May 24, 2007 (5 to 7 pm), 85 2nd St., 8th Floor, San Francisco
The American Red Cross in Africa: Success Stories in Public Health and Disaster Response
Think Africa is hopeless? Think again!
American Red Cross Bay Area CEO Harold Brooks and ARCBA Board of Directors Vice Chair Susan Atherton were part of a recent Red Cross delegation to Kenya that conducted field visits with a focus on measles, malaria, HIV/AIDS, water, sanitation, recent drought and floods. Together with Luke Greeves (Senior Director for International Programs, American Red Cross, Washington, DC) and Yohannes Hagos (Senior Advisor of Water and Sanitation, American Red Cross, Nairobi, Kenya), Mr. Brooks and Ms. Atherton will share success stories of the frontlines of the public health and disaster response initiatives of the American Red Cross in Africa.
Most notably this year marked an unprecedented, humanitarian accomplishment—a 75% reduction in deaths in Africa due to measles—thanks to the efforts of the American Red Cross and its partners on the Measles Initiative, a multi-agency effort to reduce measles deaths through strategic vaccination campaigns, effective disease surveillance, and enhanced care. The Measles Initiative is one of several international programs of the American Red Cross that will be shared in tonight's report from the heart of the organization's work in Africa.
The program will start with a wine and cheese reception with the Board of Directors of the Chapter. Special guests include the following:
Luke Greeves, Senior Director International Programs, American Red Cross—Washington, DC
Luke Greeves, Senior Director International Programs, has been with the Red Cross since 1993. In his current capacity he oversees American Red Cross programs in more than 25 countries, which last year alone assisted more than 43 million people with simple but life-saving health and prevention messages and services. This includes the Measles Initiative which is an American Red Cross led partnership with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Foundation, and the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC). Since 2001 the Measles Initiative has helped vaccinated more than 360 million children in Africa and Asia, decreasing measles deaths globally by 60 percent.
Luke began his Red Cross career as a volunteer in the national fund raising office, then as a staff working with chapters in responding to disasters and coordinating fund raising campaigns. He spent three years in the Caribbean with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies helping the region's Red Cross societies develop their programs and organizational capabilities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to regional emergencies—including hurricanes and volcanoes, as well HIV/AIDS.
In 1999, Luke returned to Washington as the Organizational Development Manager in International Services responsible for building the American Red Cross global framework and practical resources to facilitate institutional change processes with our Red Cross and Red Crescent partners. In 2001, Luke became the director of the American Red Cross technical support unit, coordinating a team of experts in international public health, water and sanitation, food programming, organizational development, and monitoring and evaluation, as well as institutionalizing a new comprehensive global strategic and project planning process. He has been in his current position since 2005.
Greeves is a graduate of La Salle University in Philadelphia, and earned an MBA in international marketing from American University in Washington, DC. Prior to his Red Cross career, he worked in Northern England for a non-profit which promoted and trained young people to be business entrepreneurs.
Yohannes Hagos, Senior Advisor of Water and Sanitation, American Red Cross—Nairobi, Kenya
Yohannes Hagos is the Senior Advisor of Water and Sanitation for the American Red Cross and is based in our Nairobi regional office. Yohannes has been with the American Red Cross since August 2001. Prior to joining the Red Cross, he spent 10 years with Oxfam UK managing or advising water and sanitation projects in Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Tanzania, and Cambodia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Master of Science in Water and Environmental Sanitation from Tampere University of Technology in Finland. Yohannes is a native of Ethiopia and speaks English, Tigrigna, Amharic, and basic Khmer.
All committee meetings are held from 5-7 pm in San Francisco at 85 Second Street, unless otherwise specified. We try to meet monthly, usually on a Thursday. Our next meeting and International Connections Forum is scheduled for Thursday May 24th from 5-7 pm. Stay tuned!
 For more information or to RSVP, call (415) 427-8064 or send an email to Ginny Johnson at Johnsong0628@aol.com
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Connections