Browsing: Red Cross

Stopping an increasing trend of COVID-19 cases in Africa will require additional funding. 

This was announced by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), amid a worrying surge of cases in Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, and South Africa.

National Red Cross teams in these seven countries are stepping up surveillance, testing, healthcare and hygiene activities. 

They have also scaled up their COVID-19 awareness campaigns in public places such as markets and border points.

However, efforts like these ones, aimed at containing the spread of the virus, have been strained by insufficient funding. With a third wave looming large, there are increasing concerns that the impact will be more devastating, especially if the shortage of funds persists.

Mohammed Mukhier, IFRC’s Regional Director for Africa said that since the outset of this pandemic, not enough attention has been paid to the evolution of this virus on …

Global partners are working to develop community currencies which will help cash-poor regions grow their own economies using blockchain technology.

The blockchain-based community currencies will be developed by an international partnership to supplement direct cash and voucher assistance programs for vulnerable communities in developing countries.

The two-year project will test, develop and distribute eVouchers, or Community Inclusion Currencies, held in mobile wallets on feature phones in some of the poorest areas where the national currency is scarce.

US$1 billion a year distributed by the Red Cross

The initiative will be delivered by the Norwegian Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, and Kenya Red Cross, together with Innovation Norway, Grassroots Economics Foundation and Sempo, an Australia-based technology firm.

The network will aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the $1 billion a year distributed by the Red Cross in cash and voucher assistance programs by 2020.

“We need new financial solutions …