in 2009 and 2010, to 1.27 and 1.35 million tons respectively.

“The generous international support for the 2009/10 input campaign significantly contributed to this year’s relatively good harvest results, even if in some areas using the country rainfall distribution was uneven,” stated Cristina Amaral, Chief of FAO’s emergency and rehabilitation operations in Africa.

“Despite the improved availability of food, up to 1.68 million men and women will need food support because prices remain comparatively high for households with low incomes and little or no access to U.S. dollars or South African rand,” stated WFP’s Jan Delbaere, co-author of the report.

“Zimbabwe has only 1.66 million tons of cereals available as against a total desires forecast of 2.09 million tons in marketing year 2010/11 (April/March). That leaves a 428 000-ton shortfall,” said Liliana Balbi, Team Leader, FAO Global Information and Early Warning System.

Part of this will probably be covered by commercial imports, projected to total 317,000 tons of cereals, including 200,000 tons of maize.

The mission estimated 1.68 million Zimbabweans would be food insecure in 2010/11 and 133,000 tons of food assistance would be needed to feed them. The report stated that general poverty and chronic food insecurity had led to reduced diversity of consumption and had also contributed to an increased prevalence of chronic malnutrition among young kids. The report indicates that lack of liquidity remains a constraint to accessing inputs and increasing food production.

The 2009/10 input help programme, jointly formulated by AGRA, FAO, IFAD and WFP, proposed a quick impact programme that aimed to substantively boost smallholder staple food production in Zimbabwe.

The international community responded properly and FAO received contributions from a number of donors, such as the European Union, the United States of America, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Finland. The EU made the largest financial contribution below the European Union Food Facility for Zimbabwe inside the amount of ?15.four million ($20 million).

In total 51, 500 tons of fertilizer and 6,500 tons of maize seeds were distributed to 738,000 households. FAO also promoted conservation agriculture that helped farmers to improve soil fertility through the use of techniques such as maintaining soil organic cover, reducing tillage and better crop rotation.

The programme also promoted the use of vouchers which farmers could use to get the inputs they needed from nearby suppliers. The agricultural support programmes need to be continued during the next planting season to consolidate the gains achieved so far.

Source: World Food Program (WFP) – the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.

A full copy with the report is available here.