IFRC ramps up humanitarian assistance as record number of migrants cross the perilous Darién Gap

Panama City/Geneva, 20 September 2021 – The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is ramping up efforts to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to migrants travelling through the Darién Gap, one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world. Between January and August of 2021, 70,376 migrants (including 13,655 children) have crossed the Panamanian jungle, an amount in par with the total number of migrants over the last five years.  

In the past few years, the Darién Gap has become a common transit point for migrants headed north, but the latest figure vastly surpasses the high numbers of 2016, when 30,000 people made the crossing throughout the whole year. In comparison, in August 2021 alone, 25,361 people have used this route.  

Afghanistan: War shatters bodies and souls. Four decades of war shatters nations.

ICRC - Statement
08 September 2021

The following is a statement from Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, at the end of a four-day trip to Afghanistan.

Kabul (ICRC) – The scars of war last generations. Destroyed buildings can one day be rebuilt, but shattered limbs do not regrow. Children re-live trauma long after the bomb blasts subside. Family members killed leave a permanent void. 

The people of Afghanistan have lived through 40 years of conflict. In my years as the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross I have seen agony, suffering and despair in many of the world’s warzones. But I cannot begin to express how deeply four decades of war damages a nation. 

Haiti earthquake: thousands in dire need of health care and safe water

Port au Prince, Panama, Geneva, 7 September 2021— The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warns that access to health care and safe water is critical following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on 14 August.

More than 212,000 people are affected by damaged water systems, which limits their access to safe water for drinking and hygiene, putting them at risk of water-borne diseases.

President of the International Committee of the Red Cross arrives in Afghanistan

ICRC - News Release
05 September 2021

Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), arrived in Afghanistan today for a three-day visit.

A statement on Afghanistan from Robert Mardini, the director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

The ICRC is relieved to see Kabul avoid what could have been devastating urban warfare, but we remain mindful of the thousands of civilians wounded and displaced in recent fighting in other urban centres. The ICRC is determined to stand by the Afghan people and help men, women and children cope with the unfolding situation.

Afghanistan is in the middle of a transition that is difficult for Afghans, and for us, to predict the outcome of. But we know that humanitarian needs will remain high. 

IFRC: Urgent life-saving efforts in Haiti underway as preliminary reports confirm earthquake devastation  

Port au Prince, Panama, Geneva, 14 August 2021 - On Saturday, 14 August a major 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. According to Haiti's Office for Civil Protection, 227 have died and the figure is sadly expected to increase in the coming hours. Preliminary reports by Haitian Red Cross volunteers and IFRC staff on the ground confirm that the earthquake has caused severe damage to infrastructure, including hospitals, especially in Jérémie and Les Cayes, at the Northern coast of the Southern peninsula of the country.  

Hospitals and hotels, as well as ports, bridges and routes are reported to have been damaged in Les Cayes and Jérémie, where churches collapsed while the morning mass was being celebrated. Search and rescue activities are concentrated in that area as there may be people trapped in the rubble. 

Somalia: Three million face starvation and disease, warns IFRC, as it calls for swift action

Nairobi/Geneva, 11 August 2021 — The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has warned that Somalia is on the cusp of a humanitarian catastrophe. One in 4 people face high levels of acute food insecurity and more than 800,000 children under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition unless they receive treatment and food assistance immediately.

In addition to food insecurity, Somalia’s humanitarian situation continues to worsen due to multiple threats, including the outbreak of diseases such as Acute Watery Diarrhoea, measles, malaria and COVID-19.

Afghanistan: Red Cross-supported health facilities treat more than 4,000 people wounded by weapons since Aug. 1 

ICRC - News Release
10 August 2021

Geneva/Kabul (ICRC) – Hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk as fighting intensifies in and around Kunduz, Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, and other Afghan cities. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling on both parties to the conflict for immediate restraint. The ICRC calls for civilians and vital infrastructure such as hospitals to be protected from attack and any collateral damage caused by fighting in populated areas.

Since 1 August, 4,042 patients wounded by weapons have been treated at 15 ICRC-supported health facilities, an indication of the intensity of the recent violence. 

Hundreds of Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers responding to wildfires across Europe

Ankara/Budapest/Geneva, 2 August 2021 – Volunteers from Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, and Turkey are responding to several wildfires raging across Europe. Scorching temperatures, high winds and tinder dry conditions have forced rescues by sea and land, with thousands of people fleeing for their lives with just the clothes on their backs.

In southern Turkey eight people have died and scores are injured. Hundreds of animals have been killed and countless homes lost in the worst hit areas of Antalya and Bodrum. More than 2,000 Turkish Red Crescent staff and volunteers are on the ground.

Gaza: survey shows heavy toll of chronic power shortages on exhausted families  

ICRC - News Release
02 August 2021

Video and photographs for this story are available for download in ICRC's multimedia newsroom.

Gaza (ICRC) – A new study by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza shows that 80% of Gaza’s population live much of their lives in the dark, with only 10-12 hours of electricity per day. This issue becomes extra problematic during the peak of summer and poses a threat to the health and daily life for Gazans, with the majority of the population being unable to refrigerate food and wastewater treatment plants unable to operate.

According to the study, the chronic, prolonged electricity shortages and power cuts are taking a psychological toll on people, with 94% of Gazans surveyed reporting that their mental health is affected by the situation. Furthermore, the recent intense escalation of hostilities in May damaged infrastructure and caused massive shortages of supply through the major power lines, leaving people with only 4-5 hours of electricity per day.

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