Renewed partnership with Red Cross for humanitarian response
Rt Hon Winston Peters
Acting Prime Minister
Minister
of Foreign Affairs
MEDIA STATEMENT
25 July 2018
Renewed partnership with New Zealand Red Cross for humanitarian response
Foreign Affairs Minister, Winston Peters, has announced a renewed government funding agreement with New Zealand Red Cross to assist with disaster preparedness and response in the Pacific and across the world.
“New Zealand Red Cross is an important humanitarian response partner and provides critical assistance to vulnerable communities around the world prior to and in the aftermath of a disaster,” Mr Peters said.
“This partnership will help the New Zealand Red Cross to continue build community resilience and expand existing initiatives, including deploying highly skilled New Zealanders to support life-saving actions by their Red Cross partners overseas.
“The work the New Zealand Red Cross does ensures that communities that are better prepared for disasters, and therefore able to respond to and recover from such events, thus preventing loss of life and livelihoods.
“This partnership will also deliver community first aid training and replenish disaster relief supplies stored in five countries across the Pacific in preparation for future events,” he said.
Recent deployments include an emergency care nurse to guide and support first aid services in Myanmar and a climate change technical specialist to Suva to help Pacific countries put in place early disaster preparations.
Funding has been increased from a three year to a five year period allowing the New Zealand Red Cross to plan with greater certainty and expand their programme across the Pacific.
New Zealand Red Cross will receive government funding of $10,670,000 over a five year period. New Zealand Red Cross will contribute $14,095,000 to the renewed partnership, giving the agreement a total value of $24,765,000.