How is the Red Cross involved with disease prevention?
The Red Cross works across international borders with disease prevention efforts. Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, describes the group's effort for this HealthMakers video.
Transcript
[GENTLE MUSIC] GAIL MCGOVERN: We are very much engaged in disease prevention.
We have American Red Cross employees in 77 different countries. They're doing things like AIDS education and awareness,
first aid training, preparedness training. A good example of this is Haiti. This is a country where they always suffered deaths
when there was a hurricane. And that is the most preventable thing. They just need to go to higher ground. So we have set up bullhorns, calling trees, painting streets
with arrows as to where evacuation routes are-- so preparedness and instilling a culture of preparedness.
We've also been very engaged with the partnership with the World Health Organization, with the CDC,
with UNICEF, and the local Red Cross societies in many developing countries to stamp out measles.
It used to be that about two million kids died every year from the measles.
And so what we're doing is we're doing a massive vaccination program. And the reason the Red Cross can do this
is because we know every Red Cross society in every single country. There are 187 of them. We can take care of that last mile.
We will take Red Cross volunteers in a country in Africa, let's say, give them a bicycle.
And they will drive around getting people from far-flung villages to come and get their kids vaccinated.
So it's remarkable. And the amount of disease is down about 90% on the continent of Africa.
We're now going to be aiming our efforts at India. [AUDIO LOGO]
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