Emergency Assistance for the Great Lakes Region of Africa - ICRC 2009

There are almost 4 million conflict-affected persons of concern in the Central African and the Great Lakes regions of Africa. These include some 1.1 million refugees and 1.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who remain in need of humanitarian assistance. CIDA's contribution is used to help the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) pursue a variety of programs for people affected by conflict in the Great Lakes and Central Africa including in the Democratic Republic of Congo Uganda Burundi and Rwanda. Activities include providing shelter and health services to vulnerable persons; taking pre-emptive steps to limit violence and prevent human suffering by promoting and implementing International Humanitarian Law; and cooperating with National Red Cross Societies to build their response capacities. Activities target the most vulnerable populations including those deprived of their freedom civilians living in areas of conflict and civil unrest and missing persons.