Red Cross draws plan for 2011 elections

May 04, 2010

THE Uganda Red Cross Society has drawn an emergency response plan ahead of next year’s general elections.

By Taddeo Bwambale

THE Uganda Red Cross Society has drawn an emergency response plan ahead of next year’s general elections.

The Election Preparedness Plan will handle victims of violence during and after the elections, the Red Cross secretary general, Michael Richard Nataka, said.

“Following the experience in Kenya, we have developed a plan to address the pre and post-election violence that may arise,” Nataka said.

The Red Cross, he added, has identified some of the districts that are most likely to be affected by electoral violence.

Nataka said emergency response teams and an ambulance service to handle critical cases had been set up.
He also revealed that the Red Cross was mapping out areas that are prone to disasters such as landslides, floods and famine.

He was speaking at the launch of the East African Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting Network at the Speke Resort Hotel Munyonyo in Kampala recently.

The network brings together the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in 14 countries. The members include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Eritrea, Sudan Comoros, Seychelles, Djibouti, Madagascar, Mauritius, Somalia and Burundi.

Under the network, member countries will share technical information and professional support on a timely basis through online platforms.

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