The
South Africa Partnership for Red Cross Societies (SAPRCS) is
a regional forum made up of the ten Red Cross national societies
in southern Africa.
The last meeting in Johannesburg on November 3 saw the election
of a new chairperson with Mandisa Kalako-Williams, also President
of the South Africa Red Cross Society, handing over to Baphalali
Swaziland Red Cross society president Thokozani Dlamini for
the next two years.
The event came two days after the International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched its largest ever
appeal seeking US$300 million to respond to the challenges caused
by the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa.
“I would like to acknowledge that in the past two years,
I have been the chairperson of the forum, and saw lots of achievements
in growth of activities in the region and maturity among our
national societies,” said Mandisa.
“We have developed closer, looser but stronger relationships
among ourselves including operating and partner national societies
which has enabled us to think regionally. This has enabled us
to focus on the biggest challenge in the region - HIV and AIDS,”
she said, adding that southern Africa societies have improved
their visibility and now have their own voice and positions
on strategic humanitarian issues.
The establishment of technical groups has helped the Red Cross
societies in the region to be more focused on important issues
and seek better solutions in dealing with the increasing needs
of the most vulnerable communities.
The past few years have seen the creation of various technical
groups such as the Southern Africa Regional HIV and AIDS Network,
the OVC scaling up committee, the Disaster Management working
group, the Southern Africa Communications Forum and several
others to support the senior management and governance strategic
direction.
There has been a significant improvement in country and regional
stakeholders’ relationship management including governments
and the way Red Cross societies deal with organizational challenges
at both management and governance level.
But Mandisa Kalako-Williams, who is also a member of the International
Federation governing board, was quick to point out that though
the region has made strides on visible commitment on HIV and
AIDS issues such as anti-stigma, gender based violence and the
plight of orphans and vulnerable children, there is still a
strong need to “critically look at the care for carers,
who represent us at the level that matters most - the beneficiary
commitment,” she said.
In her inaugural speech, the new SAPRCS chairperson Thokozani
Dlamini also reiterated the need to work as a region in addressing
humanitarian challenges, pointing out that southern Africa national
societies can only achieve more if they unite.
The partnership is made up of the Red Cross leaders from Angola,
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa,
Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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"The
new and former presidents congratulated by Françoise
Le Goff, Head of the International Federation's regional
delegation." (p14933)
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