Sixty IFRC national societies raise CHF 2.3 bln to support humanitarian action for Ukraine and Ukrainians
Over three years, 60 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world have mobilized CHF 2.3 billion to support humanitarian activities for Ukraine and Ukrainians, said Kate Forbes, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
In an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine on the occasion of her visit to Ukraine, Forbes said that, in general, the IFRC network provides important support to the Ukrainian Red Cross and helps Ukrainians in neighboring countries.
She said that 60 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world have mobilized CHF 2.3 billion to support humanitarian activities for Ukraine and Ukrainians. Some 22.5 million people have received basic assistance in Ukraine and abroad. About CHF 282 million have been provided in financial assistance. Almost 4.7 million people have received cash assistance.
In addition, 1.4 million people received primary health care services and/or referrals to public health facilities.
“That's all ongoing work. For instance, I had been last week in the US meeting with large philanthropists and they said that they knew the Red Cross but they had no idea what the Ukrainian Red Cross does. It's important to show and explain to the public so they can understand both within Ukraine and without. One of my goals was to be able to go to different forums like the United Nations. I'm going to go to a big diplomatic forum in the Middle East and talk about Ukraine. We cannot forget Ukraine,” the President stressed.
At the same time, she noted that there is currently a change in foreign aid not only in the US, but also in the EU, which was discussed at meetings in Kyiv.
“We discussed with the government the main issues and the ways where we need to go forward. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent Federation can help coordinate and get funding as well, so our discussions were pretty broad. Recognizing the situation we're in helps us to identify new donors and focus on the things that are most important and have the greatest impact,” she announced.
