Red Cross Aid Workers Continue to Help with Ebola Crisis

29 January 2015

Red Cross Aid Workers Continue to Help with Ebola Crisis

New Zealand Red Cross general manager of communications and marketing Corinne Ambler is the latest Kiwi aid worker heading to West Africa to help with the Ebola response.

Ms Ambler will be working for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) coordinating their Ebola communications from the regional hub in Accra, Ghana.

Since August last year 14 New Zealand Red Cross nurses have been part of the international Red Cross team responding to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone and Liberia. A further three nurses and a water and sanitation engineer will also head to Sierra Leone next month.

New Zealand Red Cross secretary general Tony Paine says New Zealand Red Cross is delighted that courageous and committed Kiwis continue to put up their hands to head to the front line.

“Our aid workers are highly skilled and trained, and internationally regarded for their capability and experience in working in tough and demanding conditions. Given our size as a small country, our contribution is pretty significant.”

“We’re already seeing the positive impact international donations and health professionals are having on the Ebola crisis, but there is still much to do,” says Mr Paine.

Communication specialists have also played a vital role in the Ebola response, working with local communities to educate on how the virus is spread the importance of early treatment and, and working internationally to help create understanding and reduce stigma of the virus, particularly for aid workers.

Ms Ambler has been with New Zealand Red Cross for three years and prior to that worked as a current affairs journalist for TVNZ. She leaves for West Africa on 12 February and will be there for at least six months.

In response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, IFRC has mobilised 6,000 local volunteers and 200 international staff in an operation aimed at reaching 39 million people.

ENDS

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