It is my great pleasure to welcome each of you to Kenya and to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Meetings, held for the first time in Africa. I am sure that the next few days will be informative, produc-tive, and most of all enjoyable. It is always a great occasion when nearly 1,000 Red Cross Red Crescent members meet, and I hope each one of you returns home with fond memo-ries of your time in Kenya. Paul K. Birech, Governor—Kenya Red Cross Society

This publication will provi-de delegates with a daily summary of the procee-dings and inform you of activities during the statu-tory meetings of the Inter-national Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (General Assembly and Council of Delegates). The Daily Bulletin will be in each delegation’s pi-geonhole each morning before 9:00 and extra co-pies will be available if needed. The bulletin will be publis-hed in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. It will also be posted each morning as a PDF on

www.ifrc.org. •

Welcome, Jambo Karibu, to Nairobi

Nairobi, Wednesday, 18 November 2009

N°1

G20 humanitarian policy insights revealed in IFRC report

As the Red Cross Red Crescent, we are clear about our own humanitarian policies and priorities. But what do the world's leaders and decision-makers think are the best solutions to the chal-lenges facing humanity?

That's what the IFRC set out to discover with a new independent survey on the humanitarian policies of the G20 governments and that of Kenya. The respondents included a mix of traditio-nal G8 leaders and emerging G20 world powers, and their answers give an insight into new in-fluences on humanitarian policy and the role of the Red Cross Red Crescent.

Topping the list of solutions is a renewed commitment to investing in more preventative mea-sures, especially disaster risk reduction for known climate, seismic and weather-related threats.

One important theme that surfaced repeatedly through the report is the need for the Red Cross Red Crescent and other civil society partners to remain focused on building stronger capacities at the community level, recruiting and training effective volunteer networks and, above all, to remain true to the principled approach - based on humanity, neutrality and impartiality - that is the hallmark of effective humanitarian action.

IFRC launched the full report at a press briefing on 17 November, with the participation of Ke-nya Red Cross Society Secretary General Abbas Gullet, IFRC Deputy Secretary General Ibrahim Osman and ICRC Director for International Law and Movement Cooperation Phillipe Spoerri. The national and international media representatives included the Daily Nation, Reuters and El Mundo.

The full report can be accessed on www.ifrc.org. •

and Jambo to the Daily

Bulletin

Security measures at UNON

Security measures are determined and provided by the UN. Please note that the venue is not only reserved for Red Cross Red Crescent activities. All delegates, staff, volun-teers and guests attend-ing the statutory meet-ings or visiting the venue must wear an accredita-tion badge at all times.

UN security staff will be controlling access to the compound. Every person entering UNON will have his/her bags scanned and may be searched. Please allow sufficient time to go through the security check. If you have not already received your badge at your hotel, it can be collected at the regis-tration office by present-ing a valid photo ID card. Badges will be checked before access to all meet-ing rooms by trained staff.

Telephones There are no courtesy phones for delegate use. However, payphones and prepaid local SIM cards are available at your ho-tel, as well as refill/credit top-up cards.

Bank A branch of the Kenya Commercial Bank is based inside the UNON confe-rence compound, close to the plenary room. Curren-cy exchange service is provided and ATM machi-nes will be available. The bank is open from Mon-day – Friday, 8:30 to 16:30.

First aid First-aid services are avail-able to all delegates and staff at UNON next to the plenary room or ask any Red Cross volunteer for directions. If urgent medical assis-tance is needed, please call the security coordina-tor +254 (0) 734 237 297.

Shuttle service A shuttle service will run mornings and evenings between the respective hotels and UNON. A daily transport schedule will be posted in the lobby of each hotel as well as at the Red Cross Red Cres-cent transport desk, near the exhibition area at UNON. Delegates are re-quested to arrive on time.

Public transport Please only use “Princess Taxi” – +254 (0) 733 758

997 or +254 (0) 722 724 637 – or hotel-approved cabs for transportation. Do not use public trans-portation.

Restaurant/Café/Bar There are three restau-rants on the UNON com-pound, where payment is only accepted in cash (KSH). The main restau-rant, closest to the ple-nary room, will serve lunch until 15:00; snacks and drinks will be avail-able until late evening. Please note that it is strictly forbidden to take food or drinks into the meeting rooms. Bottled water will be provided at each delegate’s seat.

Internet corner Twenty computers with free internet access are available for delegates at UNON on level 2. Out of courtesy to others, please kindly limit your use to 30 minutes at a time.

Prayer space A prayer space is at the disposal of delegates by the plenary room.

Smoking Smoking in public places is forbidden in Kenya. It is not allowed in the UNON conference compound. •

Quick guide to UNON facilities

Daily Bulletin / General Assembly, Nairobi, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 / Page 2

Daily Bulletin / General Assembly, Nairobi, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 / Page 3

The Republic of Kenya is the sixth largest county in East Africa, and is borde-red by Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda and Su-dan. Named after Mount Ke-nya, the second highest mountain in Africa, Kenya has a population of 34 million people. With its varied ethnic ma-keup, Kenya is a natural host for the meeting of

the world’s largest huma-nitarian organization. Ki-kuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin and Kamba make up the predominant ethnic groups, and most Kenyans speak both English and Swahili, with a large per-centage also speaking the mother tongue of their ethnic tribe. At an elevation of 1,795 metres, Nairobi is the ca-pital and largest city in Kenya with a population

Profile of Kenya

2009 is a Red Cross Red Crescent year, as we are celebrating 150 years since the birth of the Movement, 90 years of the IFRC and 60 years since the crea-tion of the Geneva Conventions as they are today. Our world faces unpre-cedented challenges ranging from conflict and mass displacement to climate change, mi-gration and a global economic crisis. Our world. Your move. recognizes that it is up to each of us, as indivi-duals, to make a move and do something to help others. More than 131 coun-tries have launched 464

events calling the world to action. Events have ranged from kite races to orchestral perfor-mances, and the cam-paign was endorsed by global personalities such as Jet Li, Lionel Messi and Salif Keita. Throughout, the ICRC/IFRC team has made full use of social media platforms and techni-ques to reach, involve and empower as many young people as possi-ble. While the campaign is translated into nume-rous languages and pre-sented in countless lo-calized formats, the message that simple gestures do make a dif-ference has resonated across the globe. •

Our General As-sembly is taking place under the banner of "Our world. Your mo-ve." - the global campaign that has issued an inspiring call to action to nearly one billion people this year. The campaign, run jointly by the IFRC and ICRC and in-volving more than 130 countries worldwide, was launched on World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, 8 May, to raise the profile of the Mo-vement and mark three of its most important anni-versaries.

It's time to make your move

of about 3 million people. Its name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyi-robi, which translates to ‘the place of cool waters’.

The national currency is the Kenyan shilling and exchange rates are approximately USD 1 = KSh75, CHF 1 = KSh74. GBP 1 = KSh125. •

Profile: Kenya Red Cross Society

Daily Bulletin / General Assembly, Nairobi, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 / Page 4

The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) was created through an Act of Par-liament in 1965 and operates through a network of local branches and regional offices in each of Ke-nya’s eight provinces. KRCS is consti-tutionally mandated to help the Ke-nyan government carry out humani-tarian work in times of peace or conflict. In its vision to be the leading huma-nitarian organization in Kenya, KRCS delivers programmes in three main areas – disaster management, health and social services, and water and sanitation. Disaster management: The disaster management department of KRCS focuses on disaster preparedness – mobilizing and coordinating pre-positioned stocks of relief items and awareness of disaster risk reduction; disaster response – providing search and rescue, first aid, and distribution of relief supplies during emergen-cies, followed by rehabilitating af-fected communities after emergen-cies; and tracing – reuniting those

separated by conflicts or natural disas-ters. Health and social care: Programmes, such as homes for the elderly and fos-ter care for orphaned children, disease prevention and control, first aid, blood donation, and HIV/AIDS programmes, make up the health and social services department. Water and sanitation: Drilling boreho-les, setting up water treatment plants and promoting good hygiene practices are just a few examples of the work of the water and sanitation department. In addition, KRCS provides program-mes to develop regional capacity, by establishing regional offices and strengthening branch capacity, mana-ging a youth and volunteer network, and promoting understanding of the Red Cross Red Crescent's Fundamental Principles in Kenya. With 70,000 volunteers spread across Kenya and a reputation for professio-nalism, KRCS is proud to be the Natio-nal Society hosting the statutory mee-tings, held for the first time in Africa. •