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With the deadly Ebola virus creating panic and tension across West Africa， international cooperation has become essential to prevent the disease spreading any further. At this year’s Sino-African Red Cross and Red Crescent Forum， held on August 20 in Beijing， delegates exchanged ideas and discussed ways to address the fatal disease. The consensus reached is that Ebola requires efforts from all the global organizations working in the health and rescue field.
Before the forum， eric Marclay， Head of Operations for East Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross（ICRC）， spoke with ChinAfrica reporter Liu Jian about the world effort needed in fighting Ebola， as well as major humanitarian challenges facing Africa and how international cooperation will help address them.
ChinAfrica： Constrained by inadequate medical infrastructure and expertise， the infected West African countries have to cooperate with other countries to fight ebola. Which areas do you think international cooperation should focus on in fighting ebola， and why？
eric Marclay： Ebola needs a movement response. It’s not a situation where you can only have the Red Cross and governments of West African countries and the ICRC involved. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies， the ICRC， the Chinese Red Cross and all the other national societies， we all have to bring efforts to help.
Since the virus is spreading rapidly and is easy to catch， I think there are two main areas that need to be reinforced. The first is awareness - we need to try and prevent the expansion of the disease. Prevention is so important and we need to train people how to look after themselves. In West Africa we are training and giving support about prevention. The second is medical facilities， and I know China has given a lot in terms of aid to the affected African counties.
the World Health Organization （WHO） has classified Kenya as a “high-risk” country for the spread of the deadly ebola virus. How can east African countries prevent ebola from entering their countries？
The ICRC has set up a crisis cell for meetings to follow the worldwide state of the virus. East Africa， especially Kenya， has previously seen the outbreak of Ebola. The first crisis took place in East Africa. Kenya has immediately released a special protocol to be ready and they are taking a number of safety measures. They know Ebola and unfortunately have past experience. We stand ready to support them if it gets worse. I cross my fingers that the number of the cases will reduce and there will be no further spreading to other countries. If you have a fever， it is very important you get checked straight away. We have to work on a cure in West Africa and in prevention everywhere. A number of conflicts and civil wars have occurred in some east African countries such as Sudan and Somalia in recent years. How does the ICrC address the humanitarian challenges in these areas？
In South Sudan， we have a very large presence and a huge operation， as the situation there is critical in terms of nutrition， food supply for the population， and medical capacity. The conflict that started there on December 15 last year had， and still has， terrible humanitarian effects. Thousands of people have been killed because of the fighting and lots of destruction. The fighting has forced over a million people to flee their homes. These people have no means to produce their own food - they live on humanitarian aid. We prepared a large budget before the crisis， and have made a budget extension. We will provide food， water， medical teams and much more. It’s all done with the South Sudan Red Cross. This is a large operation with huge logistics， aircrafts and helicopters， so I’m searching for stronger partnerships at the Red Cross. The ICRC is well accepted in South Sudan. Currently we are pre-occupied with Somalia. The nutritional status is a concern - kids， women and the elderly are affected the most. We have increased our direct food support to thousands of people. In Somalia the problems are a combination of the conflict， floods and droughts.
In other places， we are doing cash for work programs. They can buy food when they earn. It’s extremely efficient and it’s cheaper as we don’t need to bring big planes or ships， instead we use cash transfers.
What are the major humanitarian challenges facing Africa as a whole and how are humanitarian organizations dealing with those challenges？
The challenges in Africa are multiple. Looking from the humanitarian perspective， one of the challenges is the superimposition of crisis and shocks. You have manmade shocks and conflicts. In the case of Somalia， the conflicts are superimposed with climatic shocks， either droughts or floods or a typhoon. The main humanitarian challenge for us is the combination， the multilayer of crisis in regions such as the Horn of Africa and other African countries. This combination makes the magnitude of the humanitarian situation very large. The sub-challenges are linked to human resources， financial support， level of engagement and education， and structural problems in terms of medical facilities. It would be wrong to see Africa as a monolith. African countries are different in terms of language， cul- ture， religion， tribes， tradition and climate. That’s why it’s important to take the main challenge and then break it down into regional and sub-regional [challenges] and contextualize. The ICRC is not providing the same exact humanitarian response for people in South Sudan as we are doing in Somalia， Liberia or Zimbabwe. We always have tailor-made and contextualized answers.
Talking about ways to address those challenges， again， I am coming to the collective response and partnership that we need to have. The Chinese Red Cross and Chinese Government are also cooperating with[Red Cross] societies in Africa， in terms of preparing for the shocks and resilience， and then working in the economic sector， building constructions， education and knowledge transfer. People need to be better prepared in resilience， not only wait until something is happening.
Within what areas can the red Cross Society of China （rCSC） work with the ICrC and African national societies to get more involved in international humanitarian activities in Africa？
The RCSC has some humanitarian programs in East Africa. We could explore together expertise in medical or logistics or other fields. We can take them on board in the ICRC operations to give them international exposure， to give the Chinese Red Cross ways to support our work with expertise that exists. The RCSC and the Chinese Government could give stronger support to the ICRC. We want to reinforce the partnership. China is playing a greater and greater role in a number of contexts abroad - especially in humanitarian response.
One of the ways of having a better or increased humanitarian response is to include national societies. We have strong partnerships with a number of national societies， and they are giving us staff， food and financial support. We need a collective and strong response to address humanitarian challenges in Africa. The ICRC cannot address all the problems alone. We have to be realistic. It will not change overnight. We need to check the expertise of medical staff and also deal with language differences. With strong， deep and honest commitment， we will gradually find ways to have people coming， having funds and cash donations.
What do you hope to achieve at this year’s SinoAfrican red Cross and red Crescent forum？
My expectation is that we will further find practical and pragmatic ways and projects that we can build on to strengthen our partnership with the exclusive aim of providing humanitarian services to the people affected. This year’s forum is the third one and I think it’s a very positive and a constructive initiative. It’s valuable. The ICRC is giving importance to such a forum.
Along with this meeting， I also intend to have meetings with the RCSC representatives and government representatives. We have a large number of bad situations and violence in East Africa. If I can gain further valuable support from the RCSC， we could have more humanitarian action taking place in these areas.
Before the forum， eric Marclay， Head of Operations for East Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross（ICRC）， spoke with ChinAfrica reporter Liu Jian about the world effort needed in fighting Ebola， as well as major humanitarian challenges facing Africa and how international cooperation will help address them.
ChinAfrica： Constrained by inadequate medical infrastructure and expertise， the infected West African countries have to cooperate with other countries to fight ebola. Which areas do you think international cooperation should focus on in fighting ebola， and why？
eric Marclay： Ebola needs a movement response. It’s not a situation where you can only have the Red Cross and governments of West African countries and the ICRC involved. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies， the ICRC， the Chinese Red Cross and all the other national societies， we all have to bring efforts to help.
Since the virus is spreading rapidly and is easy to catch， I think there are two main areas that need to be reinforced. The first is awareness - we need to try and prevent the expansion of the disease. Prevention is so important and we need to train people how to look after themselves. In West Africa we are training and giving support about prevention. The second is medical facilities， and I know China has given a lot in terms of aid to the affected African counties.
the World Health Organization （WHO） has classified Kenya as a “high-risk” country for the spread of the deadly ebola virus. How can east African countries prevent ebola from entering their countries？
The ICRC has set up a crisis cell for meetings to follow the worldwide state of the virus. East Africa， especially Kenya， has previously seen the outbreak of Ebola. The first crisis took place in East Africa. Kenya has immediately released a special protocol to be ready and they are taking a number of safety measures. They know Ebola and unfortunately have past experience. We stand ready to support them if it gets worse. I cross my fingers that the number of the cases will reduce and there will be no further spreading to other countries. If you have a fever， it is very important you get checked straight away. We have to work on a cure in West Africa and in prevention everywhere. A number of conflicts and civil wars have occurred in some east African countries such as Sudan and Somalia in recent years. How does the ICrC address the humanitarian challenges in these areas？
In South Sudan， we have a very large presence and a huge operation， as the situation there is critical in terms of nutrition， food supply for the population， and medical capacity. The conflict that started there on December 15 last year had， and still has， terrible humanitarian effects. Thousands of people have been killed because of the fighting and lots of destruction. The fighting has forced over a million people to flee their homes. These people have no means to produce their own food - they live on humanitarian aid. We prepared a large budget before the crisis， and have made a budget extension. We will provide food， water， medical teams and much more. It’s all done with the South Sudan Red Cross. This is a large operation with huge logistics， aircrafts and helicopters， so I’m searching for stronger partnerships at the Red Cross. The ICRC is well accepted in South Sudan. Currently we are pre-occupied with Somalia. The nutritional status is a concern - kids， women and the elderly are affected the most. We have increased our direct food support to thousands of people. In Somalia the problems are a combination of the conflict， floods and droughts.
In other places， we are doing cash for work programs. They can buy food when they earn. It’s extremely efficient and it’s cheaper as we don’t need to bring big planes or ships， instead we use cash transfers.
What are the major humanitarian challenges facing Africa as a whole and how are humanitarian organizations dealing with those challenges？
The challenges in Africa are multiple. Looking from the humanitarian perspective， one of the challenges is the superimposition of crisis and shocks. You have manmade shocks and conflicts. In the case of Somalia， the conflicts are superimposed with climatic shocks， either droughts or floods or a typhoon. The main humanitarian challenge for us is the combination， the multilayer of crisis in regions such as the Horn of Africa and other African countries. This combination makes the magnitude of the humanitarian situation very large. The sub-challenges are linked to human resources， financial support， level of engagement and education， and structural problems in terms of medical facilities. It would be wrong to see Africa as a monolith. African countries are different in terms of language， cul- ture， religion， tribes， tradition and climate. That’s why it’s important to take the main challenge and then break it down into regional and sub-regional [challenges] and contextualize. The ICRC is not providing the same exact humanitarian response for people in South Sudan as we are doing in Somalia， Liberia or Zimbabwe. We always have tailor-made and contextualized answers.
Talking about ways to address those challenges， again， I am coming to the collective response and partnership that we need to have. The Chinese Red Cross and Chinese Government are also cooperating with[Red Cross] societies in Africa， in terms of preparing for the shocks and resilience， and then working in the economic sector， building constructions， education and knowledge transfer. People need to be better prepared in resilience， not only wait until something is happening.
Within what areas can the red Cross Society of China （rCSC） work with the ICrC and African national societies to get more involved in international humanitarian activities in Africa？
The RCSC has some humanitarian programs in East Africa. We could explore together expertise in medical or logistics or other fields. We can take them on board in the ICRC operations to give them international exposure， to give the Chinese Red Cross ways to support our work with expertise that exists. The RCSC and the Chinese Government could give stronger support to the ICRC. We want to reinforce the partnership. China is playing a greater and greater role in a number of contexts abroad - especially in humanitarian response.
One of the ways of having a better or increased humanitarian response is to include national societies. We have strong partnerships with a number of national societies， and they are giving us staff， food and financial support. We need a collective and strong response to address humanitarian challenges in Africa. The ICRC cannot address all the problems alone. We have to be realistic. It will not change overnight. We need to check the expertise of medical staff and also deal with language differences. With strong， deep and honest commitment， we will gradually find ways to have people coming， having funds and cash donations.
What do you hope to achieve at this year’s SinoAfrican red Cross and red Crescent forum？
My expectation is that we will further find practical and pragmatic ways and projects that we can build on to strengthen our partnership with the exclusive aim of providing humanitarian services to the people affected. This year’s forum is the third one and I think it’s a very positive and a constructive initiative. It’s valuable. The ICRC is giving importance to such a forum.
Along with this meeting， I also intend to have meetings with the RCSC representatives and government representatives. We have a large number of bad situations and violence in East Africa. If I can gain further valuable support from the RCSC， we could have more humanitarian action taking place in these areas.