International (Page 24)

Combatting acute watery diarrhea/cholera requires knowledge, skill, equipment, medicine, and most importantly: good, clean water. But how can that be accomplished when an increase in cases of acute watery diarrhea/cholera is seen in a developing country experiencing a severe drought?

It’s World Refugee Day on June 20^th and to mark it, we’re highlighting some of our stories from this year on the challenges and successes of those who had to flee their homes.

When faced with the challenge of reaching people in remote communities sometimes the best option is also pretty low-tech. Here’s how the Red Cross is delivering healthcare, with the help of bicycles. 

They shuffle across the dirt threshold. The older ones lean on others for support. Some are too weak to walk and are transported in on a mattress by a team of concerned relatives. Younger children are carried, limp and listless in the arms of their worried parents. All in obvious signs of distress. They do not know what’s wrong with them. They only hope the medical staff of the Canadian Red Cross Health Emergency Response Unit (ERU) can help them feel better.

Read how the Canadian Red Cross, with support from the Government of Canada, was able to provide much needed support to vulnerable communities during Hurricane Matthew in Haiti. When the storm hit, and as time followed, the Red Cross worked to meet immediate needs on the ground, provide important supplies, and travel to hard-to-reach areas to deliver medical care. 

Violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar has displaced hundreds of thousands people from the local Muslim population, who have been crossing into Bangladesh in search of safety. Approximately 57% of people arriving in makeshift settlements are children under the age of 17. A recent assessment was carried out to determine what unique challenges these children face, and how those needs can be met. 

The impact of Cyclone Mora is being felt along coastal areas of Bangladesh which made landfall in south east Bangladesh this morning (May 30). With high winds and heavy rains, the Bangladesh meteorological office has warned that coastal districts could face flooding as a result of 4-5 metre storm surges along the sea front.

Meet Erwan Cheneval, a rapid response manager with the Canadian Red Cross. Erwan works to address some of the challenges that happen when mobilizing humanitarian operations, details that are extremely important to the success of these operations.