ReliefWeb

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 183 countries.

In Brief

Period covered by this Final Report: 1 April - 11 June 2006

History of this Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)-funded operation:

- CHF 80,000 DREF funding allocated on 11 March 2006 to respond to the needs of this operation

- This operation was expected to be implemented in 3 months, and completed by 11 June, 2006. In line with Federation reporting standards, the DREF Bulletin Final Report (narrative and financial) was due 90 days after the end of the operation (by 12 September, 2006).

The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".

Global Agenda Goals:

- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.

- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.

- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.

- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.

Background

In the beginning of February 2006 heavy rains caused mudslides and floods along the coastal region of Ecuador. The provinces of Esmeraldas, El Oro, Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí and Pichincha were amongst the most affected. Data from the Ecuadorian Red Cross indicates that over 5,734 families (approximately 26,000 people) were affected.

In addition, on 7 May 2006, a new set of heavy rains caused a landslide which resulted in the collapse of a mountain in two directions, towards the Shogol Llinllin community, which was not affected, and towards, Calerita - Santa Rosa. In this community 25 houses were destroyed, two people died, one person disappeared and 120 people were evacuated. These 120 people were sheltered in the community hall and in the community school with the few belongings they were able to rescue and limited food for a few days. The affected population had a range of needs which were attended to by government institutions and humanitarian organizations.

Red Cross action

The branches in the affected region responded to the disaster with evacuation and search and rescue operations, needs assessment, water and sanitation activities, food relief and the provision of primary health care, as well as the activation of 17 National Intervention Team (NIT) members, who supported the branches in the six provinces affected.

Thanks to its emergency funds, the Ecuadorian Red Cross provided in the initial stages of the emergency - on 11 and 12 March - 788 five-litres water containers each to the Culebras and San Pablo communities, in the Manabí province.

Subsequently, and per the ECR's request, the International Federation released CHF 80,000 from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to provide food relief to 1,600 families in the areas affected. The goal drafted into the ERC's Plan of Action was to provide 1,200 calories and 35 grams of protein per person per day for a fifteen day period as a supplement to a daily diet of 2,100 calories and 50 grams of protein per person, per SPHERE standards. Food parcels contained the following:

Product	Amount
Rice	4 kilograms
Beans	2 kilograms
Lentils	2 kilograms
Granulated panela (sugar)	2 kilograms
Oil	2 litres
Sugar	2 kilograms
Salt	500 grams
Noodle Soup	1 kilogram
Flour	2 kilograms
Oatmeal	2 kilograms
Quinoa (cereal)	1 kilogram
Tuna	6 cans
Total weight	22 kilograms

For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:

In Ecuador: Jorge Arteaga Lopez, National Relief Director, Ecuadorian Red Cross email jarteaga@cruzroja.org.ec Phone (593) 2 29-57256 fax (593) 257-0424

In Peru: Giorgio Ferrario, Head of Lima Regional Delegation; email giorgio.ferrario@ifrc.org, phone (511) 221-8151, fax (511) 441- 3607

In Panama: Stephen McAndrew, Head, Federation Pan American Disaster Response Unit, Panama; email stephen.mcandrew@ifrc.org, phone (507) 316-1001, fax (507) 316-1082

In Geneva: Olaug Bergseth, Federation Regional Officer, Americas Department, Geneva; email olaug.bergseth@ifrc.org, phone (41 22) 730-4535, fax (41 22) 730-0395

All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org