Programme Update No. 1
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China Appeal No. MAACN001 30 June 2009 This report covers the period from 1 January to 30 June 2009. Participants of the four-day emergency assessment workshop were able to interview local villagers as part of their field exercise. The workshop was held in March in Kunming, China. International Federation. In brief Programmes summary: During the first half of 2009, the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) and the country of China passed the one year mark after the devastating earthquake that hit south-western China on 12 May 2008. The RCSC and its partners have moved into recovery efforts, which include supporting the construction of thousands of homes, schools and clinics, as well as community based programmes. <Click here to access revised emergency appeal and operations updates> At the same time, the 2007 floods operation has come to its conclusion with the successful closure of five community-based disaster preparedness projects in Anhui, Henan and Chongqing provinces in May 2009. <Click here to access the China 2007 floods final report> The community-based disaster preparedness project in Hubei province has supported the targeted communities in the construction of an evacuation road and reinforcement of the river banks. Village level community-based disaster preparedness committees have been established, training materials were developed and the branches have conducted vulnerability and capacity assessment trainings. A concept paper has been developed together with the RCSC to support the development of a National Disaster Response Team following the lessons learned from the Sichuan earthquake. The RCSC’s participation in the Global Alliance on HIV has entered its second year in April. Prior to that, the RCSC with support of the International Federation’s HIV delegate, produced a one-year report and marketing documents that were shared with partners in the East Asia regional partnership meeting that was held in April 2009, during a half-day session on the International Federation’s Global Alliance on HIV. The China: Country Plan 2009-2010 (MAACN001), Programme Update no. 1 RCSC’s achievements in scaling up their HIV work over the past year have been remarkable and the national society continues to work closely with its partners to make improvements in the four core areas of HIV work. The International Federation’s ongoing support to avian influenza information dissemination and prevention has been focused on the provinces of Gansu, Xinjiang and Sichuan. The project in Gansu province was completed by the end of 2008 and the project in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was finalized in the first two months of this year. The project in Sichuan province which was postponed from 2008 due to the earthquake has commenced in February 2009. Mainly due to the enormous response of support to the 12 May earthquake in 2008, this appeal has not received adequate funding at the writing of this report. Due to restrictions imposed by the laws of China in terms of the expenditure of funds received for the earthquake, the RCSC is not able to allocate earthquake- related funds towards these programmes and non-affected earthquake areas. It is of critical importance that the RCSC continue to support other disaster prone provinces in their risk reduction work. Likewise, the scale up of HIV programming under the Global Alliance framework needs much more support in order to meet the goals put forward by the alliance one year ago. The RCSC, with support of the International Federation, will continue to seek funding support towards this total budget, but may have to consider revising the budget and slim down project activities accordingly in autumn. Financial situation: The total 2009 budget is CHF 3,816,703 (USD 3.51 million or EUR 2.5 million), and is 11 per cent covered. Expenditure over income received up to June 2009 was 49 per cent. Click here to go directly to the attached financial report. No. of people we help: Beneficiaries of International Federation-supported projects of the RCSC include those in villages where community-based disaster preparedness projects, avian influenza and HIV prevention have been carried out. In addition, many RCSC staff and volunteers have benefited from trainings and capacity building support. Our partners: These programmes are supported through the generous donations and support of partners that include the American, Australian, British, Canadian, Finnish, and Swedish Red Cross. The RCSC has active programmes of bilateral cooperation with other members of the Movement, including its special autonomous branches in Hong Kong and Macao, the American, Australian, Canadian, Netherlands, Norwegian, Swedish and Swiss Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The RCSC coordinates closely with the ministry of health and civil affairs at local and national levels, ensuring that Red Cross activities are focused in areas where they have greater impact and cooperation from the local governments. Local organizations and community groups are important local partners for implementing activities, as well as reaching groups that might otherwise be difficult to access, such as minority communities. The RCSC also participates in collaborative efforts with other stakeholders and organizations working in related fields, such as The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV (UNAIDS), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO). The launch of a HIV Global Alliance in China will bring together many Red Cross partners, as well as non-Red Cross partners, under one programme strategy and plan of action devised by the RCSC. On behalf of the Red Cross Society of China, the International Federation would like to thank all partners for their support. Context As the international economic crisis is deepening and spreading, it continues to show its negative impact on China. According to the statistics released by the General Administration of Customs on 12 May, export dropped 22.6 per cent year-on-year in April, which is the sixth month showing a decrease. The relatively sharp fall in external demand has resulted in job losses across the nation. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, as of March 2009, an estimated 23 million migrant workers have not found jobs. As many of them return to their rural hometowns, mounting pressures are surfacing, including those on the local health care systems. 1Please note that the interim financial report attached reflects income and expenditure up to 31 May 2009 only. An updated interim financial report covering up to 30 June 2009 will be attached to this narrative by 31 July 2009. 2 China: Country Plan 2009-2010 (MAACN001), Programme Update no. 1 The Chinese government will spend CNY 850 billion (CHF 141.13 billion or USD 124.26 billion) in the next three years to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the country’s 1.3 billion people, among which some 400 million people do not have any kind of healthcare cover, according to the ministry of health.2 The State Council approved the final draft of the reform at its executive meeting on 21 April 2009. The second session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, closed in March in Beijing noting the challenges the country currently faces, especially within education, social security and health care systems. In this 60th year since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the government is committed to coping with the difficulties posed by the economic crisis with a CNY 4 trillion stimulus package to be used towards the social security system, and the creation of jobs for migrant workers and college graduates, etc. Also in the session of the NPC, 30 delegates from Chengdu, Sichuan province, raised a motion on a draft of a Volunteer Service Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China to secure the rights of volunteers and the actions they take, with an aim to regulate the mobilization of resources more efficiently according to the lessons learnt in the response period of last year’s earthquake. The volunteer response to last year’s earthquake was unprecedented in China’s history, and their contribution has been well received. However, there were challenges of coordination within and amongst volunteer groups and problems arose around the protection of volunteer rights due to a lack of clear related laws and regulations. A psychological support drawing activity was held in Minzhu Hongda Middle School in Shifang County on 27 April by the RCSC and International Federation. International Federation. One year after the 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit southwest China on 12 May 2008, which claimed an estimated 87,000 lives, the country has rapidly moved into recovery phase. The RCSC is providing support, through the International Federation and its partners, to thousands of people in the area for the construction of housing, schools, clinic and disaster preparedness warehouses. As of the end of April 2009, CHF 153.4 million has been raised, which represents a 92 per cent coverage of the International Federation’s emergency earthquake appeal of CHF 167.1 million. The RCSC and its partners will continue providing services in the areas of psychological support, water and sanitation, livelihoods other community-based programmes throughout 2009 and 2010. Click here to access the emergency appeal and the latest operations updates. 2 China Daily 22 January, 2009, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-01/22/content_7418929.htm 3 China: Country Plan 2009-2010 (MAACN001), Programme Update no. 1 After the first confirmed case of influenza A (H1N1) virus in Hong Kong on 30 April, China has 69 confirmed cases as 3 June 2009. With the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) experience not far behind, the government has started to raise public awareness of prevention and control of the new disease.