Red Cross Spends Over $1B
The Red Cross announced it surpassed 1 billion dollars of spending in 2008. There is some debate as to why expenditures hit a record high. Is it because of the increased need for relief or because of the increased ability to reach relief victims?
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is based in Geneva and was founded in 1863. “We had a record expenditure last year,” Jakob Kellenberger, the president of the ICRC said.
“Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan are three examples of countries where natural disasters and high food prices have made life even harder for poor people already struggling to cope with the effects of war.”
“Much of this suffering could have been avoided if conflict parties had improved their compliance with international humanitarian law.”