The event started with a screening of the Brit Awards in the Millbank Cinema, followed by a party attended by the likes of Dean Gaffney, Callum Best, Janice Dickson and Celebrity Big Brother stars, Lady Sovereign and Katia Ivanova.

Part of the evening included a charity auction – with prizes including a First Class flight to LA, a night out with Lindsay Lohan herself and sunday brunch at The River Room.

The Guardian reports that:

“Ed Pilkington, the Guardian correspondent in Port-au-Prince, 35 miles from the epicentre, said this morning’s quake was strong enough to be felt in the Haitian capital.

Pilkington tweeted: “just been woken by my bed shaking in #Haiti. another after shock.”

The Associated Press said “wails of terror” could be heard from people as they fled buildings already left in ruins by last week’s quake. It was not immediately possible to assess what additional damage the new quake may have caused.

Last week’s huge quake killed an estimated 200,000 people in Haiti, left 250,000 injured and made 1.5 million people homeless. A massive international aid effort has been launched, but is struggling with overwhelming logistical problems”

We have also a report from the British Red Cross, providing an update on the aid effort.

Situation:

•       The Red Cross estimates 250,000 are in need of urgent assistance. There is no confirmed official death toll, but some reports suggest up to 50,000
•       In the last few days, relief supplies and personnel continued to arrive in Haiti and the surrounding area.
•       Thousands of survivors have been sleeping outdoors, desperate for food, clean water and shelter. Read more on the website
•       Aftershocks are still being felt regularly
•       Cell phones are beginning to function and SMS can be sent and received
Disasters Emergency Committee
•       The DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal has raised £23m
British Red Cross response
•       The British Red Cross released £200,000 from its Disaster Fund immediately after the earthquake
•       A cash pledge of £1.64m towards relief activities was made on 15 January. On 19 January, £200,000 was allocated to the International Committee of the Red Cross for medical supplies.
•       £420,000 of British Red Cross relief items are being flown in from the Red Cross warehouse in Panama
•       The logistics emergency response unit was deployed to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic and arrived on 16 January. The team is now fully operational and co-ordinating the delivery of relief items being flown into the Dominican Republic and trucked on to Haiti
•       Listen to a podcast about the logistics emergency response unit
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
•       The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has revised its appeal and is calling for £63m to assist 300,000 people for three years
•       An estimated 130 Federation personnel are in Port-au-Prince supporting the operation
•       Red Cross emergency health kits for 30,000 people have been distributed between central Port-au-Prince hospital and volunteers from Haitian and Dominican Red Cross are providing first aid care
•       The Red Cross distributed 120,000 litres of water to approximately 24,000 people on 16 January and 100,000 litres were distributed on 17 January. Small distributions to hospitals have also taken place. Total distributions to date: 234,350 litres.
•       The Dominican Red Cross are setting up a field hospital near Jimani’s fortress and the a number of Red Cross emergency response teams have arrived in Haiti.
International Committee of the Red Cross
•       70 ICRC staff are working in Haiti
•       Two ICRC rapid deployment teams will be in Haiti, one is due to arrive today, one arrived last week
•       ICRC has built latrines for 1,000 people and supplied medical kits for 2,000 patients to two hospitals
•       Seven truckloads of ICRC medical supplies arrived in Port-au-Prince on 17 January

More than 21,600 people have registered with the ICRC’s restoring family links website

To donate: Got to http://www.redcross.org.uk/index.asp?id=39992 or http://www.msf.org.uk/donateredirect.html?

Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP

The NGO has set up its first advocacy department and hired Burson Marsteller senior associate Christopher Deacon as manager.

Leigh Daynes, who was until recently was head of media and public affairs has taken on an expanded role as head of corporate affairs will be in charge of creating a cross-department apporoach to advocacy.

A key challenge for the British Red Cross will be to maintain some of its politically neutral reputation.

“Other organisations like Oxfam and Save The Children hacve understood that campaigning is part of their DNA and thereare hugely effective organisations,” he said. “Because our founding principle requires us to act, and that sometimes means through advocacy.”

The shift in approach is part of the British Red Cross new corporate strategy ’saving lives, changing lives,’ which will launch later this year.

To find out more, check out the British Red Cross’ channel, here on t5m.

What do you think of this move by the British Red Cross to become a more political organisation?

The spread of HIV in Africa means Aids is the number one killer in many areas and with the sheer number of people affected, the Red Cross works to reach isolated rural areas where lack of information leads many to quit treatment. Or worse: many don‘t even know where to get treatment in the first place. Education around the subject of HIV Aids is offered by Clinics to provide a lifeline for the community, offering support, counselling, testing and treatment options, as well as further teaching programmes.

Manu speaks about his work educating children. With no cure, he believes absolutely that education and information about how HIV is transmitted will help halt the spread of the disease. He is supported and trained by the Red Cross to work with children and young people, to help everyone get access to basic information, to teach them how to protect themselves. He talks to people in his community about faithfulness, abstinence or using condoms, to help protect against the infection.

Teenagers are the same the world over, and want to have fun with their friends in bars and clubs. In Africa, young people are being trained by Red Cross volunteers, working within their communities and schools to promote life skills and support positive living. This is particularly important in helping them make the right choices in their sexual practices. Education and information about how HIV is transmitted, support before and after voluntary testing and counselling and treatment are all provided and working with teens means they can pass on this knowledge to their friends and parents.

Red Cross volunteer Nicola talks about her work with young people at home. She found many of her friends believed the usual myths about how HIV is transmitted; in the UK many teens think you can catch the disease from a kiss or a hug. Through outreach projects in local areas, as well as international summer camps, the British Red Cross teaches young people how to educate their peers on the risks, and helping to dispel many myths. It is also an opportunity to promote the support that is available if you think you might have been exposed or are at risk, and how to stay safe.

No home should be without one. The British Red Cross sells a handy first aid kit in tough-wearing bag that can be easily expanded, so there is plenty of room to add your own favorite items if needed. With a high-visibility reflective strip, rubber grab handle and a loop to clip over a belt or onto a rucksack, it’s a kit you can take anywhere. Buy your first aid kit on the British Red Cross website.

Contains:

• First aid guide
• Eye wash pod 20 ml
• 5 non-alcoholic wipes
• Gauze swab 7.5×7.5 cm
• Rehydration sachet
• Small sachet of water gel for burns
• Single-use thermometer
• Micropore tape 2.5 cm x 9.1m
• Tufkut scissors
• Pair nitrile gloves
• 6 safety pins
• Resuscitation face shield
• Revive aid
• 2 triangular bandages
• 2 medium dressings
• Eye pad dressing
• Crepe roller bandage 7.5 cm x 4.5 m
• 10 waterproof and 20 fabric plasters

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement started over 135 years ago, inspired by a Swiss businessman, Henry Dunant. He had been appalled at the suffering of thousands of men, on both sides, who were left to die due to lack of care after the Battle of Solferino in 1859.

He proposed the creation of national relief societies, comprised of volunteers, trained in peacetime to provide neutral and impartial help to relieve the suffering in times of war.

In response to these ideas a committee, which later became the International Committee of the Red Cross, was established in Geneva. The founding charter of the Red Cross was drawn up in 1863.

Based on a true story, Henri Dunant – Red on the Cross details the tumultuous 18 months that preceded the creation of this renowned humanitarian organisation. In French with English subtitles. Also includes a selection of short films about the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Buy this epic film on DVD.

Bishek works as an educator with military units, providing support and information for soldiers. Through interactive training, working with the military, the Red Cross is able to reach many people who might be at risk – many of the soldiers come from rural areas and are poorly educated in how HIV is transmitted, what their treatment options are, and what the risk factors might be. It is through information and education that the spread of the disease can be halted and the soldiers are fully supported, both before and after testing.