ICRC News 02 / 18-Jan-01


** SHORT MENU....

Russian Federation / Northern Caucasus: ICRC and Russian Red Cross pursue
their activities in Chechnya and other parts of the northern Caucasus
Last week the ICRC and the Russian Red Cross Society pursued their
assistance activities for victims of the war in Chechnya.

Iraq: Rehabilitation of Ibn Al Khatib hospital in Baghdad
On 14 January the ICRC delegation in Iraq completed rehabilitation work on
Ibn Al Khatib hospital in Baghdad. Ibn Al Khatib - to which infectious
cases from all over the country are referred - was handed over to the
Ministry of Health, thus enabling medical personnel to move back in.

Sierra Leone: ICRC constructs new ward and water pipeline for Kenema
District Hospital
The Sierra Leonean Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr Ibrahim I.
Tejan-Jalloh, last week officially inaugurated a new 48-bed ward
constructed by the ICRC at Kenema District Hospital.

Liberia: 600 displaced people return to their villages
Throughout last week, with the assistance of volunteers from the Liberia
National Red Cross Society, the ICRC helped 600 displaced people return to
their homes.

FOCUS ON AFGHANISTAN: WHY HAS THE ICRC DECIDED TO STOP ITS DIRECT FOOD
DISTRIBUTIONS IN KABUL?
The devastation caused in Afghanistan by years of conflict compounded by a
series of natural disasters has compelled the ICRC to take a two-tier
approach, providing emergency assistance for those who need it while
setting up projects that will help people to support themselves again.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Russian Federation / Northern Caucasus
ICRC and Russian Red Cross pursue their activities in Chechnya and other
parts of the northern Caucasus

Last week the ICRC and the Russian Red Cross Society pursued their
assistance activities for victims of the war in Chechnya. To offset the
rigours of winter, 74 stoves were installed in schools and maternity wards
and 800 square metres of plastic sheeting delivered to camps for the
displaced. Basic supplies (oil, sugar, tea and soap) were distributed to
more than 12,000 vulnerable people in the areas around Grozny, Chali,
Gudermes and Kurchaloi, and between 15,000 and 20,000 people continued to
benefit from bread distributions.

Thanks to the pumping station that has been rehabilitated and maintained by
the ICRC, tankers were able to distribute more than 1,300 cubic metres of
drinking water to the inhabitants of Grozny. As for the Urus Martan and
Achkhoy Martan hospitals, they received surgical supplies and bed sheets.

During the same period, in neighbouring Ingushetia - where the ICRC and the
Russian Red Cross regularly provide assistance for 130,000 of the 155000
people displaced by the war - distributions of food parcels, hygiene items,
blankets, candles and flour were carried out for more than 5,800 people
living in makeshift camps. Although winter is very harsh this year, many of
them are sheltering in tents.

According to Pierre Gassmann, ICRC head of operations for Eastern Europe,
"the ICRC is taking maximum security precautions in Chechnya and elsewhere
in the northern Caucasus. The need to operate this way was confirmed by the
recent kidnapping of the representative of Medecins sans frontieres. The
primary role of ICRC delegates is to visit places of detention and to
maintain contacts with all the civilian and military authorities on the
spot. As regards assistance programmes, the bulk of the work has been
entrusted to more than 240 local employees, 45of whom are based in Grozny."

Further information: Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. + 41 22 730 24 58


Iraq
Rehabilitation of Ibn Al Khatib hospital in Baghdad

On 14 January the ICRC delegation in Iraq completed rehabilitation work on
Ibn Al Khatib hospital in Baghdad. Ibn Al Khatib - to which infectious
cases from all over the country are referred - was handed over to the
Ministry of Health, thus enabling medical personnel to move back in.

The 120-bed hospital had been in such a state of disrepair that it was no
longer possible to ensure that patients could receive proper treatment in
safe conditions. The project, which was launched in spring 2000, involved
work on the water-supply and sewage systems, roof repairs and the
installation of an air-conditioning system. It cost over 500,000 Swiss
francs.

The case of Ibn Al Khatib hospital provides a good illustration of the
disastrous state of medical facilities in Iraq since the end of the Gulf
War. Problems have been compounded by the dearth of medical personnel and
the difficulties faced by medical facilities in obtaining drugs and other
supplies.

Since 1999 the ICRC has been carrying out a rehabilitation programme for
health centres and large hospitals in Iraq. The programme has so far
benefited 14 health centres and eight large hospitals in Baghdad and other
cities.

Further information: Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. + 41 22 730 24 58


Sierra Leone
ICRC constructs new ward and water pipeline for Kenema District Hospital

The Sierra Leonean Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr Ibrahim I.
Tejan-Jalloh, last week officially inaugurated a new 48-bed ward
constructed by the ICRC at Kenema District Hospital. Addressing more than
100 guests at the opening ceremony, the minister praised the ICRC's efforts
to support health care in Sierra Leone. He also commended the ICRC for
constructing a five-kilometre pipeline that will provide sufficient
quantities of safe water for Kenema hospital.

These projects are the last in a series of major infrastructure
improvements which the ICRC has carried out at the hospital, including the
construction of a new operating theatre, the rehabilitation of the existing
theatre and the installation of a powerful generator. Speaking at the
ceremony, the ICRC head of delegation in Sierra Leone, Patrick Vial,
expressed his hope that "the ICRC's support for Kenema Hospital will have a
lasting impact, so that on the day the ICRC finally leaves Kenema, its
absence will not even be noticed".

Since September 1999, an ICRC surgical team at Kenema Hospital has been
providing specialized care and general surgery for patients unable to
afford the treatment they need. In 2000, 1,283 operations were carried out
with the support of the ICRC, which provides medical equipment, drugs and
experienced staff. The ICRC also assists four primary health care clinics
and a maternity hospital in the capital, Freetown.

Apart from its medical programmes, the ICRC in Sierra Leone has been
distributing relief supplies to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable war
victims, many of whom have had to leave their homes. It also works to
reunite families separated by the war and to promote awareness of
international humanitarian law among combatants and politicians and within
civil society. Many of the ICRC's activities are carried out in close
collaboration with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society.

Further information: lorian Westphal / Abu Bakr Gamanga, ICRC Freetown,
tel. ++ 32 22 233 162/172


Liberia
600 displaced people return to their villages

Throughout last week, with the assistance of volunteers from the Liberia
National Red Cross Society, the ICRC helped 600 displaced people return to
their homes. The displaced, more than half of whom were children and
teenagers, were transported by truck to their villages - Voinjama, Kolahun
and Foya - in Upper Lofa (north-western Liberia), near the border with
Guinea. Each family received blankets upon its arrival.
All these people had fled to Lower Lofa after the incidents that occurred
last summer in conflict-ridden Upper Lofa. Some of them were living on the
premises of an oil company and others with relatives. Around 200 decided to
remain in Lower Lofa, where they had found jobs with logging companies.

Further information: Jean Nordmann, ICRC Monrovia, tel. ++231 226 306

FOCUS ON AFGHANISTAN: WHY HAS THE ICRC DECIDED TO STOP ITS DIRECT FOOD
DISTRIBUTIONS IN KABUL?

The devastation caused in Afghanistan by years of conflict compounded by a
series of natural disasters has compelled the ICRC to take a two-tier
approach, providing emergency assistance for those who need it while
setting up projects that will help people to support themselves again.

The first priority is of course to come to the aid of people affected by
the fighting that is still raging in some parts of the country - especially
those who at the same time have been hit by drought. In the last quarter of
2000, for example, the ICRC provided food and other relief supplies for
around 35,000 families in cooperation with the International Federation and
the Afghan Red Crescent Society. A further 30,000 families will receive the
same aid in the coming months. The most vulnerable sections of the
population, such as orphans, are also continuing to receive help from the
ICRC and the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

However, since most of the country is no longer directly affected by the
internal conflict, the ICRC has also decided to launch programmes that will
help people to rely on their own means and be less dependent on aid. These
include the rehabilitation of over 800 irrigation systems a year and the
distribution of seed, fertilizer and agricultural tools - a programme which
will be expanded this year to help farmers recover from the drought. In
Kabul, the ICRC plans to distribute seed as part of an income-generating
project. At the same time it will continue its major programme to repair
water-supply systems and latrines, which has considerably improved the
health of tens of thousands of people.

The need to place the emphasis on projects that encourage self-sufficiency
is the main reason why the ICRC has taken the difficult decision to stop
distributing food directly to vulnerable families in Kabul, as it has been
doing for six years. Other factors which led to this decision were the
increasing availability of food in the city, which has not been directly
affected by the conflict for four years, and the possibility for many of
the city's displaced people to return to their villages and cultivate their
own land.

"For two years we deliberated long and hard about this," said Olivier Durr,
head of operations for the country in Geneva. "It is always difficult when
you are faced with such large-scale needs as those in Afghanistan. In the
end, however, we felt that priority had to be given to an approach that
enabled people to support themselves instead of relying on humanitarian
aid."

Further information: Mario Musa, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++ 873 761 242 260
Amanda Williamson, ICRC Geneva, tel. + 41 22 730 2678 / ++ 41 79 217 3216


During the weekend of 20 - 21 January 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Vincent Lusser, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 24