International Services
International Services (with short overview) followed by details of each program
International Services Programs
- International Humanitarian Law
- Restoring Family Links
Tracing
Holocaust Tracing Program
Red Cross Messages
International Disaster Welfare Inquires
- Global Health Programs
Measles Initiative
Malaria ProgramInternational Services
The American Red Cross helps vulnerable people around the world to prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters, complex humanitarian emergencies, and life-threatening health conditions.
The American Red Cross accomplishes this goal by working within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement —the world’s largest humanitarian network with 185 national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, one of which is the American Red Cross. Other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are the International Committee of the Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/ ) and International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (www.ifrc.org).
International Humanitarian Law
Most victims of war neither wear a uniform nor carry a weapon; they are civilians tragically caught in the middle. The Geneva Conventions of 1949, four treaties signed by almost every nation in the world, and the 1997 Additional Protocols, strive to establish humanitarian standards for the protection of wounded and sick combatants, wounded, sick and shipwrecked combatants as sea; prisoners of war; and civilians. The Red Cross offers workshops in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and shorter presentations to groups. IHL Classes are offered quarterly for anyone interested and are free of charge. The American Red Cross also offers Exploring Humanitarian Law – a curriculum for high schools students that instill humanitarian values and human dignity. The curriculum meets the educational standards. For more information call 764 2323 ext 372.
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Tracing
The American Red Cross works with other members of the Movement to locate missing loved ones during or after war, civil unrest or a disaster in another country. Not only do we accept tracing requests from tri-county residents who lost contact with family members who are citizens overseas, but we search locally for people whose overseas relatives are searching and are believed to reside in the Lowcountry. Our national headquarters in Washington, D.C., acts as the conduit to and from other Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the ICRC. This service is provided free of charge for more information contact the chapter 764 2323 ext 372.
Holocaust Tracing Program
As Holocaust survivors and their families continue to age, the importance of making our tracing services accessible to them becomes increasingly urgent.
With the former Soviet Union’s 1990 release of Nazi-era documents to the Red Cross, we can now determine the fate of more victims and survivors of Nazi persecution. For many, sadly, no information is available even with access to these records. For others, a search can bring closure in the confirmation of a loved one’s death, or even the miracle of a reunion.
A search begins with a call or letter to the American Red Cross Carolina Lowcountry Chapter – 743 2323 ext 372. For more information on the American Red Cross Holocaust Tracing Program, visit the web site for our Holocaust War Victims Tracing and Information Center in Baltimore, Maryland click here.
Red Cross Messages
In times of war and disaster, many people are unable to contact relatives because of disrupted or unreliable postal or telephone services. Through an international network of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the ICRC, we an attempt to send a Red Cross Message with a current address to a family member in another country and through the same means deliver a reply message to the inquirer.
International Disaster Welfare Inquires
When a disaster strikes, normal ways that families keep in touch with each other may be unavailable for some time. People in the United States who are anxious about the welfare of their relatives in a disaster-stricken area can call on the Red Cross. When the national Red Cross or Red Crescent society of the affected country is able to accept inquires, that society will look for family members and forward any information about their welfare through Red Cross channels to the originating chapter.
Note: If your family member is an American Citizen living or traveling abroad in Non-U.S. territories, please call American Citizen Services, U.S. Department of State, Washington, and D.C. at (888) 407-4747 or (202) 647-5225.
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Each year millions of vulnerable people, especially children, die unnecessarily of disease and malnutrition because they lack access to basic healthcare and nutrition.
The American Red Cross is committed to helping people around the world prevent and respond to life-threatening health conditions with our global health initiatives that focus on reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating infectious diseases.
In the world's poorest regions, the American Red Cross trains local health promoters, volunteers and caregivers to advocate and teach proper health practices such as breast feeding, sanitation and the detection of early signs of disease in children.
The chapter encourages involvement with the Measles Initiative and the Malaria Prevention.
Measles Initiative www.measlesinitiative.org
Each year, a disease barely remembered by most Americans kills nearly one million children, a half million of those in Africa alone. This fact makes measles the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death among children in Africa. Measles kills more children than AIDS, tuberculosis or malnutrition. In a place where health conditions are extremely poor, living conditions are more than difficult, and access to health care is minimal, measles can be easily prevented with a simple vaccination that costs less than a dollar per child. The chapter offers speakers to community groups and encourages youth involvement to help support youth in other parts of the world.
Fighting Malaria around the World www.redcross.org/news/in/malaria
Each year, malaria, a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes, affects approximately 300 million people, mostly children in Africa. More than 1 million people die globally each year from the disease. Since 2001, the American Red Cross and its partners in the Measles Initiative have distributed more than 31 million insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria in Africa and Asia, including more than 7 million nets in 2007. In Madagascar, the American Red Cross teamed up with its partners to mobilize more than 1.5 million nets for families.
"When you look into the eyes of a mother or child in Africa who has just received a bed net, you know that you have saved a life and prevented needless suffering. Most importantly, you have given a child and a family the opportunity for a healthier future," said Bonnie Melvin-Hunter, chairman of the American Red Cross, who traveled to Madagascar for the campaign. "We stand in solidarity with the President's Malaria Initiative, our sister Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, and our many other partners to push back the tide of this deadly disease and continue the fight against malaria."
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