ANNUAL REPORT 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. BACKGROUND ...... 4 2. PROGRAMME PURPOSE ...... 4 3. WHERE WE WORK ...... 5 4. PROGRAMMES ...... 6 4.1 HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE ...... 6 4.1.1 Malaria ...... 6 4.1.2 Immunisation ...... 6 4.1.3 HIV/AIDS ...... 6 4.1.4 Tuberculosis ...... 6 4.1.5 First Aid ...... 6 4.1.6 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion ...... 7 4.2 DISASTER MANAGEMENT ...... 8 4.2.1 Livelihood and Food Security ...... 8 4.2.2 The River Basin Initiative ...... 10 4.2.3 Restoring of Family Links: ...... 11 4.2.4 Local authority elections: ...... 11 4.2.5 Gender Based Violence ...... 11 4.3 RESOURCE MOBILIZATION ...... 12 4.3.1 Launch of the Drought Emergency Appeal ...... 12 4.3.2 Ammado funds transfer ...... 13 4.3.3 Coin Collection ...... 13 4.3.4 Street collection ...... 13 4.3.5 General Fundraising activities ...... 13 4.4 DISSEMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAWS ...... 13 4.4.1 Launch of Parliamentary Handbook ...... 13 4.4.2 IHL Training for the Military ...... 14 4.4.3 IHL Training for Volunteers and Staff ...... 14 4.4.4 World Red Cross Day ...... 14 4.4.5 Media Tour ...... 14 4.4.6 Newsletters and Annual Reports...... 15 4.4.7 Social media ...... 15 4.4.8 Media Coverage ...... 15 4.4.9 Contributions to the National Library ...... 15

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5. STRENGTHENING OF RED CROSS GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE ...... 16 6. PARTNERSHIPS ...... 16 7. CONTRIBUTING TO LONGER TERM IMPACT ...... 17 8. LOOKING AHEAD ...... 17 9. HOW WE WORK ...... 18 10. CONTACT INFORMATION ...... 18

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1. BACKGROUND The Red Cross Society is a national humanitarian organization, established by an Act of Parliament, Act 16 of 1991 following Namibia’s independence, as a voluntary aid national Red Cross society auxiliary to public authorities. The Namibia Red Cross Society is one of the youthful National Red Cross Societies in the southern part of Africa. Since inception, Namibia Red Cross Society continued to build on its humanitarian work across 8 regions of Namibia in the areas of disaster management, health and care, organizational development and humanitarian diplomacy. The National Society continues to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity, and has been supporting communities to help their vulnerable people. The NRCS has been enjoying high visibility and a positive image nationally and internationally. These attributes attract both local and international donors to support the National Society with technical and financial supporti. The National society operates in 8 out of 13 regions in the country namely; Caprivi, Kavango, Otjozondjupa, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Kunene, Omusati and Khomas regions. These are highly populated regions and prone to disasters such as floods, draught and fire strikes. Following its recognition by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in March 1993, and admittance as a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in October the same year, the NRCS implements humanitarian services in the country within the framework of the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, its strategies, the Geneva Conventions, country strategies and plans. Throughout 2012 our governing boards, volunteers, staff, members and our international and local partners continued to ensure that our programmes reached the most vulnerable in their time of need, and the National Society was proud to participate and take the lead in platforms addressing disaster management, health, volunteer management and service, locally, within the SADC region and internationally. The society has secured great partnerships with national societies such as Netherlands, Spanish, German, Swedish, American and Belgium Red Cross Societies and is being supported by IFRC and ICRC, Global Fund and UN agencies with both technical and financial support. Subsequently, partnership is also built with various local funders through ad hoc financial support and donations. In country, Namibia Red Cross participates and takes a lead in most of national steering forums and platforms in the area of Disasters management, health programmes coordination and volunteer management and service. 2. PROGRAMME PURPOSE The NRCS Vision is “Reduced vulnerability and enhanced human dignity”. Its Mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. The programmes undertaken in 2015 stem from the NRCS 2010-2015 Strategic Plan which has the objectives to maximise community resilience to disasters and public heath emergencies, promote healthy and safe living, and to ensure social inclusion and a culture of non-violence and peace. In line with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Strategy 2020, Namibia Red Cross programmes are tailor made to attain expected results by providing guides to the implementation of existing programmes. The sole expected outcome of Red Cross programme is that communities are resilient to disasters and public heath

4 emergencies, with protected livelihoods and strengthened capacity to recover from disasters and crises, with healthy and safe living, social inclusion and a culture of non-violence and peace. The National Society is committed to provide excellent humanitarian services to those in disaster situations such as seasonal floods, droughts, unplanned fires, HIV and AIDS, food insecurity and other vulnerabilities. In this manner, the National society is contributing to the realisation of national and global agenda goals contained in Vision 2030, National Development Plans and the Millennium Developmental Goals. Highlights of 2015 include:  An increase in NRCS stakeholder engagement which facilitated for a two-day partnership meeting attended by both local and international partners.  Making history by being the first NS in Africa to publish a Parliamentary Handbook on IHL. Each member of Parliament received a copy of the publication, while some copies were also donated to the Parliament Library.  Partnering with the Coca-Cola Foundation in the area of Water and Sanitation to construct boreholes and pipeline extensions in Kavango at a cost of N$3,7-million.  A visit by the Spanish Ambassador Her Excellency Carmen Diaz to the various Food Security projects supported by the Spanish Cooperation in the .  The launch of an N$14-million drought appeal to source for funds towards the drought situation in the country. The NS received support of N$1-million from the IFRC through the DREF and the appeal is struggling to attract support both locally and internationally. 3. WHERE WE WORK For the past 10 years Red Cross has its administration offices in 9 North West and north eastern regions of Namibia, however, the organization’s presence is felt in all 14 regions as its services are not limited to geographical areas. There are plans to open an additional office in! Karas region by 2017.

Figure1: Regions in which the Namibia Red Cross Society is active

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4. PROGRAMMES 4.1 HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE 4.1.1 Malaria The NRCS continued its Malaria activities through increased community sensitisation on malaria through community meetings, household visits targeting people 15yrs+, distributing IEC materials on malaria, establishing referal systems between community health workers and health workers at health facilities, training community health workers on malaria, registering households to receive mosquito nets as well as distributing the nets. 4.1.2 Immunisation The NRSC supported the Ministry of Health and Social Services during their National Immnusation Days, which aimed at increasing the percentage of children under the age of five that are immunized. 4.1.3 HIV/AIDS Prevention activities targeted the reduction of HIV incidence to below a threshold level among the 15-49 age groups. This was done through the distribution of condoms by volunteers and peer Educators as well as the dissemination of information towards influencing responsible sexual behaviour amongst the targeted age groups. Also accomplished were various Peer Education Sessions on HIV & AIDS (sexual & reproductive health), Gender Based violence & HCT Development of key HIV prevention messages for OVC Celebration of national health events. Objectives of activities related to treatment, care and support included the improvement of the quality of care, treatment and support to PLHIV/TB, the improvement of capacity for the staff and volunteers as well as networking. Tools and methodologies used include treatment literacy sessions for clients through home visits, establishing treatment support groups and kiddies clubs for orphaned and vulnerable children and for HIV clients on treatment, conducting adherence counselling on ART/TB and PMTCT on clients and their treatment supporters during home visits, tracing ART & TB defaulters & interrupters, replenishing and distributing HBC kits to Volunteers, referring clients in the regions to seek medical services and providing material support to HBC clients and OVCs such as blankets, mosquito nets and other items when available. 4.1.4 Tuberculosis Under the TB programme, focal persons were recruited and trained in TB prevention. The focal persons facilitated the registration of TB patients under the programme for the provision of care and treatment. Information campaigns were implemented to educate TB patients and general communities about treatment adherence, while defaulters & interrupters were traced. Strong collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Services and other stakeholders on TB care at all levels was maintained. 4.1.5 First Aid One of the main objectives under the health and care programme was to increase the capacity of the National Society in delivering first aid services. First aid guidelines were developed, as well

6 as a marketing plan. All first aid activities were guided by the National Society Strategic Plan of First Aid (2011-2015), which provides the framework for the integration of first aid education and practice with all health and care programmes for the NRCS. Moreover, in realising the full potential of first aid, regional branches have been taking concerted effort to train communities in first aid. 4.1.6 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Water and Sanitation activities were implemented in three regions, namely Kavango, Kunene and Ohangwena. WATSAN contributes to improved health status through increased and sustained access to basic water and sanitation facilities and improved hygiene practices in rural communities by providing water supply construction and rehabilitation, institutional and household latrines, capacity building, and hygiene promotion. Volunteers and staff received refresher training on the New PHAST model to coordinate and implement hygiene promotion sessions in the communities benefiting from the projects. Other activities included the construction of domestic VIP latrines at homes and schools, the establishment and training of W Point Associations and Committees, training of water facility caretakers, the rehabilitation of hand pumps (on both boreholes and handdug wells), the installation of new pumps on existing boreholes, cleaning of boreholes, community hygiene promotion through the PHAST methodology and hygiene promotion at schools. Another highlight in 2015 was the modification of WATSAN management database for ACP-3 and the expansion to Kavango. A joint Rural Community Water Project between the Coca-Cola Foundation, the Namibia Red Cross Society and the Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Coordination (DWSS) was launched in 2015. The Coca-Cola Foundation availed N3,7 million for the cleaning and extension of boreholes as vent also facilitated the handover of a fully equipped borehole at Shadipwera. The project aimed to cover seven other areas in the Kavango East and West Regions where similar boreholes and pipelines were constructed, while its main objective was to improve the quality of life of the 13,000 people from 28 communities that will have access to portable water from the facilities. Twenty Eight communities will benefit from the project. The project was implemented under The Coca-Cola Replenish Africa Initiative programme (RAIN), USAID’s Southern Africa Environment Programme (SAREP) and the Namibia Red Cross Society and the DWSSC Kavango Regional Office.

Water tanks installed at Shadipwera in the Kavango East Region

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4.2 DISASTER MANAGEMENT The country experienced severe drought throughout 2015. The Namibian government implemented several rounds of relief food distribution. The NRCS launched an emergency appeal in October with response activities in the starting soon after. 4.2.1 Livelihood and Food Security The NRCS implemented a livelihood and food security project in the Kavango East & West (Sharukwe, Sikondo and Mayana) regions. The main activities included:  Conservation Agriculture Training for farmers: A three days training took place in Kapako Constituency whereby 36 farmers from Sikondo-10, Mayana-16 and Sharukwe-10 were trained in basic conservation agriculture practices. The training included the theoretical part as well as practical. All these farmers are direct beneficiaries of the LFS project The main objective of the training was to give first-hand information on CA, the importance of CA and the implementation thereof, the training was conducted by the Technical Advisor for the Livelihood and Food Security Project. At the end of the training it was agreed with the farmers to start practicing this approach as the rainfall variations in our country is a concern and it’s a proven fact with CA there is a possibility for an improved harvest. Each farmer to start practicing on a 10mx10m field and the Regional Office will continue assisting and monitoring the progress.

Fig: 2 CA field demonstration in Mayana  Procurement of poultry and distribution: 150 poultry were procured around the region as well as from Zambezi. Before distribution, the poultry were quarantined for three weeks at Sikondo under the supervision of the Regional office and dosed against the most common disease (Newcastle). Selected beneficiaries from the three communities i.e. 30 member (10 from each community) received the poultry. During the handing over it was made clear to the beneficiaries that after a year each beneficiary is to hand back to the project 3 poultry (2 hen and 1 cock), this will be handed over to other vulnerable members within the communities and also this will help the poultry activities to continue even without any external funding. All beneficiaries committed themselves.

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 Fig: 3 Poultry beneficiaries at Mayana Village  Procurement and distribution of rain feed crop seeds: Beneficiaries who were trained in Basic Conservation Agriculture from the three communities (Sikondo, Mayana and Sharukwe) received seed of the following crops:

Fig 4 Rain Feed seed distribution at Sikondo village

The NRCS also implemented food security proejects in the Zambezi region with support from the Spanish Red Cross. The Spanish funded projects were implemented in areas such as Lisikili, Mubiza, Kanono and Malundu. The Kanono project was part of the old project which includes goat and crop farming. The Spanish Red Cross also played an important role in the construction of the NRCS Zambezi Regional Office.

The NRCS also implemented a food security project implemented with the support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Sifuha. The group is involved in general crop and rice production.

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Spanish Ambassador Carmen Diaz and NRCS SG visiting Livelihood projects in Zambezi

4.2.2 The Zambezi River Basin Initiative The objective of this initiative was to reduce the impact of challenges facing communities along the Zambezi River Basin, and to improve the quality of their lives and livelihoods. The major outcomes were:  The reduction of risks and impacts of disasters among communities living along the Zambezi River basin through community preparedness  Improved food security and resilience against drought/flooding  Increased NS Capacity to implement disaster preparedness, response and recovery operations  Enhanced knowledge and practice in DRR among communities at risk, staff and volunteers  Better research evidenced based DRR programming The Namibia Red Cross Society received a total of US$ 1,056,451 for implementing the ZRBI Phase III for the year 2015, from IFRC/ USAID. The initial phases I and II of the programme focused on strengthening the capacity of NRCS in implementing disaster preparedness, response and recovery operations along the Zambezi River. The program completed the second phase which ended in December 2014 and transited into the 3rd phase starting January-August 2015 of which the program focus areas and interventions remain the same. Overall, the project made various interventions in providing support to communities of Nakabolelwa, Isize, Kasika and Muzii to implement their mitigation activities. During the period under review, a total number of 857 Vegetable farmers from Imukusi, Libula Namalubi, Lisikili, Isize and Sifuha communities were provided with vegetable gardening capacity related trainings; which was presided with continuous household and community gardens after-support and material distributions in the four targeted Communities reaching 330 households. The after support included mentoring and gardening equipment support to the farmers. In addition, the project constructed three (3) sanitation facilities construction in communities of Kasika, Muzii and Luhonono which were a result of the development of Community Action Plans and Disasters Contingency Plans coupled with the communities hazard mappings and community action plan while three community meetings. In Nakabolelwa, communities piloted rice cultivation under flood water which despite droughts experienced in 2015, showed promising possibilities’ to grow the crop for food security. In order to document the lessons learnt from implementing the transboundary ZRBI, an exchange visit between National Societies of Namibia, Malawi and was conducted in Namibia which proceeded

10 with a field exchange visit both to Namibia and Zambia. Furthermore, two cases studies of the project were produced during the period under review while an Evaluation of the project impact was conducted through the IFRC to assess impacts and challenges the project experienced. Documenting these lessons are important for the assessing the targets initially set while serving as benchmarks for future interventions planning. 4.2.3 Restoring of Family Links: During the reporting period, field visits we during which Red Cross Message (RCMs) were collected. Many were replies, while others were new RCMs. Information dissemination was also done RFL during the visits. Social tracing cases were registered at the office. Sone were closed successfully, while some were still pending due to insufficient information provided by the enquirers. 4.2.4 Local authority elections: The NRCS volunteers provided First Aid support during election days.

Volunteers providing FA services 4.2.5 Gender Based Violence A Capacity Development of Service Providers on Gender, GBV SRH and Humanitarian Response training was conducted for the Traditional Leaders in Oshikoto region. A total number of Eight (8) Traditional leaders’ representatives participated in the training of which two (2) were female while the remaining six (6) were males. The training was conducted by the Gender Project Coordinator Ms. Magdalena Namwandi of the Namibia Red Cross Society. The training aimed to strengthen the capacities of traditional leaders in identifying human rights violations and ensuring they apply the rights based approach in dealing with these violations within their communities. Specifically, the training aimed to enhance participants capacities on understanding the differences between ‘Sex’ and ‘gender’, explore social and cultural expectations for males and females, and illustrate the difference between those based on sex and those based on gender, how to identify the many forms of gender-based violence, and to understand the causes and consequences of gender-based violence.

Participants identified major GBV in their communities including violence against women children and pensioners, passion related killing of young girls and women. In addition they further expressed concern with alcohol and drug abuse being a major problem for youth in the region and the reports of girls and women being raped.

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Hold community mobilization GB, SRH, Male involvement, (camp fire sessions etc.) Two (2) camp fire meetings were further conducted in Onyaanya and Aputu villages of the Oshikoto region during the quarter under review during the dates of 17-18 October 2015. The main purpose of camp fire meetings were mainly to raise awareness on Gender based violence among communities, discuss with communities and gather their opinions on the occurrence, causes of and possible solutions regarding Gender Based Violence including during disasters. Awareness further aimed at encouraging communities in identifying GBV and how to report cases related to GBV and providing recovery support of GBV victims in their societies. Participants especially women voiced their lack of support at household levels from their male counterparts such as in fulfilling household chores without assistance from their husband such children care, collecting fire wood, cooking, carrying bucket of water every day. In addition, most voiced their treatments by men especially when under the influence of alcohol in many cases resulting in forced sex from their male counterparts, men engaging in extra martial affairs which results in only care for one female partner and neglect the other, emotional abuse of women by husband and young girl involves in sexual intercourse with old male. 4.3 Resource Mobilization The National Society is struggling to secure long-term funding and commitment from the local donors and supporters who still just wants to give once-off support whenever there is a need. The NS has also experienced a massive decline in donor funding from partners and organisations linked to the Red Cross Movement and international organisations such as the European Union and the United Nations. The decline can be attributed to changes in donor priorities and the recent classification of Namibia’s status to an upper- middle income country. The current situation calls for more engagement between NRCS and the government and other stakeholders to ensure that it benefits from local projects that are currently being carried out by the government and can be outsourced supported with resources to the National Society for implementation. This will improve the financial status of the NS as well as strengthening its auxiliary role to the public authorities.

However, despite the challenges, the NS continued to implement resource mobilization activities throughout the year.

4.3.1 Launch of the Drought Emergency Appeal The Drought Emergency Appeal amounting to N$14-million was launched by NRCS to source funds for the implementation of the National Society’s response activities. The appeal was covered by only ten percent. Most of the past emergency appeals amounting to almost the same amount were covered 80 to 90 percent within the first three months of being launched. Efforts are being made to strengthen the fundraising campaign around the drought situation by seeking support for a marketing campaign. The following is the list of organisations that gave support or pledges:

Name of organisation Amount Description IFRC CHF 100,000 DREF to kick-start the activities The Netherlands Red Cross CHF 81,119 donation

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Namibia Water Corporation 10,000 NAD Donation not earmarked Pupkewitz Foundation N$130 000 Food 4.3.2 Ammado funds transfer The Namibia Red Cross Society connected to the Ammado Electronic Fund Transfer, managed by the IFRC, aimed at facilitating for an easier transfer of donations and other financial support to the NS, especially during emergencies. 4.3.3 Coin Collection N$22,323.90 was collected from the airport collection boxes in 2015. There was a slight increase in the funds collected for 2015 compared to N$21,921.76 collected in 2014, while N$36,031.95 was collected in 2013. The reduction in the funds collected in 2014 and 2015 compared to 2013 can be attributed to the collection activities being very irregular and sometimes being done once over a three to four months period. Another factor is the box’s new location which at times makes it less visible to some of the passengers as well as the issue of an increase in collection boxes that have been placed in the same area (Affirmative Repositioning). There is need in 2016 to encourage that the schedule is followed in order to ensure that the funds are collected as required. 4.3.4 Street collection A street collection was conducted in in partnership with the Khomas Regional Branch as part of the winter drive aimed at as collecting blankets for the needy. The activity collected N$16,561.40 in cash and 170 blankets which were distributed to the needy. 4.3.5 General Fundraising activities Police donations A Police contingent from the Namibian Police that served in Sudan donated mattresses and food worth N$38,213.35 to the community of Mashare suffering from leprosy. Second hand clothing The general second-hand clothing donations were also received and most of them were distributed to the various regions. 4.4 DISSEMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAWS 4.4.1 Launch of Parliamentary Handbook The launch of the parliamentary Handbook took place on the 8th of September 2015. Four hundred copies were printed, NRCS paid for 200 while ICRC covered the cost of the other 200. Among the speakers at the launch was the Speaker of the National Assembly, Professor Peter Katjavivi, the SWAPO Chief Whip Mrs. Evelyn !Nawases-Tayele, ICRC Head of Communications Tendayi Sengwe and members of the Namibian Human Rights Committee, Mr Basilius Dyakugha. The event was attended by most of the new parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.

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Speaker of the National Assembly Professor Peter Katjavivi and NRCS Secretary General Dorkas Kapembe Haiduwa 4.4.2 IHL Training for the Military A training of Military personnel at the Karibib Military Base was held during the thrird quarter. The NRCS Restoration of Family Links Officer accompanied the ICRC legal Advisor who was the course facilitator. 4.4.3 IHL Training for Volunteers and Staff The NRCS Manager for Humanitarian Diplomacy conducted IHL training for 42 staff and volunteers. The trainees were trained as disseminators and the training covered areas such as Fundamental Principles and basic information on International Humanitarian Law. The training covered regions such as Kunene, Omusati, Kavango and Zambezi. This was the first time that the National Society trained disseminators in IHL. The previous trainings concentrated on the general Red Cross information with emphasis on the Fundamental Principles and Humanitarian values 4.4.4 World Red Cross Day World Red Cross Day took place in Opuwo in the Kunene Region on the 8th of May. The event was marked with a street march through the town of Opuwo ending with a celebratory event at the NRCS Kunene branch office. It was attended by more than 200 people. Among the speakers at the event was the Kunene Regional Governor Mrs. Angelika Muharukua, NRCS Secretary General Dorkas Kapembe-Haiduwa and Kunene NRCS board member Zepee Havarua. The meeting also served as a dissemination platform to share what NRCS does in the Kunene regions as well as sharing the general Red Cross information. 4.4.5 Media Tour NRCS organized a media tour with financial assistance from the ICRC. The Media Tour aimed at profiling the work of the National Society as well as the drought situation and the NS response activities in an effort to attract more funding. The Regions that were covered by the media tour are Kunene, Omusati, Kavango and Zambezi. The media houses that participated included New Era, The Namibian and the Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA). The following objective were achieved:

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 Various articles were published in the print media  The stories published in the media became topical as they exposed the extent to which the drought is affecting the various communities  The tour profiled NRCS humanitarian work as well as the staff responsible for the various projects  The journalists expressed gratitude to NRCS as the trip took them to places that even their colleagues stationed in those regions have not managed to reach.  The trip created more media links for the organizations especially with the journalists who attended as well as their editors.

Media team interviewing a community Children receiving food at the Opuwo Soup kitchen 4.4.6 Newsletters and Annual Reports. The Department produced only one newsletter in 2015 as most of the funds went to the printing and designing of the 2012 and 2013 annual reports. 4.4.7 Social media The NRCS Facebook page was very active in 2015 and managed to reach more than 2000 likes. This number is still regarded as too low and more needs to be done to boost the reach. Facebook also awarded the page a blue barge for prompt responses to queries posted on the page. 4.4.8 Media Coverage The Namibia Red Cross Society received very good media coverage in 2015 and a total of 39 publications were featured in the electronic and print media.  The newspapers dominated with 26 publications and the electronic media published  13 stories from NRCS humanitarian work and other information of public interest were published in the electronic media (television and radio).  Eight press releases were issued in 2015. Among them was the launch of the Drought Appeal, NRCS participation in the National Election and World Red Cross Day Commemoration. 4.4.9 Contributions to the National Library As per Namibian laws, the National Society contributed copies of documents that were published to the National Library. The aim is to make information accessible to the nation and also contribute

15 towards the increase of the Red Cross knowledge among the Namibian people especially academics and students using the library for research and other educational activities. 5. STRENGTHENING OF RED CROSS GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE Organisational development programmes focuses on building organisational capacity to better carry out its humanitarian mandate of alleviating human suffering and assisting vulnerable people. The OD projects targets all 8 regional branch including the National Society Head Quarters to achieve the characteristics of a well-functioning national society. To build capacity OD activities targets staff, board members, youth, service & leadership volunteers and the communities in these regions. The overall goal of the Organizational Development Program is to strengthen the capacity of the national society to deliver significant and relevant community services to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people. The objective of increasing the volunteer units in the regions was pursued, while various youth development programmes were implemented. 6. PARTNERSHIPS The IFRC and ICRC support to the National Society enabled it to achieve its goals of serving the vulnerable communities in Namibia. The NS also partnered with the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Netherlands, Spanish, German, Swedish and Belgium Red Cross Societies and the MOH Global Fund – Namibia. The NS also collaborated with other government Ministries and NGOs operating in the same field. Through these partnerships, the NS strengthened its relationships for better co-ordination and improved service delivery at all levels. There is however a need to formalise these partnerships through the signing of Memoranda of Understanding, to ensure effectiveness and sustainability of programmes. Other main partners were the UNFPA, UNICEF, Braces and the Global Fund. A partnership meeting was held during the second quarter of the year under review. A Partnership meeting of this nature was not held for more than five years and its absence reduced the connection and networking and coordination opportunities. The main topics were sustaining a NS in an Upper-Middle Income Country, Responding to chronic crises and how partnerships can sustain the capacity of NRCS. The speakers at the event were IFRC Representative Dr. Michael Charles, Red Cross SG Mabel Koketso, Office of the Prime Minister, Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, Jafet Iitenge, Dr Mutjinde Katjiua from the Polytechnic of Namibia, Theofilus Nghitila from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, NRCS SG Dorkas Kapembe- Haiduwa, UNDP Rep. Sarah Mwilima, NANGOF representative Jackson Mwalundange and a Representative of the National Planning Commission, Ned Sibeya. Its objectives were:  To create shared understanding among the stakeholders of the challenges of sustaining a National Society in an upper-middle income country and outside of international emergencies.  To identify ways that national and international support can be mobilized to ensure that the Namibia Red Cross Society sustains long term capacity to deliver to people in need. The meeting achieved the following outcomes:  The participants commended NRCS for organizing the meeting, which they deemed to be very relevant, insightful and engaging

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 Need for the NS to reposition itself in order to be able to benefit from the available local resources  NRCS to promote itself through dissemination of its work and its mandate to ensure that it is known and well understood in the country  NRCS to engage the government on its auxiliary role and ensure that it is recognized as a partner and not a competitor  Need for NRCS to use its strengths and relevance to ensure its sustainability and not be seen as an organisation doing everything that others are doing and in the process being mistaken for an NGO. 7. CONTRIBUTING TO LONGER TERM IMPACT Namibia Red Cross society implements its programme within the international frameworks and standards, aligned with the IFRC Strategy 2020 and contributes to global agenda commitments such as developmental millennium goals. Nationally, NRCS programmes shares visions with the government policies and strategies, committed to contribute toward multi-Sect oral response to poverty, social exclusions, discrimination and human suffering for the indigenous. Firstly the programmes tend to raise awareness within communities of their own vulnerability and the possibility of discovering potential solution to social problems. This is done by involving communities in the identification of community’s needs, consultative planning of the projects aimed at addressing such needs as well as involving communities in the implementation of projects. With community based approaches such as VCA, Participatory Rural Appraisals and community development, the national society delivers its services in such a way that community develops knowledge and skills to respond to their own problems and are encouraged to organize themselves, seek linkages with government structures and solicit own funding support for the sustainability of community actions. In partnership with government and traditional leadership, Red Cross has managed to continue engage communities mostly in the areas of health education and Disaster response. Continuous support is given to the most vulnerable of the community such orphan and vulnerable children, elderly, disable people and people living with HIV/AIDS. Communities have steering committees who serve as mediators between development agencies and community. Through concrete structures the coordination and monitoring of community projects has been a success. Red Cross will continue strengthening Communities particularly targeting more women than men following an increase of female headed households, as a result of HIV related mortality. With capacity building in floods response, the volunteers and staff are equipped and have ability to respond to future disasters. Incorporation of messages targeting gender violence is being encouraged by all volunteers, as gender based violence is on the increase in Namibia. 8. LOOKING AHEAD The year 2016 will start off with the review of the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan and development of the 2016-2021 Plan. In 2016, resource mobilization will remain a priority to the National Society focusing on identifying and optimizing local opportunities. Other priorities will include:  Implementing the Namibians Helping Namibians Campaign for the Drought Appeal

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 Promoting the RC Fundamental Principles and Humanitarian Values  Conducting an Emblem Campaign  Developing IEC materials and Fact Sheets for fundraising and promotional purposes  Strengthening partnerships with the private sector, government and non-governmental organisations

9. HOW WE WORK

The International Federation’s activities are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:  Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.  Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.  Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.  Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

10. CONTACT INFORMATION

For further information specifically related to this report, please contact:  In the Namibia Red Cross Society: Dorkas Kapembe-Haiduwa, Secretary General; email: [email protected]; phone: +264.61.413.750  In the Southern Africa Region: Regional Representative; email: phone: +27.11.303.9700; fax +27.11.884.3809  In the Africa Zone: Dr. Asha Mohammed, Head of Operations, Africa Zone; email: [email protected];phone, +27.11.303.9700; fax: + 27.11.884.3809 and +27.11.884.0230 For resource mobilization and pledges enquiries:  In the Africa Zone: Ed Cooper, Resource Mobilization and Performance and Accountability Coordinator; email: [email protected], phone: +27.11.303.9700; fax: +27.11.884.3809 and +27.11.884.0230

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