Forgotten ferries The little-known story of the ill-fated Madjiriha A site for sore feet Reaching out with healing hands to migrants in Mexico Red Cross Red Crescent Unforgettable storms ISSUE 3 . 2012 www.redcross.int Learning from history: Galveston’s forgotten recovery Humanity Inc. Generating profi t for care THE MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL R E D C R O S S A N D RED CRESCENT M O V E M E N T The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is made up of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the National Societies. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Committee of the Red The International Federation of Red Cross National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Cross is an impartial, neutral and independent and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the embody the work and principles of the organization whose exclusively humanitarian world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian International Red Cross and Red Crescent mission is to protect the lives and dignity of network, reaching 150 million people each year Movement in more than 188 countries. National victims of armed confl ict and other situations of through its 187 member National Societies. Societies act as auxiliaries to the public authorities violence and to provide them with assistance. Together, the IFRC acts before, during and of their own countries in the humanitarian fi eld The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suff ering by after disasters and health emergencies to meet and provide a range of services including disaster promoting and strengthening humanitarian law the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable relief, health and social programmes. During and universal humanitarian principles. Established people. It does so with impartiality as to wartime, National Societies assist the aff ected in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, class civilian population and support the army medical Conventions and the International Red Cross and and political opinions. Guided by Strategy 2020 services where appropriate. Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates — a collective plan of action to tackle the major the international activities conducted by the humanitarian and development challenges of Movement in armed confl icts and other situations this decade — the IFRC is committed to ‘saving of violence. lives and changing minds’. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is guided by seven Fundamental Principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. All Red Cross and Red Crescent activities have one central purpose: to help without discrimination those who suff er and thus contribute to peace in the world. Guest editorial Donors need transparency, not tactics HE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS has this has highlighted the restricted to activities brought hard times for many. House- contrast between needs- where we have expertise Tholds and governments alike are fi nd- driven and funding-driven and can provide greatest ing themselves in reduced circumstances. approaches to raising assistance. After a decade of growth in aid budgets, money. Should an appeal some donors have begun making cuts. for a particular emergency After the tsunami hit South accept donations only for Asia in 2004, we received The situation hit a signifi cant low point last activities related to that more funds than were nec- year, when the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, emergency or for wider essary for our programmes Tuberculosis and Malaria — one of the most activities? in the region. We stopped important sources of funding for medical accepting contributions to programmes in developing countries — MSF depends heavily on our tsunami response and said it would not be able to consider new private funding; in 2011, asked people who had al- Photo: Médecins sans Frontières grant applications due to lack of funds. Po- almost 90 per cent of our income came ready made donations if we could redirect litical leaders had not fulfi lled their pledges; from private donors. This support — from the funds to our other programmes. The they had in eff ect broken their promises. more than 4.5 million people — is fi rst and vast majority agreed. Thousands of people in low- and middle-in- foremost testimony to the hard work of come countries were denied the life-saving MSF staff in the fi eld, who are recognized Engaging with donors treatment they needed. for saving lives and restoring health the Overcoming funding challenges is per- world over. But our dependence on private haps less about tactics and markets, and The Global Fund’s immediate crisis is over, more about donors’ belief in what is being thankfully, but it sounded an alarm for aid done: how effectively is their money programmes of all kinds. Transparency improves going to be spent? accountability and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) will con- Most donors are interested in what is being tinue to put pressure on governments to demonstrates integrity. done with their money, how and why. meet their obligations, fulfi l their com- Going beyond simple messages of crisis mitments and fund humanitarian pro- It creates a space for and emergency is not easy: talking about grammes. But humanitarian action is a the diffi cult choices that have to be made shared responsibility: the new economic engagement, builds trust and in humanitarian response raises questions powers also have the means to provide increases understanding. and invites even closer scrutiny. But MSF is more assistance, and those governments trying to be more transparent. And where that receive aid must step up and shoulder we have succeeded in doing so, we have their responsibilities, too. funds is also deliberate; it strengthens MSF learned that the vast majority of our do- as a humanitarian movement in a way that nors appreciate our openness. Needs-driven or funding-driven? public institutional funding cannot. Each Donations from the general public have private donation is an expression of soli- Transparency improves accountability and seen a decline as well. MSF felt this in 2009, darity and it helps to guarantee the inde- demonstrates integrity. And it goes even when funding from private donors fell by pendence and impartiality of our action. further. It creates a space for engagement, 3 per cent. This year, too, we are feeling an builds trust and increases understanding. impact in some countries, such as Greece, Given this situation, the need to sustain Italy and Spain. private funding is particularly resonant at To sustain funding, we should go beyond MSF. We have chosen to take the route of simple appeals for money. We need to Individual donors seem to be responding needs-driven funding. We prioritize unre- allow for engagement in an honest dia- more readily to particular emergencies. stricted funding, so that we can exercise logue about exactly what humanitarian MSF saw signifi cant increases in private independence, using money where it is assistance is all about, what it can and can- donations following the 2010 earthquake most needed and reacting immediately not achieve. in Haiti and, in 2011, the malnutrition cri- to emergencies. When we accept dona- sis in Somalia. In an uncertain climate for tions for particular emergencies, we do By Unni Karunakara private donations, where fund-raisers our best to accept funds commensurate Unni Karunakara is the international president of Médecins are looking for ways to sustain funding, with our estimated needs, which are sans Frontières. ISSUE 3 . 2012 | RED CROSS RED CRESCENT | 1 In brief... More money needed to The earthquakes — the strongest of which was magnitude 5.7 — left save lives in Mali more than 80 people dead and As people in the north of Mali approximately 800 injured in one of continue to be hit hard by the eff ects China’s poorest areas. Some 200,000 of the armed confl ict and the ongoing people were evacuated. food crisis, the ICRC appealed to Thousands of quilts and warm Soomro, courtesy www.alertnet.org donors for US$ 28 million, making the jackets, and hundreds of tents have Mali operation ICRC’s fourth largest in been distributed to the worst-hit budgetary terms. areas, which are more than six hours REUTERS/Akhtar “In the north of the country, by road from the provincial capital, the situation is becoming more Photo: Kunming. An emergency response and more alarming,” said Yasmine team from the Yunnan Red Cross Volunteers of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) light candles during a Praz Dessimoz, the ICRC ’s head was deployed to provide latrines vigil for the victims of a garment factory fi re in Karachi in September. One of of operations for North and in one of the main camps for the the fi rst responders was a PRCS Emergency Response Unit, which gave fi rst West Africa. Along with the Mali displaced. aid and transferred survivors to local hospitals. At least 314 people burned Red Cross, the ICRC had already to death as fi re swept through factories in two cities in Pakistan, raising provided 160,000 people with questions about industrial safety in the South Asian nation. food. With the extra funds, the ICRC ICRC pushes for greater will reach a total of 500,000 people protection in Syria areas around the Philippine capital worked with emergency services and continue supporting a hospital ICRC President Peter Maurer were still unable to return home. to provide fi rst aid at events and in the city of Gao, as well as other concluded a three-day visit to Syria Unlike Metro Manila, where fl ood transportation hubs near the health centres in northern Mali. in early September, during which waters receded and people have Olympic venues.