International Red Cross winds down tsunami appeal

The international Red Cross said today it was winding down its appeal for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami because it has raised enough money.

In just 30 days, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has raised €900m for tsunami relief, the organisation said in a statement.

“Without the amazing support of our donors we would not be in the position to be able to say with confidence that we now have enough funding to plan our response and recovery programme for the next 10 years,” said federation Secretary General, Markku Niskala. “We have all been overwhelmed by the support, and my dream is that a similar level of support continues in the months and years to come.”

IFRC spokesman Roy Probert explained that the Red Cross has enough money to continue long-term relief efforts in tsunami countries, and it wants to focus more attention on other disasters. The federation will close down its online appeal at the end of this week.

“We still have other appeals, obviously,” Probert said. “Our work continues in other countries. We’re particularly grateful for the generosity of the public.”