Cannes/Geneva, 11 April 2019— An event billed as “the first ever humanitarian COP” will take place in Cannes, France next week to mark the 100^th anniversary of the establishment of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Organized by the French Red Cross Society, the two-day “World Conference on Health and Climate Change”, will bring together 400 international and field experts to take stock of latest scientific research, and to explore innovative solutions designed to meet rising public health challenges resulting from climate change.

Changes to the climate have already started impacting human health, and the projections are alarming. Even if the COP21 Paris Agreement’s ambitions for climate change are met and the planet warms by no more than 2°C, there will still be consequences – some of them severe – for human health. Every country in the world, from north to south, is affected by this issue and must adapt, not least to protect their most vulnerable citizens.

A full programme and list of speakers available at: worldconference.croix-rouge.fr

1919-2019: 100 years of humanitarian action

The World Conference is being held to mark the 100th anniversary of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network. The IFRC, known then as the League of Red Cross Societies, was created on 5 May 1919 by the American, British, Italian, Japanese and French Red Cross societies.

A month before, from 1 April to 11 April 1919, the same Red Cross societies gathered at a medical conference in Cannes to decide on how they could coordinate their public health actions and pool the resources of national Red Cross ‘Committees’ more effectively in time of peace.

Useful information:

Dates: Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 April 2019

Location: Théâtre Croisette in Cannes, historic location of the 1919 Medical Conference

Translations: French and English