Annual Red Cross Meeting Opens in Monrovia Monday

FrontPage, News, Press Release

By Mambu James Kpargoi, Monrovia

             

The Annual Focal Persons Meeting of the 8 National Societies (8NS) Africa Initiative of members of the International Federation of Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies (IFRC) will open in Monrovia Monday under the aegis of the Liberia National Red Cross Society (LNRCS).

The 8NS Africa Initiative focuses on the development and support of four African National Societies’ organizational capacities. The National Societies are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Mozambique. Under the Initiative, the organizational capacities of the four African National Societies are supported by the British, Canadian, Norwegian and The Netherlands National Societies.

 

The Initiative is aimed at creating a synergetic capacity building process leading to an efficient delivery on the commitments contained in the “Algiers Plan of Action and thus the Millennium Development Goals.”

 

It is also aimed at increasing sustainability and decrease dependency and to improve coordination among the National Societies working internationally and to demonstrate learning within the Movement by putting identified lessons into practice.

 

Already, delegates to the two day meeting have arrived in the country. The delegates include Roger Aube, Canadian Red Cross; Americo Ubisse, Secretary General of the Mozambique Red Cross and Moises Inguane also of the Mozambique Red Cross. Also in the country for the meeting are Adolphe Edoh, The Netherlands Red Cross; Leonard Zeade, Secretary General of the Ivorian Red Cross; Eva Goes, also of The Netherlands Red Cross; Oivind Hetland, Norwegian Red Cross; Victoria Smith, Sierra Leonean Red Cross and Christine Tokar of the British Red Cross.

 

In October 2005, the New Partnership for African Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (NEPARC) initiated a meeting in Geneva attended by the Secretary Generals of the British Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, The Netherlands Red Cross and Norwegian Red Cross where they agreed on an initiative to form a pilot project with African National Societies (ANSs) to explore new ways of collaboration that may help in mobilizing the delivery on the goals enshrined in the Algiers Plan of Action.

 

Following consultation with NEPARC, the National Societies of Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mozambique and Sierra Leone were invited and later accepted to be part of the pilot project.

 

The Theme of the Initiative is “Improving Collaboration for Capacity Building In Africa. The meeting will convene at the Robert L. Johnson Hotel on the Monrovia/Robertsfield Highway.

 

 

 

 

Editor @ March 28, 2010