The Joint Commission of the Empress Shoken Fund (ESF) has announced a new funding distribution that totals CHF 485,597 and supports projects administered by Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies in 17 countries. The commission is administered by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The projects to be supported cover a variety of topics, including youth, first aid and rescue, disaster preparedness, dissemination of humanitarian ideals, blood transfusion services and National Society development.
The countries where the projects are being implemented are Algeria, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Montenegro, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Vanuatu.
ESF received 60 applications in 2023 for the 103rd distribution of income, representing the largest number of applications ever received, covering a diverse range of humanitarian projects run by National Societies globally. With a total value of over 14 Million Swiss francs, ESF supports projects run by National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that benefit the communities they serve in many different ways.
ESF continues to encourage new approaches with an emphasis on innovation and learning. For the second consecutive year, National Societies are incubating and testing their innovative solutions and experimenting with a host of ideas and approaches. Using a pilot methodology, awardees can also potentially scale up and implement their initiatives with the support of other funding sources following their ESF pilot. In this category, details of the selected initiatives and their respective initiatives are as follows below.
Lesotho has been affected by severe impacts of climate change such as droughts, hailstorms, snowstorms, heavy rainfall and early frost. Hence, an effective early warning system (EWS) is needed. The Lesotho Red Cross Society will use the grant to reach majority of the population through a mobile-based EWS connected to the emergency centre. Prior to official use of the EWS, a simulation exercise will be done targeting key beneficiaries. Learnings from the simulation exercise will later be adopted in the overall system.