Programmes and appeal 2008-2009

East Africa: HIV and AIDS remains challenge to development

The eastern Africa region continues to experience major disasters which claim many lives, destroy property and erode the already weak livelihoods of the affected communities. Among the disasters that have been experienced in the recent past are floods, landslides and drought. Similarly, epidemics including cholera, meningitis and malaria are frequent across the region.

The Human Development Indicators for the 14 nations in the zone reveal that the most urgent health needs are HIV, the prevention, control and management of tuberculosis, maternal and child health and reproductive health. Nine of the 14 countries cite HIV and AIDS as a major developmental challenge, whilst access to safe water and sanitation remains critical across the zone.

Many countries in the region still depend on external support to respond to emergencies. But local capacity is strengthening; the International Federation’s Regional Disaster Response Team includes a growing number of trained volunteers and staff from National Societies.

The vision of the regional disaster management programme is to build up well-prepared, strong and efficient National Societies, that are able to predict, plan for, prevent and respond to the high level of humanitarian demands in the region.

Community resilience capabilities are at the centre of our work in East Africa. The Red Cross Red Crescent is unique in the region due to its network of volunteers, who live in communities of all sizes. This network gives the Red Cross Red Crescent an excellent insight into how communities function, and how best to channel resources to produce results that can be sustained by the community itself.

A key element of the International Federation’s strategy is to increase the capacity of local communities, civil society and the Red Cross Red Crescent to address the multitude of health-related challenges in the region. Here, again, the emphasis is on delivery at community level. Our programmes are geared towards prevention as this yields the best returns in terms of improved public health.

1. All figures are in thousands of Swiss francs (CHF).

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Complete document: Programmes and appeal 2008-2009 (28.7 Mb, 88 pages)	Chapter 3: Snapshots of the Red Cross Red Crescent in action in 2007 (24.2 Mb, 40 pages)	East Africa: HIV and AIDS remains challenge to development (473 Kb, 2 pages)