Summary: CHF 157,396 was allocated from the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the National Society to deliver immediate assistance to 600 families (3,000 beneficiaries).
The DREF operation started on 23 th February 2012 and ended 25 August 2012, after an extended timeframe of one month.
125 volunteers from the Mauritanian Red Crescent (MRC) distributed non-food items (NFIs) to 600 families, reaching its target population of the emergency intervention.
The MRC volunteers promoted health and hygiene to 4,297 families (30,089 beneficiaries) in the Mbera refugee camps, as well as to 1,537 Mauritanian families (9,819 persons) hosting refugees. Additionally, trained MRC volunteers implemented the first campaign on Polio and Vitamin A supplement in the refugee camp, in cooperation with the government.
The capacity of the MRC volunteers was strengthened in the area of relief distribution, vaccination awareness raising, First Aid, community based health, Epidemic Control for Volunteers (ECV), and WATSAN and hygiene promotion.
This DREF operation was expected to be implemented over four (4) months and completed by June 30th 2012. Due to an initial delay in starting up the operation as well as challenges to implement the activities in a very remote area under difficult circumstances (including lack of local capacity and infrastructure, recurrent sandstorms, limited institutional and emergency response capacity with the national society) - an extension of the time frame with one (1) month was granted.
Contributions from the Canada Government have replenished part of the allocation made for this operation. The major donors and partners of DREF include the Australian, American and Belgian governments, the Austrian Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross and government, Danish Red Cross and government, the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), the Irish and the Italian governments, the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Luxembourg government, the Monaco Red Cross and government, the Netherlands Red Cross and government, the Norwegian Red Cross and government, the Spanish Government, the Swedish Red Cross and government, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the Medtronic and Z Zurich Foundations, and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the National Society, would like to extend thanks to all for their generous contributions.