International 11

Thanks to the generosity of the government of Canada and Canadians donating to the Cyclone Idai appeal, Canadian Red Cross has sent its emergency field hospital to Mozambique. The hospital will be staffed by 25 Canadian aid workers, including doctors, nurses and technicians. They will help alleviate the tremendous strain that has been placed on local services and health professionals who have been working non-stop to provide urgent care.

Despite tremendous efforts from healthcare providers, death is a natural and expected part of epidemics. But because of the infectious nature of Ebola, this does leave a logistical issue – how do we bury the dead, someone’s loved one - in a way that is respectful but also protects against more people becoming ill?
 

Last week, a devestating cyclone made landfall in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. The powerful Cyclone Idai has caused flooding, damaged infrastructure, crops, and homes. The Red Cross is responding, ready to provide aid to those who need it. 

With constant access to information, it can be easy to assume that we are getting a full picture of what is going on in the world. But there are stories that rarely make headlines, and when those stories impact millions of people they can represent an emergency.

Chicken pox is a common and generally low risk illness, but overcrowded conditions in large makeshift settlements in Bangladesh means the disease is able to spread rapidly.  With over 34,500 cases of the disease reported since December, the worry is that this illness risks compounding many other vulnerabilities of the people who live here.

A successful project, like solar-powered water pumps, relies not just on aid workers, but community members who work closely with them. 

In 2018 alone, roughly 2.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes in communities across Ethiopia because of ongoing conflict. Read about three mothers who are doing what it takes for their families, despite the difficult conditions they find themselves in. 

In Mali, most infant deaths are associated with diseases that can be treated with medication. What kills babies, among other things, is that these diseases are often detected too late. Why? There are a number of reasons, but in Koulikoro, in the villages where the Red Cross team is working, one of the biggest reasons seems to have to do with tradition.