The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) appealed Tuesday for global aid of 270 million Swiss francs or $170 million US dollars for next year, including 124 million francs or $7.75 million US dollars for North Korea.
Describing the organization's long-term health and disaster-related programs at a news conference, Secretary-General Didier Cherpitel said that for the first time, funding for health exceeded aid for disasters. The international aid agency set aside the highest proportion of assistance for North Korea among individual nations, saying that the ongoing humanitarian crisis there "is of major concern, particularly the situation in the health sector." Cherpitel had personally visited North Korea last summer. The secretary-general was emphatic on the IFRC's response to the AIDS epidemic, saying this year's appeal "is a reflection of the emphasis placed on prioritizing the fight against AIDS, which will kill more people this decade than all the wars and other disasters that have occurred over the past 50 years."