Roundtable: Red Cross Red Crescent

Intervention in Somalia and the Horn

Pretoria, 10 October 2011

Roundtable: Update on the Red Cross Red Crescent Intervention in Somalia and the Horn
Pretoria (SARCS) – The South African Red Cross Society (SARCS) will be hosting a Roundtable today at 10:00-12:00 at 1166 Schoeman Street, Block B, Ground floor, Hatfield, to discuss the update on Red Cross Red Crescent intervention in Somalia and in the Horn of Africa.  The roundtable will also include the participation of civil society organisations including KEDASA, IDASA, as well as Corporates such as the Vodacom Foundation which has donated to the Somalia appeal which was launched by SARCS in the wake of a severe drought that began in October 2010 which has aggravated the already dire humanitarian situation in Somalia resulting from more than 20 years of armed conflict.
The Roundtable will address the drought situation in the Horn which remains critical.  In the Horn National Societies have been supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) who all belong to the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. 
The IFRC and its member national societies are working to address the emergency needs of the drought affected population in the Horn.    National Societies like SARCS have partnered with the South African public and with corporates such as Vodacom to raise money to support the Movements intervention. “Vodacom takes pleasure in commending the high number of subscribers who accepted the invitation to join the company in raising funds, via its sms platform, towards the plight of the Somalian citizens. The R100 000 raised from subscriber donations helped raise the total contribution that has been  channelled via the SA Red Cross Society, to R500 000” says Mthobi Tyamzashe, Executive Director for CSI at Vodacom.
In Somalia the ICRC has been working with the Somali Red Crescent to address the humanitarian crisis.  They have been distributing food with the aim of assisting some 1.1 million drought- and war-affected people across the hardest-hit areas of southern and central Somalia. The first round of distributions, took place in the Gedo region and other areas.  In Gedo 72,000 people have been provided with enough beans, oil and rice to cover their needs for one month. Several more rounds are planned to take place until December 2011.
The Round table will therefore seek to emphasize the point that the present situation underlines the importance for governments, donors, the media and humanitarian agencies to invest in long term solutions, and also to support initiatives to prevent future crises.
“While food distributions are needed to relieve immediate suffering, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is also focused on providing the affected population in the Horn, with the means to sustain their own livelihoods.  We welcome the opportunity to enter into dialogue with all concerned humanitarians, including  the media, civil society and corporates such as Vodacom, and more importantly to acknowledge their support in ensuring that we as a Movement are investing in long-term adaptations and sustainability of vulnerable, pastoralist populations,” said Winnie Ndebele, Acting Secretary General of SARCS.
To find out more about Red Cross Red Crescent intervention in the Horn please contact:

Janine Mosetlhi
SARCS Communications & Marketing Manager
jmosetlhi@redcross.org.za
073 048 8926