Red Cross chief urges vaccine “fake news” fight
United NationsAP The head of the world’s largest humanitarian network is urging governments and institutions to combat “fake news” about COVID-19 vaccines which has become “a second pandemic” and start building trust in communities around the world about the critical importance of vaccinating people. Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and […]
“I’m looking for God to help”: Somalia’s most powerful storm leaves traders, herders devastated
Garowe, Somalia Thomson Reuters Foundation Electronics shop owner Mohamed Nor had a thriving business selling televisions and phones in Somalia’s coastal town of Bosaso until three days ago, when the most powerful storm to hit the country hammered his business and left him with nothing. “I had a booming shop in downtown Bosaso. It has […]
Funding for climate disasters is “failing” those most vulnerable, says IFRC
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The number of disasters caused by extreme weather and climate-related events is surging, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a report on Tuesday, but funding is not getting to where it is needed most. Cases of floods, storms and heatwaves per decade have increased by nearly 35 […]
Twin ‘crises’ of climate and COVID hammering millions, Red Cross says
Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation Weather disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have simultaneously hit tens of millions of people worldwide this year, making them more vulnerable to both threats and hampering emergency response, the Red Cross said on Wednesday. In a new analysis, the international humanitarian agency said about 70 per cent of the 132 disasters linked […]
Drought in North Korea could exacerbate ongoing hunger issues
An early seasonal drought in North Korea could exacerbate hunger, malnutrition and health problems for thousands of vulnerable people already facing food shortages, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said last week. Flagging the looming crisis, the Mohamed Babiker, the head of the IFRC in North Korea, said the organisation was “particularly concerned about the […]
As risks rise, too little is spent to avert disasters, say UN and Red Cross
Geneva, SwitzerlandThomson Reuters Foundation Governments and businesses are still investing far too little to protect poor communities at rising risk from wild weather and other threats, the heads of the UN disaster prevention agency and the Red Cross said Tuesday. Countries are having to dig deep to bail out crisis-hit communities – as happened after […]
Disease, hunger “alarmingly high” in drought-hit Pakistan, says Red Cross
Thomson Reuters Foundation One of the worst droughts in Pakistan’s history has triggered “alarmingly high” levels of malnutrition and disease in the hardest hit areas where people have been forced to drink salty or contaminated water, the Red Cross said on Friday. Women, especially those pregnant or breastfeeding, and children are particularly vulnerable to diarrhoea, […]
Millions of disaster victims left ‘hidden in the shadows’, says IFRC
Thomson Reuters Foundation Humanitarians must actively seek out millions of people who are hit by crises like floods, earthquakes but are left “hidden in the shadows” and without aid, the world’s largest relief network said on Wednesday. The United Nations estimates some 134 million people will require aid in 2018, but only about 97 million […]
Plot, poison, or curse? Ebola rumours spread in Congo
Thomson Reuters Foundation Some think the disease is a plot to kill off opposition voters. Others believe it is a money-making scheme by foreign groups. These are among the rumours that have caused people to refuse Ebola vaccines and throw stones at health workers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where an Ebola outbreak has […]
No charge for Airbnb rooms as victims of Greek wildfires scramble for shelter
Thomson Reuters Foundation Victims of wildfires that engulfed a seaside town in Greece, killing at least 82 people and damaging or destroying hundreds of homes, scrambled to find shelter on Thursday as Airbnb stepped in to match those in need with free rooms. The fires – the deadliest in the country’s history – overwhelmed the […]