- Title: KENYA: Largest humanatarian network in the world meet in Kenya
- Date: 20th November 2009
- Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (NOVEMBER 20, 2009) (REUTERS) VIEW OF INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES (IFRC) GENERAL ASSEMBLY VARIOUS OF DELEGATES INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES BANNER DELEGATES MATHIAS SCHMALE, IFRC UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ANDREI ENGSTRAND-NEACSU, IFRC COMMUNICATION MANAGER WALKING
- Embargoed: 5th December 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVADYQXTNJ49159DM96LX0EC0ALF
- Story Text: First General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ever to be held in Africa, underway.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) general assembly came to an end Friday (November 20) in Nairobi, Kenya.
The 3-day meeting regarded by many as the world's largest humanitarian network attracted more than 1200 delegates from 186 countries.
Hosted by the Kenyan Red Cross Society, the Nairobi meeting offered a platform to call for a greater, joint effort to meet the needs of Africa's most vulnerable and foster sustainable progress on the continent.
"We are here in Africa fro two reasons really and one is to highlight the humanitarian challenges this continent faces unfortunately, to illustrate that with one figure that continues to be 400 million people who are food insecure, HIV, malaria-1 million children each year die of malaria; so that's one side, we want to draw the worlds attention to humanitarian challenges in Africa." Matthias Schmale, IFRC Under-Secretary General for Development told Reuters at the closing of the conference.
Schamale also challenged African governments to take action and stop trade on illegal albino body parts. Just a day after launching a report, called 'Through Albino Eyes', he said that as many as 300 children and teenagers were still in hiding and stranded in Tanzanian schools for the disabled or in emergency shelters established by the police in Burundi, where they existed in in-humane conditions.
"Roughly 50 albinos have been killed in Tanzania and Burundi, over the last 2 years and we think governments should do much more in educating the public and making sure that stigma and discrimination of Albinos is overcome."
The report also said that, the killings of albino people in Burundi and Tanzania, based on occult practices, have triggered a crisis involving almost the entire albino population of the two countries.
The tiny east African nation and neighbouring Tanzania have been convulsed by a spate of ritual albino murders fuelled by a body parts trade. Witch doctors tell clients that albino parts bring luck in love, life and business.
Since last year, 11 albinos have been killed in Burundi. Forty others have been murdered in Tanzania since mid-2007.
"We are truly a segregated people and if no action is taken we continue to be invisible, we continue to be marginalized. Most of us lack self esteem because we have no place and we continue to be lost in our quest to find our identities as we are caught between the two worlds of being white yet in a black community." disclosed Isaac Mwaura, Chairman, Kenya Albino Society during the launch of the report.
Albinism is a condition that causes a lack of pigment in the eyes, skin or hair, which makes albinos particularly vulnerable to skin cancer and burns, and makes life particularly difficult in sun-drenched Africa.
There are about 200 albinos in the nation of 8 million people Delegates at the IFRC conference also focussed on other humanitarian needs faced by people on the continent such as effects of climate change, increased poverty and hunger and asking all stakeholders to stress the importance of better linking relief and development, while increasing security, capacity building and development at the community level. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None