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All is abuzz at as preparations get underway for the handover of the Canadian Red Cross field hospital (ERU) to the District Health Office in Dhunche, Nepal. Orders are being filled to replenish medicines and equipment; boxes are being counted and recounted for accuracy; and the din of ongoing training sessions for doctors and nurses continues, punctuated only by the laughter of children playing in the nearby psychosocial support tent.

The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world. 

A recent spike in hostilities, including the intense ground fighting, has heightened the suffering of Yemen’s civilian population. It is estimated that since March, nearly 4,000 people have been killed, 19,000 injured and 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Severe shortages of water, food and fuel continue across the country as well as airstrikes and ground fighting.

In 2011, the Canadian Red Cross, with support from the Government of Canada, began the Building Community Resilience Project in South Sudan, supporting the South Sudan Red Cross. Over the course of four years, the project aimed to reach some 25,000 beneficiaries, increasing their capacity to address their food security need.

The Canadian Red Cross has had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Moataz Al-Atassi, Secretary General of Homs Branch from the Syrian Arab Red Cresent (SARC), during his visit to Canada.  For two days, Dr. Atassi met with the Canadian Red Cross to discuss the Syria crisis and explained the reality faced by SARC staff and volunteers to provide humanitarian assistance in Syria.

The message read “Today, August 4, we transported our dear Mr. Smiley and his brother to Dhulikhel Spinal Cord Injury”. It was sent by Red Cross nurse Kirsty Robertson of Toronto who is part of the current Canadian Red Cross team working at the field hospital in rural Dhunche, Nepal. She was eager to share Mr. Smiley’s happy outcome, as it has been a team effort.

Heavy rains and damage from Cyclone Komen have caused extensive flooding and landslides in many parts of Myanmar. The Myanmar Red Cross Society is estimating that 178,000 people have been affected across 12 regions and states. It is expected that the number of people affected by this disaster will increase in the coming days as Red Cross teams reach remote areas and assess the damage.

Natasha Osmond, a perioperative nurse from Halifax, recently returned from Dhunche, a rural community in Nepal, where she worked at the Red Cross field hospital. On this, her first overseas assignment, Natasha was responsible for patient safety, legal aspects of nursing, and management of nursing activities related to surgery.