Order of Malta France has been active in Burkina Faso for 10 years and provides humanitarian relief in the areas of first aid and ambulance services. In Bobo Dioulasso, in the south-east, our French partners distribute tents and wheelchairs for disabled persons and organise ambulances for the transportation of refugees in need. In addition, they train young Malians from the refugee camps in first aid techniques.

In 2009, Malteser International had already worked closely with Order of Malta France to provide emergency relief for flood victims in Ouagadougou.

The population living along the coast and rivers Vu Gia and Thu Bon are regularly affected by floods and typhoons. Despite this permanent threat, the area lacks appropriate emergency response measures.. Only a few families own boats which could be used for evacuation. “The people do not know how and where they could evacuate”, explains Mai Thi Dung, Malteser International project manager in Danang. “Current warnings often come through village loudspeakers when the water is almost reaching the doorstep. Particularly for people with disabilities, this is far too late. Even if their families are able to help them, they need a very early warning and additional assistance to evacuate in time”. That is why Malteser International aims at promoting the direct participation of the people with disabilities in the village committees for disaster risk reduction, who receive additional training in early warning and inclusive evacuation. 
The project also focuses on the implementation of direct evacuation and emergency response measures, which include setting up, training and equipping local rescue teams, who assist persons with disabilities and their families according to priority evacuation lists. The newly elaborated evacuation plans will be tested and trained in extensive evacuation drills with the village population.

The two-year project receives financial support from the Federal Foreign Office and Malteser International. Since 1966, Malteser International has been working in Vietnam, currently in projects regarding disaster risk reduction and natural resource management. 

Malteser International is the worldwide relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta for humanitarian aid. The organisation provides aid in about 100 projects in more than 20 countries without distinction of religion, race or political persuasion. Christian values and the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence are the foundation of its work. For further information: www.malteser-international.org and www.orderofmalta.int.

Further information about this project

The newly rebuilt preschool and kindergarten St. Esprit provides preschool education for 150 three- to six-year-olds. The new earthquake- and cyclone-resistant school contains six classrooms and is located directly next to the health care centre which has been supported by Malteser International since the earthquake. The new sanitary facilities for the children and teachers, located next to the preschool, are also accessible to disabled persons, and a new well will be built to provide clean drinking water. The school is operated by the Episcopalian Church and has been financed with help from Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The project foresees the reconstruction of three schools, and includes disaster risk reduction measures.

The new maternity ward is equipped with six beds and one delivery room with 2 beds, and provides a place for safe deliveries as well as pre- and postnatal care. The maternity ward will function in coordination with the primary health care centre of the Episcopalian church which is supported by Malteser International, and fills a gap in the area of maternal and child health in the region. The maternity ward was funded by the Czech Republic with support of the Austrian organisation Neighbour in Need, as well as Germany’s Relief Coalition.

Darbonne is located in Léogâne District, about 35 kilometres from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Almost 90% of the district’s buildings were destroyed following the 12 January 2010 earthquake. Since February 2010, Malteser International has worked in Darbonne on the compound of the Episcopalian Church with an integrated community-based program focusing on primary health care, water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH), reconstruction of social infrastructure and disaster risk reduction.

“A lack of proper medical insurance in times of urgent medical need has created a lot of problems for the general population”, said Kalon Tsering Wangchuk, health minister of the CTA. 

The project’s main goal consists of reducing the poverty risks associated with illness for the Tibetan exile community in India. In the long run, all exiled Tibetan residents in India should have access to the insurance plan. This system relies significantly on existing Tibetan political and organisational structures, so that the health insurance is integrated into current social programmes and is sustainable in the long run.

Another focus of the project lies in capacity development – more than 200 representatives of the Tibetan administration in India will receive training to learn more about how the health insurance works. The insurance system has been tailored to fit the needs of the Tibetan population, and an information database has been developed so the system can be managed effectively and kept up-to-date. In addition, Malteser International and MIA will offer insurance education to the Tibetan community, so they are aware of the importance and the benefits of health insurance, and can learn more about their rights and obligations.

The project receives financial support from Malteser International as well as Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The staff members at Malteser International’s offices in the region have evacuated their offices and are waiting in safety further inland. “In Aceh, in north-eastern Sumatra, no extensive damages can be observed”, says Julia Brunner, Malteser International’s senior desk officer for Indonesia, after talking to the team on the ground. So far, Malteser International has not received any reports of damages in the countries affected by the earthquake. The organisation will remain in contact with its teams in Lhokseumawe/Indonesia, Batticaloa/Sri Lanka, and Sittwe/Myanmar, as well as with its partners in Tamil Nadu, southern India. 

Attention editors: Roland Hansen, head of the Asia department at Malteser International, and Julia Brunner, senior desk officer for Indonesia, are available for interviews. Contact through Malteser International’s headquarters at +49 (0) 221 98 22-169.

In order to better prepare and protect people in regions prone to disasters, Malteser International is running community-based disaster preparedness programmes in many countries.

Malteser International is the worldwide relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta for humanitarian aid. The organisation provides aid in about 100 projects in more than 20 countries without distinction of religion, race or political persuasion. Christian values and the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence are the foundation of its work. For further information: www.malteser-international.org and www.orderofmalta.int

Malteser International has been monitoring the situation and registering the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the region. In cooperation with the World Food Programme, Malteser International is also organising food distributions to 37,500 IDPs. Families receive staple food items such as beans, cooking oil, flour and salt. The distribution is especially aimed at families with malnourished children. 

In addition, Malteser International continues to support the region’s health facilities to combat malnutrition among children under five. The project also includes measures for the rehabilitation of agriculture, and aims at strengthening the self-help capacity of people to ensure food security in South Kivu.

Malteser International has been active in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1996. The organisation’s programme in DR Congo also includes medical and psychosocial assistance to victims of sexual assaults, and ensuring access to clean drinking water and sanitary facilities in health care centers.

Malteser International, as the Order of Malta’s worldwide relief service for humanitarian aid, was also represented at the exhibition, in which 70 photographs illustrated the dedication of the Order’s women and men in fighting hunger and thirst in the world, in looking after the sick and in assisting the homeless, elderly and disabled.  

“We cannot intervene in every place where it is needed, but where we work I believe we are also respected”, said Fra’ Matthew Festing. He thanked the European Union “not only because it finances some of the Order’s important projects, but above all for the moral support and credibility it gives to our initiatives”.

In addition to the exhibition, a panel discussion was held presenting the Order’s humanitarian activities. One of the programmes presented was Malteser International’s work in South Kivu, in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project provides medical and psychosocial support to tens of thousands of victims of sexual violence, working with rehabilitation groups to make sure the women are reintegrated into society.

Speaking at the conference, chaired by the Slovak MEP Anna Záborská, was the Order’s Grand Hospitaller, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, who gave an overview of the Order of Malta’s health and humanitarian commitments worldwide. Other humanitarian projects of the Order presented included the Holy Family hospital in Bethlehem, homeless care in Liege, Belgium, and the Order’s leprosy eradication programmes.

To view or download the exhibition as a PDF document, please click on the download link above.

The installations in Swat District, which was put to the test, and in Kohistan District, also located in northern Pakistan, are the newest earthquake warning systems which Malteser International installed in the country. Up to date, the organisation has installed seven of those systems in four Pakistani districts. Malteser International started to install earthquake warning systems in Pakistan as early as 2008, placing external sirens on public buildings and health care centres.

A new earthquake warning system will be installed in the city of Muzaffarabad. Because of the city’s size and population density, that system will be equipped with additional, radio-controlled sirens, so the warning can have the broadest reach possible. Each siren has a range of at least two kilometres. All sirens can also be used as megaphones to warn the population of other potential threats, such as floods or landslides.

An alarm, however, is of very little use if the population is not able to react to it adequately and effectively. To be successful and sustainable, disaster preparedness measures must directly involve the local population. Malteser International explains to residents how to behave properly in case of an earthquake, and trains volunteers to form disaster management and response committees. These committees identify risks, develop emergency and evacuation plans, and are trained in safety, fire-fighting, search and rescue and first-aid skills.  This allows for an organised evacuation through pre-determined routes and increases the chances that those affected by the disaster can be rescued, ensuring that sick, weak or disabled residents are not left behind.

Working in close cooperation with the state authorities, Malteser International aims to embed its disaster preparedness measures into local administrative structures. This can be done by instructing technical staff on the system’s maintenance and surveillance, as well as coordinating the emergency plans and training and equipping state employees at various administrative levels.

By combining earthquake warning systems with education to raise the community’s awareness to disasters, the trainings of skilled volunteers and the close cooperation with authorities, Malteser International is making sure that communities are prepared to cope with disasters in the long run.

“The gap between rich and poor is increasing, and this manifests itself also in disparity in access to clean water”, says Arno Coerver, Malteser International’s regional Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) coordinator in Asia. “Without a change in policy in how investments are made in the water sector, a large group of people is likely to be left out of receiving the necessary services for the foreseeable future”.

According to a recent report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, over 2 billion people gained access to improved water sources from 1990 to 2010 – currently, 89% of the global population has access to safe drinking water. The rapid economic growth in countries like India and China has contributed to this trend. However, this development has been extremely unequal in different regions, with only 61% of the Sub-Saharan population having access to improved water sources. 

Malteser International has successfully supported water projects for marginalised communities in 11 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The organisation’s approach is to provide safe water and sanitation in simple, cost-effective ways to as many people as possible and where the need is greatest. 

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for instance, where only 50% of the population has access to an improved water source, Malteser International provides safe drinking water at health centres and hospitals in South Kivu – that way, the risks of waterborne infections among those who are most vulnerable to diseases can be reduced. “In the region, cholera is still endemic – even in areas with supposedly safe access to water”, says Dr. Lothar Winkler, medical coordinator for Malteser International in DR Congo. 

In order to prevent unequal access to safe drinking water, governments and organisations in the water sector should improve their targeting of water and sanitation resources. “It is important to favour a pro-poor approach while planning projects in this sector”, Coerver says.

Attention editors: Arno Coerver, regional WASH coordinator for Malteser International in Asia, is available for interviews. Contact through Malteser International’s headquarters at +49 (0) 221 98 22-169.

Click here for more information on Malteser International’s WASH projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Malteser International is the worldwide relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta for humanitarian aid. The organisation provides aid in about 100 projects in more than 20 countries without distinction of religion, race or political persuasion. Christian values and the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence are the foundation of its work. For further information: www.malteser-international.org and www.orderofmalta.int

We would like to invite you to participate in the panel discussion:
Date: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Location: Assembly hall JAN 6 Q-1 at the European Parliament, Brussels
Time: 5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

To register, please contact Tobias Teuscher at tobias.teuscher@europarl.europa.eu (please provide your name, birthday, nationality and identity card number).

On the week of March 19-23, a photo exhibit at the European Parliament will also highlight the Order of Malta’s humanitarian activities around the world. It will be located on the third floor of the ASP building. The exhibit is sponsored by MEP Charles Tannock.