French Red Cross Research Articles

The role of health mediation in investigation of Hantavirus cases among informal settlements inhabitants of Cayenne area, French Guiana, 2022-2023.

In 2022, four severe cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) were reported in patients from informal settlements around Cayenne, the main city in French Guiana. Regional Health Agency (RHA) was commissioned by the French Public Health Agency to estimate the seroprevalence of Hantavirus infections in the neighborhoods of confirmed cases of HPS. RHA then commissioned the French Red Cross (FRC) mobile public health team, providing support in environmental health issues to the population living in informal settlements by health mediators, to facilitate the investigation. The objective of this study was to describe the health mediators' activities set up to improve the efficiency of the investigation. The health mediators' team was specifically trained by virologist and infectiologist specialized in HPS. They helped the investigating team and health workers at various steps of the investigation. These interventions are then described in the results section. The investigation took place between Nov. 2022 and March 2023 in three neighborhoods. During the pre-investigation activities, the mediators raised awareness about HPS of 343 people, among whom 319 (93%) planned to participate in the investigation. Altogether, 274 people finally participated in the investigation, including, i.e., 30.8% of the estimated population living in the three concerned settlements. The global proportion of patients with positive IgG anti-Hantavirus was 5.1%. The health mediators team supported the following steps: preliminary meetings and training modules, identification of resource persons, field visits and awareness and information campaigns (pre-investigation); on field data collection in informal settlements (per-investigation) and communication of individual results, public feedback meeting (post-investigation). The involvement of mediators was probably a factor in the success of the public health response to socially vulnerable people living in the investigated neighborhoods. The preliminary prevention activities helped to raise awareness of the health risk and to enroll participants. Health mediation and outreach activities seem relevant tools of epidemiological field investigations in diseases affecting inhabitants of informal settlements.

Józef Jakubowski (1899–1984) – activist in scout, community, and émigré organisations in the light of Polish and French archival resources

The main purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the life, activities, and preserved archival documents concerning Józef Jakubowski (1899–1984), whose work in support of Polish emigrants residing in France during the Second World War deserves highest recognition and respect. Jakubowski was born in Warsaw, where he spent his childhood, completed primary and secondary education, and began his studies at the Warsaw University of Technology in 1917. He was was actively involved in the scouting movement. His participation in the Polish–Soviet War forced him to leave the university . It was only in 1924 that he completed his higher education at another university, the Higher School of Commerce. His professional life also started in Warsaw, where he worked for the Association of Polish Merchants until 1939. His life was interrupted by the Second World War, and he decided to emigrate first to Switzerland and then to France. At that time of his life, he became involved with the Polish Red Cross. He was primarily involved in developing forms of aid and organising support for Poles in France. Once the Polish Red Cross was banned from further activities, he worked in the Welfare Society for the Poles in France. He cooperated with the Polish Resistance Movement in France and with military authorities on the evacuation of the Polish armed forces to England, as well as with many institutions, including the French Red Cross, the Department of Social Welfare for Foreigners, the International Refugee Organisation, and the Association of Polish Veterans. The archival documents concerning Jakubowski, surviving at the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw and at the Polish Library in Paris, make it possible to reconstruct not only the facts of his life but also the events related to the functioning of the institutions, organisations, and associations he worked for.

Hostages of Empire: Colonial Prisoners of War in Vichy France by Sarah Ann Frank

Reviewed by: Hostages of Empire: Colonial Prisoners of War in Vichy France by Sarah Ann Frank Hope Hecht Frank, Sarah Ann. Hostages of Empire: Colonial Prisoners of War in Vichy France. UP of Nebraska, 2021. ISBN 978-1-4962-0777-7. Pp. 376. During World War II, France recruited colonial soldiers, but French authorities were unaware that the continued mistreatment of colonial soldiers would play a key role in the later fall of the Empire. Sarah Ann Frank covers all aspects of World War II colonial prisoners’ lives, such as their living conditions, their work inside and outside the camp, their health, and their political significance to France. The author has three primary arguments: France relied heavily on its status as an empire, the treatment of the soldiers was deeply ingrained in colonial racism, and the mistreatment of colonial soldiers created a strained relationship between France and its colonies (3). This study begins in the summer of 1940 and ends in the fall of 1942 but continues to cover the effects of imprisonment on colonial soldiers and the soldiers’ subsequent anger at the lack of reparations (260). The prisoners were treated with varying levels of violence, racism, and benevolence in each camp but generally throughout the Vichy government the prisoners were allowed to practice their religion and eat foods that would remind them of home, such as dates and couscous (218). Frank notes, however, that any aid given to the prisoners was to promote goodwill toward the French. Although the government did send aid, local donations and the French Red Cross together provided the basic needs of the prisoners. Furthermore, some French citizens helped the prisoners escape by acting as guides to the local terrain or supplying the prisoners with food and water for their journey to the unoccupied zone (173). The different levels of treatment from the Vichy government, the citizens, and later the Germans in German-controlled camps, created varying experiences for each solider. Frank puts a larger emphasis on West and North African prisoners’ experiences as they would affect the political climate in the colonies and influence their countrymen’s opinions of the French upon their return home. Frank explains that in order to sway prisoners’ opinions there was a large propaganda campaign by Vichy France and Germany. France’s treatment of the colonial prisoners was “certainly rooted in the French history of colonialism and its associated paternalism” (163). France continued to mistreat the colonized, but then struggled to maintain the empire that played a significant role in France’s political and economic power. At the end of this book, Frank explains that both the German and French propaganda campaigns failed not due to a lack of effort, but from the former colonial prisoners’ anger at their (mis)treatment and lack of pay. In the end, this animosity would initiate a new era of decolonization and independence from France. Due to Frank’s extensive research, this work would make an excellent source for anyone interested in the Vichy Regime or in the treatment of prisoners of war. [End Page 183] Hope Hecht Northern Arizona University Copyright © 2022 American Association of Teachers of French

Sexual vulnerability of migrant women in the multicultural context of French Guiana: A societal issue.

BackgroundFrench Guiana is a multicultural French territory in Amazonia with an old migration history and a high prevalence of HIV infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate situations of sexual vulnerability and their associated factors among migrant women in French Guiana.MethodsA cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in 2021 in the French Red Cross Prevention and Health Centers of the two main cities of French Guiana (Cayenne and Saint Laurent du Maroni). Analysis was performed with multivariate stepwise logistic regression using Stata 15.0 software.FindingsA total of 382 migrant women were included, with a median age of 31 years, mainly born in Haiti (80%), Suriname (9%), or Dominican Republic (6%), undocumented (71%), and with financial difficulties (77%). Among the 20% having casual partners, 57% reported unprotected sexual intercourse, more often the Haitian and Surinamese women. A history of rape was reported by 20% of women, most often in the country of origin (71%). Lifetime rape was associated with being threatened [aOR = 3.69 (1.96–6.96)] or being physically abused [aOR = 12.95 (6.51–25.75)] in the multivariate analysis. Among the women surveyed, 30% reported having ever exchanged sex for money, food, or shelter in their lifetime. Transactional sex is more common among Dominican women [aOR = 5.59 (1.84–16.95)] and women living in French Guiana for more than 2 years [aOR = 2.32 (1.38–3.92)]. Transactional sex is also associated with alcohol misuse [aOR = 2.57 (1.46–4.53)], history of threats [aOR = 2.03 (1.14–3.63)], history of rape [aOR = 1.92 (1.03–3.60)], and depressive disorders [aOR = 2.08 (1.21–3.60)].InterpretationMigrant women in French Guiana are in a situation of sexual vulnerability. An intervention focused on sexual education and the promotion of prevention tools among Haitian women is advisable. Better prevention and support for transactional sex are needed to prevent violence and its mental health and alcohol misuse consequences for all women, especially Dominican women.

Sovereignty, Democracy and Neutrality: French Foreign Policy and the National-Patriotic Humanitarianism of the French Red Cross, 1919–1928

Recent historiography pertaining to the International Red Cross has generally emphasised the transnational scale as best suited for analysing this global movement. Using the French Red Cross as a case study, this article suggests that focusing on the national scale, or even on the national-imperial scale, does not exclude transnational approaches but enriches them. In doing so, it highlights the dialectic between scales of humanitarian activity and complicates our understanding of the Red Cross movement in the early twentieth century. The article examines how the French Red Cross strived for its independence within the broader Red Cross world in a postwar humanitarian context increasingly dominated by transnational organisations. It also argues that in the 1920s the French Red Cross, a traditional auxiliary of the French army, became an arm of the French Foreign Office, advancing French diplomacy and sovereignty.

The Impact of the Online COVID-19 Infodemic on French Red Cross Actors’ Field Engagement and Protective Behaviors: Mixed Methods Study

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has been widely described as an infodemic, an excess of rapidly circulating information in social and traditional media in which some information may be erroneous, contradictory, or inaccurate. One key theme cutting across many infodemic analyses is that it stymies users’ capacities to identify appropriate information and guidelines, encourages them to take inappropriate or even harmful actions, and should be managed through multiple transdisciplinary approaches. Yet, investigations demonstrating how the COVID-19 information ecosystem influences complex public decision making and behavior offline are relatively few.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate whether information reported through the social media channel Twitter, linked articles and websites, and selected traditional media affected the risk perception, engagement in field activities, and protective behaviors of French Red Cross (FRC) volunteers and health workers in the Paris region of France from June to October 2020.MethodsWe used a hybrid approach that blended online and offline data. We tracked daily Twitter discussions and selected traditional media in France for 7 months, qualitatively evaluating COVID-19 claims and debates about nonpharmaceutical protective measures. We conducted 24 semistructured interviews with FRC workers and volunteers.ResultsSocial and traditional media debates about viral risks and nonpharmaceutical interventions fanned anxieties among FRC volunteers and workers. Decisions to continue conducting FRC field activities and daily protective practices were also influenced by other factors unrelated to the infodemic: familial and social obligations, gender expectations, financial pressures, FRC rules and communications, state regulations, and relationships with coworkers. Some respondents developed strategies for “tuning out” social and traditional media.ConclusionsThis study suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the information ecosystem may be just one among multiple influences on one group’s offline perceptions and behavior. Measures to address users who have disengaged from online sources of health information and who rely on social relationships to obtain information are needed. Tuning out can potentially lead to less informed decision making, leading to worse health outcomes.

Evaluating the motivation of Red Cross Health volunteers in the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study protocol

IntroductionVoluntary organisations provide essential support to vulnerable populations and front-line health responders to the COVID-19 pandemic. The French Red Cross (FRC) is prominent among organisations offering health and support services...

Global Humanitarian Governance and the COVID-19 Moment: The Evolution of Sacrifice

Global Humanitarian Governance and the COVID-19 Moment: The Evolution of Sacrifice Peter J. Hoffman (bio) and Thomas G. Weiss (bio) This article was contributed to Forum—the edition’s portfolio of thematic content—by GJIA’s Global Governance section. In the rush to help victims, develop vaccines, and otherwise confront COVID-19, analytical attention has rightly focused on the direct operational problems of resources, scale, and coordination. The bulk of analysis has concentrated on state-led responses within their own jurisdictions, which is where the preponderance of efforts has taken place. However, discussion around the very nature of responses and their significance is missing-in-action in the context of humanitarian emergencies—especially in war zones, large-scale disasters stemming from natural hazards, or “protracted crises” (that is, where perennially vulnerable populations suffer because of limited state capacities and development infrastructure). This essay sheds light on how providing relief in the context of COVID-19 affects the authority and capacity of global humanitarian governance—the web of inter-governmental and international nongovernmental agencies dedicated to this work. Our concern is the hierarchies, inequalities, and institutions that determine who lives and who dies, which indicate shifting relationships between aid workers and the needy; they reveal larger questions of justice and power. Humanitarianism is a touchstone for sacrifice in international politics: it reflects the power to aid and save some while abandoning others to suffer and die. Public service is more than a theoretical exercise; the values underpinning humanitarian action have practical repercussions. If they are tainted, the sector’s legitimacy is undermined. This essay explores humanitarianism’s past, present, and future. It does so not only to explain how customary challenges are compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to spotlight how responses exhibit inherent limits, shifts in power relations, questions about the role of aid agencies, and ultimately soul-searching about the meaning of humanitarianism and its ramifications for sacrifice. Timeless humanitarian challenges, a brief history Rescuing those imperiled by wars and natural disasters has never been easy—there was no “golden age” of humanitarianism because moral, operational, and political challenges routinely plague humanitarian action. The ethical foundations for succor are ubiquitous in religious and [End Page 36] cultural traditions. But institutionalizing the humanitarian impulse raises questions about who is entitled to assistance, how to distribute it, and its impact. To that end, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was founded on core principles—humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence—which uphold that all in need should receive aid regardless of other interests and agendas. The success of these principles helped alleviate suffering in armed conflicts from the Franco-Prussian War (1870– 1871) through World War II (1939–1945) and they guided the ICRC and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that built their reputations as protectors of the vulnerable and as viable components of global governance. Yet, the patina of these accomplishments was tarnished. World War II witnessed a particularly shameful chapter in humanitarian history as the ICRC faced an impossible choice: publicly denouncing the Holocaust or collaborating with the Third Reich to secure access to prisoner-ofwar (POW) camps.1 Respecting neutrality and state sovereignty was the price to provide relief; it was a price that the ICRC paid, choosing to protect allied POWs over concentration camp victims. A similar conundrum arose during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), when the central government sought to manipulate relief by denying aid for those supporting Biafra’s attempted secession. The British Red Cross adhered to traditional principles whereas the French Red Cross objected. This skirmish over the sanctity of humanitarian principles foreshad-owed the tumultuous 1990s and gave birth to an alternative organization and norm: Médecins Sans Frontières, and the Doctors Without Borders movement, which prioritized maintaining solidarity with the needy and bearing witness.2 The humanitarian fallout from wars in the 20th century’s final decade made apparent new possibilities for access and action—including more humanitarian space opened by military force and greater resources from public and private agencies—while also exposing new difficulties of coordination and coherence in the “business.”3 In particular, an infusion of more resources and the proliferation of...

La enfermería en el exilio republicano español de 1939 a Francia: una aproximación para su estudio

Entre enero y febrero de 1939 pasaron por la frontera pirenaica cerca de medio millón de refugiados republicanos españoles —movimiento poblacional conocido como la «Retirada»—. A pesar de que el colectivo de enfermería fue el grupo profesional sanitario más numeroso en el exilio, apenas contamos con investigaciones que visibilicen su labor durante los primeros meses de la «Retirada» en Francia. Este trabajo pretende identificar la labor asistencial desarrollada por el colectivo de enfermería, español y francés, entre enero y septiembre de 1939, y analizar las variables de invisibilidad y desigualdad de género sobre la actuación de las enfermeras. Para ello se ha consultado documentación de once archivos franceses, prensa histórica, literatura sanitaria de la época y testimonios de algunas enfermeras y refugiados. Se ha podido visibilizar el cuidado ejercido por las enfermeras de la Cruz Roja Francesa, que fue desvirtuado por la prensa conservadora francesa, y el de las enfermeras españolas, que quedaron en un segundo plano debido a su condición subalterna y femenina. Finalmente, se identifican cuáles son las principales dificultades y oportunidades para futuros trabajos sobre la enfermería española en el exilio republicano de 1939 en Francia.

French Red Cross Volunteer Rescue Workers: Psychological Characteristics and Healthcare Support After the January 2015 Terrorist Attacks in Paris.

Few studies have explored the psychological consequences of terrorism on volunteer rescuers. We examined the psychological characteristics of volunteer rescuers after the January 2015 terrorist attacks in France. We analyzed the results of the IMPACTS study regarding the somatic, psychological, and social characteristics of the French Red Cross volunteer rescuers who intervened during these terrorist attacks. We used a standardized questionnaire during a face-to-face interview, 6 to 9 months after the attacks. Forty-one volunteers were included. Nine were presenting anxiety disorders, 11 were displaying recurrent depressive episodes, and five were displaying abusive alcohol consumption. Twenty-seven were provided with a debriefing after their intervention. Half of the most exposed volunteers had no contact with mental health professional 9 months after their intervention. A healthcare protocol, covering short-, medium-, and long-term care, should be systematically proposed to volunteer rescue workers to minimize the risk of chronic psychic posttraumatic disorders.

French Red Cross Ladies in International or Universal Exhibitions (1867-1937).

This paper attempts to pinpoint what French Red-Cross women were doing in the international exhibitions from 1867 to 1937. They engaged their energies into organizing meetings, exhibitions, and into healing, receiving awards for their work. In spite of their dual activity of exhibitors and healthcarers, they had no specific pavilion at the world fairs. They hovered between the worlds of politics and medicine as distinguished guests but without their own space.

French Red Cross Ladies in International or Universal Exhibitions (1867–1937)

French Red Cross Ladies in International or Universal Exhibitions (1867–1937)

The features and management of identity threats within a nonprofit organization

Purpose After eight years of reforms, the French Red Cross (FRC) changed status from humanitarian association to nonprofit organization (NPO). This in-depth study of the organization’s recent past (2005-2013) aims to highlight several identity threats linked to the ongoing process of organizational rationalization and managerialization. The main contribution of this paper is based on the responses provided by this NPO to deal with it. Design/methodology/approach This communication has been produced as part of a three-year research contract (2010-2013) for the FRC. A total of 39 semi-structured interviews conducted between February and June 2013, participatory observation and documentary study. Of the 39 interviews, 29 were usable, and these were analyzed using ALCESTE software. This software enabled the authors to quantify and extract the strongest signifying structures. Findings The “Red Cross” meta-identity has so far enabled FRC to change its identity, not without difficulty, but without major organizational crises. In this case, the results confirm the Ravasi at Schultz model (2006) by underlining the difficulty to create a “giving sense process.” At managerial level, the choice of “self-regulated” professionalization seems to have made the most impact in changing the members’ identity understanding. In response to the threat of the fragmentation of social links, the implementation of an important internal communication policy around the idea of a “community of actors” has not had the expected results. Research limitations/implications This study is based on a unique case with unusual dimensions (18,025 employees and 56,136 volunteers). Practical implications The example of the FRC is indicative of what happens in the nonprofit sector. The answers provided by this extraordinary association may inspire other organizations facing an identity crisis. Originality/value This paper reveals two major contributions. First, it validates the appropriateness of the Ravasi and Schultz model (2006) for the study of identity change in social enterprises. Second, it assists managers through its analysis of the appropriateness of procedures and tools used to support identity change. From an international perspective, this paper also contributes by describing the evolution of NPOs in the French context.

Links across the world: World War I French soldiers and Melbourne’s ‘Busy Bees’

This article explores a largely ignored aspect of French–Australian relations during the First World War, namely the provision by the Australian civilian public of large-scale support to the French war effort. Framing the work of local benevolent groups within the larger context of aid organisations such as the French and British Red Cross and their Australian branches, we draw on previously unpublished sources from the University of Melbourne Archives to demonstrate the importance of personal networks and connections in the France-focused activities and to probe how and to what extent they affected the longer-term relationship between the two countries.

Biafra at 50 and the Birth of Emergency Public Health.

The article discusses emergency public health and humanitarian efforts during a civil war between Nigeria and the Republica of Biafra. Topics include the French Red Cross' role in the Biafra relief effort, the United States' supply of personnel, aircraft, financial support and medical supplies in the relief effort, and the need for public health practitioners to plan for the end of conflict in order to avoid situations such as Biafra's collapse resulting from nutritional adversity and famine.

Unforgotten Biafra 50 Years Later

The article focuses on the impact of the Nigerian civil war from May 1967 to January 1970 on humanitarian relief. It comments that nonprofit organizations including the French Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross had to pledge to remain silent publicly concerning atrocities committed against the Biafran people to avoid jeopardizing their neutrality and access. It mentions how a number of civil society organizations protect their independence and provide humanitarian relief.

The health of migrants at the Greece-Macedonia border

At the border between Greece and Macedonia, a transit camp for refugees is turning into a permanent camp. The management of the health emergency is assured by international teams from several humanitarian organisations, including the French Red Cross. The organisation of the care team, the cultural differences and the lack of resources are just some of the factors to be considered.

Application of a Decision Model by Using an Integration of AHP and TOPSIS Approaches within Humanitarian Operation Life Cycle

Emergency logistics is one of the most important parts of disaster relief operations. Quick and adequate decision making in this sector is vital but sometimes hard to achieve. This issue is currently faced by several humanitarian organizations, where the high turnover of staff and the lack of adequate tools make it hard to learn from past experiences. Choosing the most appropriate supplier, the adapted warehouse and transportation means is a complicated task. Indeed, on the one hand there are many criteria to take into account in the decision-making process, and on the other hand the relative importance of those criteria is changing over time. Existing academic works on this issue are very difficult to implement on real case scenarios as they do not propose practical solutions. In this paper, a decision model which evolves over time, depending on operations progresses is proposed. Selection of supplier, warehouse and vehicle are taken into consideration thanks to the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach. In order to achieve a proper decision, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used first to analyze the structure of alternatives selection problem and to determine weights of criteria. Then Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is used to obtain final ranking in a four-phases of humanitarian operation life cycle. A numerical example based on preliminary data from the French Red Cross including the sensitivity analysis is presented to clarify and validate the methodology.

Input of a laboratory in the management of patients with Ebola virus disease and in the training of health personnel: experience of the Forecariah Ebola treatment centre (Guinea) in 2015

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is associated with a high lethality rate even when the afflicted are provided with good support in an Ebola treatment center (ETC). Basic laboratory tests can help to better understand the pathophysiology of the disease, to guide treatment and to establish simple protocols and procedures tailored to the practice of medicine in the context of such precarious environment for caregivers. Based on a few clinical cases of patients treated in the ETC of Forecariah, Guinea, run by the French Red Cross, this article describes the difficult conditions associated with the provision of medical practice in this challenging environment, aiming to minimize the casualties in the EVD patient and to train the health staff.

Resilient modernisation: Morocco’s agency in Red Cross projects from Hassan I to the Rif Republic, 1886-1926

From the end of the 19 th to the beginning of the 20 th century, Morocco’s modernizing projects included plans for signing up to the Geneva Convention and creating a local Red Cross/Crescent society. These plans initially stemmed from the convergence of Moroccan administrative/military reforms and Spanish “regenerationist” interventions. They ran parallel to developments in leading Islamic countries such as Egypt, Persia and the Ottoman Empire though they would have to wait till the country’s independence from Franco-Spanish domination in 1956 to become a reality. Beyond their lack of actual results, those early initiatives would serve as legal ground for Morocco’s “humanitarian sovereignty”, tacitly confirmed by the provisions of the Algeciras Act of 1906. In the following two decades, the resilience of this sovereignty would reveal itself in the sustained competition between the Spanish and the French Red Cross for “humanitarian hegemony” in the country, and also in the repeated and nearly successful demands to establish a local Red Cross/Crescent that were made to the International Committee of the Red Cross by the insurgent leader Abdelkrim during the so-called Rif War.