The International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross and Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation's disaster response system and increases the ability of national societies to respond to disasters.
Period covered by this update: 16 November to 31 January 2009
History:
- On 4 September 2009, CHF 99,412 (USD 94,343.2 or EUR 65,959.6) was allocated from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society in delivering immediate assistance to some 300,000 beneficiaries. Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.
- On 16 November 2009, the operational timeframe was extended to 1 April 2010. Summary: Sri Lanka faced one of its worst dengue outbreaks in years in late 2009. The National Dengue Prevention Unit of the Ministry of Health reported 33,856 cases of dengue and 277 deaths.
With the DREF approved, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) has been implementing an operation to assist the government in addressing the problem through raising community awareness on dengue and promotion of improved sanitation and waste management practices. SLRCS has been working in a total of 14 districts (out of which three districts are covered by DREF), providing training to the staff and volunteers, developing and distributing the information, education, and communication (IEC) materials, conducting baseline assessments, and organizing community-based awareness as well as clean-up and waste management campaigns. The DREF is being used to supprot acti
The operation is expected to be completed by 1 April 2010; a Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 1 July 2010).
The major donors and partners of the DREF include the Danish Red Cross, Irish Red Cross/ Irish government, Japanese Red Cross, Monaco Red Cross/ Monaco government, Netherlands Red Cross/ Netherlands government, Norwegian Red Cross/ Norwegian government, Swedish Red Cross/ Swedish government, Italian government, United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), ECHO, OPEC Fund for International Development, and corporate and private donors. The International Federation, on behalf of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, would like to thank all donors for their generous contributions.
