Red Cross adresses poverty in polar Siberia
19 September 2000

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies today launched a major initiative to combat poverty in Russia's northernmost regions. The year-long programme will assist 200,000 of Russia's poorest, and address the challenge of helping remote communities to help themselves.

"In recent weeks the world has watched as Russian infrastructure was hit by repeated calamities", said Daniel Prewitt, Head of the International Federation's Russia Delegation. "But people in the North have been surviving with crumbling infrastructure for years. Ancient cultures are facing extinction and their plight must not be ignored."

This is the fourth year in a row that the International Federation has supported the Russian Red Cross in large-scale relief programmes. Unlike previous appeals, this programme, which seeks to raise 17.6 million Swiss francs (10 million US dollars), focusses on children, isolated settlements and community health.

For the first time, the Red Cross aims to develop 'community canteens' which will not only feed the vulnerable but act as a focal point for communities and provide a platform for health education and micro-economic projects. The most needy children's institutions, together with the most isolated settlements, will receive bulk food aid and hygiene parcels, while over 20,000 sets of warm clothes will go to children and adults. Thousands of families will also benefit from donations of seeds, fertilizer and fishing nets. Meanwhile, 17,000 mothers of new-born children will receive mother/baby support kits, and 13,500 families will get comprehensive family medical kits to enable them prevent minor illnesses becoming life-threatening. Over 700 remote medical centres will be equipped with basic medicines and materials.

"We want to concentrate on keeping people healthy," said Prewitt. "Wherever we go in Russia we hear the same thing - people appreciate emergency food aid but they want their dignity; they want to help themselves."

The Russian Red Cross recently signed the Kamchatka Declaration, a document which pledges greater cooperation between the Red Cross, Russian authorities and international partners.

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:

Moscow: Joe Lowry tel: 9375267, fax: 9375263, email: moscow02@ifrc.org
Margarita Plotnikova tel: 9375267, fax: 9375263, email: moscow12@ifrc.org
Geneva: Irma Lubbinge tel: + 41 22 7304570 / + 41 79 4163881

The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.