Rebuilding lives: Cash assistance supports refugee family in Türkiye to recover from earthquakes
On 6 February 2023, Türkiye was shaken by two massive earthquakes—the most significant seismic events the country has faced in the past century.
The earthquakes have left a lasting impact on the nation's southeast region and beyond, toppling buildings, disrupting people’s livelihoods, and leaving communities in distress.
For refugee communities living in Türkiye, the earthquakes came as yet another blow in their journey to find a peaceful and safe life.
Ahmad Al Saleh is a refugee from rural Hama, Syria. He and his family moved to Türkiye in 2015 due to the escalating conflict at home, settling in Antakya – just 100km away from the first earthquake’s epicentre.
“At 4:30 AM, we were sleeping with the kids when we suddenly felt the house shaking. Out of fear, we ran straight outside. It was raining and the weather was so cold. It wasn’t an option for us to go back in, so we slept outside for ten days," says Ahmad.
Thankfully, Ahmad’s wife and six young children weren’t physically harmed during the earthquakes. But other families living close by weren’t so lucky.
"Seeing all those survivors, children and women all around the place crying… I didn’t know who to help first. I saw people crying over their children, others over their wives and some others over their siblings. I saw buildings that were totally damaged. It was impossible to clean the rubble," explains Ahmad.
Before the earthquakes struck, Ahmad and his family had been receiving monthly cash assistance from the IFRC and Turkish Red Crescent through the EU-funded Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme. The ESSN provided refugees living in Türkiye with reliable support via prepaid debit cards—called 'KIZILAYKART' or 'Red Crescent card'—to help them cover their basic needs.
After the earthquakes, we worked with the Turkish Red Crescent to increase this cash support to affected communities—providing a lifeline for families like Ahmad's to cover essentials like rent, electricity, water bills, and groceries when their lives were turned upside down.
"Regarding work, it became a lot less now. I hope I keep receiving this assistance through the KIZILAYKART. Otherwise, it’s impossible for us to pay rent, especially since the prices have drastically increased now. There are no jobs, unfortunately. In agriculture, normally you work only for a couple of days, but now we’ve been left with nothing," says Ahmad.
Several months on from the earthquakes, the Turkish Red Crescent and IFRC remain firmly by the sides of communities across Türkiye. We continue to help people like Ahmad recover from the long-lasting impacts of the earthquakes—knowing from our many years of experience that cash assistance is one of the best ways to help people recover from disasters with freedom, independence and dignity.
--
More information:
Click here to learn more about our Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme.
Click here to learn more about the IFRC’s response to the earthquakes in Türkiye.
And click here to learn more about cash assistance.
Three months after the Kakhovka Dam disaster, Ukraine Red Cross still stands by affected communities
When the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine collapsed in June, a torrent of water poured over downstream towns and farmlands, reducing homes to rubble and leading to the tragic loss of many lives.
The flood swept up everything in its path, washing farm animals, unexploded mines, hazardous chemicals and dangerous bacteria—such as salmonella, E. coli, and cholera—down toward the Dnipro-Buh Delta on the Black Sea.
The Ukraine Red Cross Society’s (URCS) response to the dam disaster was swift. From the moment the dam collapsed, their volunteers began evacuating people from flooded areas and distributing essentials such as food, hygiene products and water purification equipment. Psychosocial support specialists were also on hand to help people cope during those difficult first days.
But recovering from a disaster like this doesn’t happen overnight. Three months on, URCS teams remain firmly by the side of communities to help them get their lives back on track.
“People's needs have changed but have not disappeared," says Serhiy Moroz, a URCS volunteer.
"In many populated areas, people are attempting to return to their previous lives in damaged housing and amidst disruptions in centralized water supply services. Often, water systems are simply non-existent, leaving people to suffer from a lack of clean water. This creates significant household challenges as well as risks to public health."
The IFRC recently deployed an Emergency Response Unit or 'ERU'—a team of specialized personnel and equipment from across the IFRC network—to Kropyvnytskyi city to support the Ukraine Red Crescent Society’s work restoring access to safe water.
Marco Skodak, the ERU team leader, details their efforts:
"We're launching Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activities in response to the dam's destruction. URCS volunteers are undergoing training to provide assistance, and, working alongside our specialists, they are already on the ground conducting needs assessments and establishing crucial water purification systems and pipelines."
By training up the Ukraine Red Cross Society in this way, the IFRC network is ensuring that communities get the long-term assistance they need to recover, and that volunteers have an even greater ability to respond should a similar disaster ever occur in future.
--
Click here to learn about how the IFRC is supporting local humanitarian action, including the different types of ERUs we can deploy.
And click here to learn more about the IFRC’s work in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
Maui fires: Red Cross providing shelter and comfort to victims
The deadliest wildfires in Hawaii in the last 100 years have caused massive damage on Maui island, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and claiming more than 100 lives.
Since the fires began, Red Cross disaster workers have been caring for families around the clock, providing them with a safe place to stay, food to eat, and much more.
In a statement on their website, the American Red Cross reports:
"The Red Cross is coordinating closely with state and local emergency management teams to begin moving people from emergency shelters into hotels. Emergency shelters will become multi-purpose service centres where people can access hot meals, relief supplies, health, mental health and spiritual care services, support with finding loved ones and casework assistance."
"The Red Cross was helping people before the fires started and will be there in the weeks and months to come helping people recover from this tragedy. In fact, the Red Cross has been providing humanitarian assistance in Hawaii as far back as 1898. Recovering from a wildfire of this magnitude will take time and the full community coming together to support one another."
Learn more and donate
Read the full statement on the American Red Cross website.
Donate to the American Red Cross fundraising campaign for people affected by the wildfires.
Follow @RedCross and @HawaiiRedCrossfor latest updates on their response.
Learn more about wildfires and how to prepare and stay safe.
Greener, safer, easier: Solar-powered water pumps bring life to Ghana
“When I drink the water, it tastes good, nothing happens to me.”
These are the words of Joyce Oforiwah, a 47-year-old mother of three from Obretema in Eastern region, Ghana as she gives an enthusiastic double thumbs up. Her village recently became the proud host of a brand new, solar-powered water pump installed by the Ghana Red Cross to provide clean, affordable drinking water to her local community.
While access to safe water in Ghana has greatly improved over the past few decades, millions of people—especially in rural areas—still have to travel unacceptably long distances to collect it.
So, for the past few years, the Ghana Red Cross – in partnership with the IFRC, Nestle and the OPEC Fund – has been working to provide innovative and sustainable water and sanitation services in rural communities to improve people’s lives and protect their health.
Greener, safer, easier
Joyce is excited that she’s no longer forced to venture far from home for water or risk her family’s health by resorting to unsafe water sources nearby.
This new pump, one of 19 installed in the past year, also makes her life easier in other ways.
The pump she previously used was locked at different times of the day and required an attendant to operate it, making it inconvenient for her and her fellow villagers. But this new pump uses a self-service token system, removing the need for an attendant and making water available 24/7.
With a little as 10 pesewas (less than 1 US cent) Joyce and other members of her community can charge up their token with their local water vendor and collect 20 litres of water. Using a token, rather than coin-operated, system prevents the pump, as well as the people collecting water, from becoming a target for thieves, as no money is stored inside or needed to operate it.
Powered by solar, the water point is also an eco-friendly alternative to regular pumps and has lower operating and repair costs. And it’s lit up throughout the night, making it safer and easier to use.
Local action
Local Ghana Red Cross volunteer, Regina Nyamevor, is the vendor overseeing the Obretema water point and says the community is delighted with the water project.
“Everyone around here now gets their water from this water point, and they can now operate it on their own,” she says.
As well as managing the sale of credit and topping up people’s tokens, Regina also plays an important role providing information to households on the benefits of safe drinking water so that families can avoid health problems and diseases.
“I enjoy working as a vendor and am very excited that am part of a great project which ensures that communities are empowered to collect as much water as they want and at any time of the day, this is a great change in our community,” she adds.
Creating local business
Amina Rasak, a fellow villager, has even started her own drinking water business using the water she collects from the new water point. She packages her water in conveniently sized sachets to sell on to students and others in the community.
Amina says the water has been a huge relief for them. They have a water point close to them which saves them time and is safe to drink without the need to purify it any further.
“We thank the Ghana Red Cross Society and all those who invested in the water project as well as those managing it, we appreciate what they have done. Please keep this water project working because it has made our lives better,” she tells me.
--
Our Ghana Sustainable WASH (Gha-WASH) project, in partnership with the Ghana Red Cross, Nestle and the OPEC fund, has been running since 2015. Gha-WASH aims to make sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services available to tens of thousands of people across the country and reduce WASH-related diseases.
Click here to learn more about our work in water, sanitation and hygiene.
Angola food crisis: ‘Because of hunger I am here’
With her baby wrapped snugly around her back, Usenia Semaneli braves the Kunene River on foot, supported by nothing but a walking stick. “Crocodiles live in those waters,” she says, “but you stop fearing anything. When you are hungry, you just choose to cross.”
“When I was young, we used to get good rain,” says Usenia, who takes a break from her journey to share her story.
Exactly how many people have made the trek from Angola to Namibia in the last few years is unclear. People have crossed the border for years to visit relatives, buy or sell goods. But in 2020 and 2021 it’s estimated thatat least 3,000 people from Angola were living in various encampments and host communities around border towns in northern Namibia. They came from various parts of Angola and from different tribes, but they tell a similar story. No rain. Failed crops. Livestock gone. A long perilous journey to Namibia.
The troubles began in 2020, as dryness persisted through what would normally be the rainy season, which typically runs from November to April.Many of those most affected are children, lactating mothers, and the elderly. “We ate just a little bit every day, but all the children started to get weak,” says Usenia. “When you spend so many days without food it’s like you are confused. You lose control of your mind and everything is just turning around in front of your eyes.”
Deolinda
We used to walk during the day and at sunset we went to sleep,” saysDeolinda, who made a ten-day trek to Namibia with her granddaughter Venonyaand some other children.
“Food was a big challenge throughout the journey. We didn’t have any food but we had to keep on walking. It was tough for me because I was traveling alone with the children. The journey was difficult, but I received help from people who carried my children… Not knowing whether the baby would survive or even make it, I was hoping for the best but also preparing myself for the worst”, she says.
“When we arrived, Venonya was severely malnourished, so we took her to Outapi Hospital,” says Deolinda. “At first, when I arrived at the hospital I was scared because I feared that the baby would die. It was difficult to even find a vein to put a drip in the child, so I was scared. After a while, my baby got better and I started to feel calmer. We returned to the camp only a week ago with Venonya recovered, she stayed in the hospital for a week and a half.”
Mwandjukatji
“It took us almost ten days traveling, walking,” says Mwandjukatji, who found her way to a camp for migrants close to the town of Omusati, near Namibia’s northwestern border with Angola. “On the way,some of my daughters lost their children. Sometimes when we woke up we tried giving the children some water but they wouldn’t open their mouths, they died on the way. We had to leave them behind.”
They knew the journey would be perilous, but staying in the end was not an option. “For a time, we debated what to do, and for a long while, we refused to leave our land,” she says. “But the hunger was growing unbearable. Because of that hunger, we decided to go to Namibia. We thought maybe we will survive there.”
Mwandjukatji found temporary respite in a shelter she made using sticks, cardboard and plastic. There, she got by on food provided by local agencies and relief groups such as theNamibian Red Cross. “We heard that there was a camp where they were giving food to people like us who came from Angola,” says Mwandjukatji. “We receive some food and that is an enormous relief for us, because if we weren’t here most of our children would die.”
“This shelter is not as strong, not the same, as our home. For our homes, we used to use strong sticks and sand mixed with cow dung, plus we had a fire inside the house. This is not the same. We can’t have a fire inside, and when it rains, the water seeps in. But here we have food at least.”
Konguari
The migrants saythe kindness of strangers has been critical to their survival, be it local leaders who let them stay on their land, government authorities, the Namibian Red Cross, or local residents who offered various kinds of support. The man in a blue shirt above, named Konguari, ran a garden hose from houseto give out water every evening.
“In Opuwo, it is not uncommon to see people, usually men, coming from Angola looking for work. When I saw many women and children arriving, I knew something wasn’t right. I noticed that, although they were hungry, they were growing desperate for water. Very often they went in the field walking for hours to get wood that they sold in the market. With the money they got from the firewood they immediately bought water. When I saw this, I said to myself, ‘no, this isn’t right. Could it be possible for me to assist these people?’”
A steady source of support
The Namibian Red Cross Society (NRCS)has also been a steady source of support, providing food, water, health and hygiene support. A significant proportion of the people they helped have been children: of the4,027 people assistedin the Etunda and Opuwo areas of Kunene region last year, more than half were between 1 and 16 year old. More than 400 were lactating or pregnant women.
The NRCS is one of numerous Red Cross of Red Crescent National Societies working on the frontlines of climate-related displacement,according to a 2021 climate displacement report by the IFRC. Their work includes responding to crises and building resilience to future shocks by preparing for and reducing climate risks. Around the world, floods, storms, wildfires, landslides, extreme temperatures and drought have caused the displacement of 30.7 million people, according to the report.
“Our government tries its best to help the immigrants from Angola, and different organisations also try to help,” says Rijamekee, a Namibian Red Cross volunteer who lives in Northern Namibia and provides displaced people and vulnerable local residents with food, water, and health and hygiene support. “Anyone, who is out there should try their best to help these people. And not only the Angolans but anyone who is in need”, he says.
Mekondo
Climate change does not affect everyone equally. Children, the elderly, people with physical disabilities and other vulnerable and marginalized people are hit the hardestbecause climate change compounds the challenges they already face. “For the most part I crawled until I reached Namibia,” says Mekondo, who made his way from Angola to Namibia on his hands and knees. “I wore double pants until they peeled and tore at the knees. For my hands I used a pair of sandals so that I could crawl on the pavement.”
“Although I feel well here because I have food, I feel bad for my mother who is still in Angola. I left her under the care of another person, but they were also hungry and were looking for food. I don’t know what to do because I don’t have money and I can’t crawl back all the way through that difficult journey, so I don’t feel well thinking about my mother living there without any food.”
Returning home?
Recent rainfalls have allowed many of the migrants to return to Angola, while others remain in host communities in northern Namibia. But the risk is far from over. The recentrainfalls come late in what is normally the rainy season, and they weren’t nearly enough to sustain a season of crops. But people remain hopeful as many of these 21stcentury climate migrants have missed their homes and always wanted to return as soon as possible.
“I miss home,” says Mwandjukatji. “But the problem is that if we went home we would always be worried about what we were going to eat that day. When the hunger started there we sold our hoes and all the tools that we used to cultivate in order to get food. So now we don’t have those things and if we return we don’t have tools to cultivate. How are we going to get those tools to start again?”
--
This story was produced and originally published by the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine. To learn about the Magazine, and to read more stories like this,click here.
His theatre in Yemen destroyed, Osama finds a new stage
For many years, Osama consideredthe theatre his second home,a place where he could embody different characters, share poetic words of wisdom and see the smiles and laughter on the faces of people in his community.
“Every time I appear on the stage and see the smiles of children, I feel satisfied,” says Osama, a gregarious talkative man whose passion for acting has provided some refuge from the scourge and heartaches of war.
But Osama’s ability to pursue this dream suffered a serious blow when his beloved theatrewas bombed and reduced to a pile of rubble.
“My dreams were shattered,” says Osama, standing on the ruins of what was once a spacious, airy theatre, capable of holding hundreds of people. “My dreams were here in this very place,” he says, looking out of a field of broken bricks and stone. “Here, we used to bring smiles to people’s faces … before the war began.”
Most of the theatre pieces his company produced were comedies and dramas that brought happiness and laughterwhile also sharing purposeful messages.
A new humanitarian role
After the theatre was bombed, with the accumulated pain and despair of war weighing on him, Osama started looking for a new role: something that would again bring him joy and help him to rebuild his sense of purpose. His journey led him to the doors of theYemeni Red Crescentin Al Hudaydah.
Now Osamauses his gift for comedy and drama to educate people through interactive theatre sketches. The performances also convey important messages about how to stay healthy and safe in a context where war has shattered many of the basic food, water, health and sanitation systems that keep communities safe and well.
“I remember the first time I participated in an awareness-raising activity with the Yemeni Red Crescent Society,” Osama says . “I was just giving children advice about washing hands, but in a funny way. I remember their laughter at my attempts to correct some of my mistakes.
“One time, I was doing a comedy show to teach, in a comical manner, the right ways to wash hands, but I forgot one of the important ways to rub your fingers. One of the kids got up and hit me over the head in a comedic style and said, ‘The artist forgot to tell us this step.’ He started explaining it like a member of a theatrical troupe. It was the first time I felt I was really helping ordinary people cope with the challenges of war.”
Inspired by the work of the Yemeni Red Crescent in Al Hudaydah, Osama has not only played a role in the Red Crescent’s outreach programmes, but also became an active volunteer in the provision of first aid, food distribution, emergency response, and even the transportation of wounded people and bodies. Alongside all this, the energetic father and husband works various jobs, such as tending trees around the city, to support his family.
Deeper into the role
Osama remembers one situation that pushed him even deeper into his role as a volunteer:a dengue outbreak in Al Hudaydahthat made an already desperate situation in the governorate even worse.
While 20 million Yemeni people lacked access to basic healthcare, half of the country’s health facilities were either partially or completely damaged by war, leading to dramatic increases of endemic diseases and epidemics.
“The dengue epidemic reached our home where I live with 16 members of my family, including four children. It was difficult to access healthcare and even to purchase medicines due to the economic situation. I took my eight-year-old brother Rakan to the Health Centre of the Yemeni Red Crescent Society, hoping he would be cared for at the centre. He was treated there until the staff were certain that he had recovered and was not in danger anymore.
“This kind of assistance was not provided because of my work as a volunteer in the Red Crescent — it is available to all members of the community.The centre provides medical care services to all, and the number of beneficiaries is more than 1,700 people.”
“The moment I arrived at the centre, holding my brother in my arms, was like a dream. I went there as a person in need and was received by a team that helps everyone. I realised after my brother’s recovery that working with the Red Crescent was also an opportunity to give something back, to return the favour, so to speak."
In the meantime, this gregarious, outgoing volunteer can also nurture the stage actor that is always inside him, never far from the surface.
“Even if I cannot appear on stage, I can at least do this for the Yemeni Red Crescent Society as a volunteer and play around for the kids,” Osama says with a smile. “That makes me happy and proud.”
--
This story was produced and originally published by the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine. To learn about the Magazine, and to read more stories like this,click here.
Fleeing bombs and robbers: Lia’s search for safety in Sudan
“I was living peacefully in Khartoum before Ramadan. I’m a single mother, just with my children. I'm a director and scriptwriter, and had a new business. It was working very well and I was happy with my life until the war started,” she says.
“The day of the war, our neighbour came and told us there were problems outside. We are used to riots – we get them every day. But suddenly he told us that everything was closed and no one was going out, they are bombing everywhere, it is a real war.
“We heard constant bombing outside. The noise was so big, we were just hiding. The kids had so much fear. There was nothing in the shops to buy, and nothing in the house, so things were really very hard. We stayed one week in these conditions, then they said there was a ceasefire to give people time to get themselves a hiding place."
At this point, Lia decided to travel with her children and other family members to Omdurman, a city on the west bank of the River Nile just northwest of Khartoum, to stay with father.
“We saw a lot of things on the road. There were people with guns and weapons asking you if you were going to attack them. I told them we were not their enemy while trying to calm my children down, but they were very scared.
“Omdurman was kind of safe. At first we heard some gunfire, but suddenly after two days they started to bomb really close to us and I was scared there was no safe place around Khartoum at all. I couldn’t sleep. I was just looking at the sky – seeing all the shooting planes, colours in the air, and bombs.”
Lia and her family stayed in Omdurman for another few days until an armed robber broke in and stole from them while they were sleeping, at which point she decided it was too unsafe and time to head to the coast. She pleaded with her father to come with her, but he refused to leave his home.
Before heading for safety, Lia needed to return to her house in Khartoum to collect her family’s identity documents in case they needed to leave the country. But this proved to be another ordeal. A taxi ride that would usually take 30 minutes stretched on for hours on end, as the taxi driver tried to find safe streets in Khartoum to avoid the violence.
“We arrived at the house. It was so late. Everything was sadness and we cried altogether. We sat down in front of our house inside the gate until the morning because I couldn’t find the key. No one was sleeping. I was just holding my children, all of us together.
“Morning came. The shooting stopped for a little while, and we had hope. But suddenly it started again. We broke our lock and took our papers and some of our things.”
Lia and her children then began the long journey to Port Sudan, more than 800km away on the coast.
“We managed to escape to the place where buses were leaving Khartoum. We were on the road for almost four days, stopping in different cities overnight, sleeping on the ground next to the bus. We knocked on strangers’ houses and they helped us because they knew in Khartoum there was war. They gave us kitchen equipment so I could cook and they let us use their bathroom.
“It was tough. It was OK for me, but my children didn’t have this kind of life before. Nobody chooses to live that kind of life or chooses war, but we found ourselves in that situation.”
Eventually they arrived at Port Sudan. Though less dangerous than Khartoum, Lia struggled to find a decent place for her family to stay.
“I went to the first camp and it was so bad. We stayed there for just over a week but we couldn’t stay longer. My children were sick, so we moved to the beachside. I thought it wouldbe better but in the afternoon it was hellfire. You can’t stay directly under the sun. After that we were taken to another camp where we stayed for a month, then another camp. It’s a bit of a relief yet things are still bad. You cannot call camp a home. But at least this one compared to others is a bit better.”
When asked how the Sudanese Red Crescent Society had helped her throughout her ordeal, and what difference it had made, Lia said:
“The difference is clear. Red Crescent right from the beginning was always there to give a warm helping hand in times of need.
“They brought us doctors and medicine and some food.”
As to the future?
“I thank god we are alive. Though we lost a lot of things, we are alive and breathing and my children are by my side. I just pray that one day things will get better again and I pray Khartoum will become safe again.
“I don’t want to travel anymore. I want our lives and our country to be safe and all the worries to stop so we can continue to do the things we dream about.”
--
More than 1,000 people have lost their lives since conflict broke out in Sudan on 15 April, and more than 12,000 have been injured in the fighting.
The Sudanese Red Crescent Society, supported by the IFRC network, is continuing to provide much-needed humanitarian assistance despite security challenges in the country.
To help people like Lia inside Sudan, please donate to our Emergency Appeal. You can find information about the work your donation will support here.
Cut off, holding on, and craving contact
“When you live as an undocumented migrant, one thing that keeps you alive is contact,” says Izzy, a migrant from Sierra Leone whose simple daily encounters with people going through similar struggles have been seriously diminished due to Covid-19. With the pandemic looming over everyone’s daily life,migrants such as Izzy face particular hardships. Cut off even from small jobs and activities,they are not eligible for social benefits that provide the stability needed to cope with a pandemic.
“Because these people are considered illegal, they cannot rent a house, they cannot work legally, they don’t have social security, they don’t have bank accounts,” says Joquebede Mesquita of the Company of Friends, which provides practical and legal assistance to undocumented migrants living in Netherlands. Some, she says, end up sleeping in the street, afraid of sharing a room with people who may be infected. “A lot of people want to go home to their parents,” she says. “They say, ‘If we are going to die, we want to die together’.”
These stories are a stark reminder: while COVID has been cruel for all of us, it has been catastrophic for migrants.Even in the most developed countries, migrants often don’t have access to critical Covid coping mechanismssuch as mental health care, safe housing(since they often share apartments) or working conditions(with proper hygiene protection measures), according to the IFRC reportLeast protected, most affected: Migrants and refugees facing extraordinary risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.On top of all that, they are even farther from loved ones and moreexposed tomedia disinformation in languages they may not fully master.
Still, there are many bright spots amid the challenges. Born in Brazil, Claudia has struggled to find unofficial jobs while taking care of her four-year-old daughter Maria. But she now has a steady job and Maria is enrolled in school, learning Dutch. “She plays with other children and has more contact with kids her own age,” Claudia says.
For Izzy, as well, the challenges he and other migrants face have only intensified his desire to something positive for others. “I’ve stayed here a long time and this country has supported me,” says Izzy, who likes to help out at a local shelter and food service for other undocumented migrants in need of a warm meal and a welcoming space. “So, I think I have to give something back.”
Claudia, from Minas Gerais, Brazil
Originally from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, Claudia has been working as anundocumented migrant in The Netherlands for a year. “I feel bad because I am considered illegal here,” says Claudia. “But I have been able to find work here and I feel safer here. I can walk on the streets with my daughter. The quality of life I can give my daughter is better than in Brazil. So, I feel more secure than in Brazil, but less secure because I am illegal”.
As evening falls, Claudia and her daughter Maria take a break on a bench in Amsterdam. “Corona has made life difficultbecause so many things are closed,” she says. “There is nowhere to go and I have to spend a lot of time with Maria, sitting in the very small room that I rent.”
Children in Netherlands begin school soon after their fourth birthday. “I am very happy now that Maria has started school … I want to learn Dutch but Corona has made it more complicated because a lot of the schools are closed. And with Maria it was difficult to find time to study. And now that she is at school maybe I can learn Dutch at a school in the future.”
“Maria has a better life now,” says Claudia. “She plays with other children and has more contact with kids her own age. Maria is very happy.She talks about her new school all the time. She is learning Dutch. The school is very good compared to what we had in my neighbourhood in Brazil.”
“Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, it has been a terrible time,” says Joquebede Mesquita of the Company of Friends, which provides practical and legal assistance to undocumented migrants in The Netherlands. “The telephone is ringing all the time. They want to go back to Brazil. They want to go back to their family, to their children.We helped more than 200 people go back to Brazil. Their work has stopped and they don’t have money to pay the rent or to pay for food. A lot of people were sleeping on the street and they were very afraid. People get the Corona virus and some of them are living with up to nine people in a small room. How can they survive? And a lot of people want to go home to their parents. They say, ‘If we are going to die, we want to die together’.”
An undocumented migrant from Brazil signs up to receive asupermarket food voucherfrom the Company of Friends organisation in Amsterdam.The vouchers are provided by the The Netherlands Red Crossto help migrants who have fallen on hard times since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Because these people are considered illegal, they cannot rent a house, they cannot work legally, they don’t have social security, they don’t have bank accounts,” says Mesquita. “The idea is that they come here for a couple of years, get some money and then return to Brazil, buy a house and have a good life. But most of the people end up staying five or ten years, they don’t learn the language because they work and don’t have time to integrate into the community.”
In her kitchen at home, Claudia and a friend unpack somefood donated by the Netherlands Red Cross. “The Brazilian community here in Holland help each other a lot. And if you are a Brazilian woman with a child, they help you even more.”
Claudia and her daughter Maria look at a Christmas display in a shop window in Amsterdam. “I don’t know how we will celebrate Christmas. It’s a difficult time. I have to find a new place to live.Normally in Brazil we celebrate with family and friends. But here? I just have Maria”, she says. “My dream is to make some money and then return to Brazil and buy a house for my family. But if the chance came to stay here legally, I would consider it. But at the moment, the future is today. I take each day as it comes.”
Izzy, from Sierra Leone
After a decade-long civil war engulfed west African nation of Sierra Leone during the 1990s,Izzy felt he had no choice but to leave the country. The conflict took a high personal toll. “I lost my father, my brother, my sister and then later my mother disappeared,” he says. “I still have some uncles there but it’s difficult to know exactly where they are. I’ve been away a long time”. Although his application for asylum in the Netherlands has dragged on for over eleven years, he is confident he will be granted residency soonand he now considers Holland his home.
“I miss everything about Sierra Leone,” says Izzy. “The food. The weather. The people. Absolutely everything. But it would be very difficult for me to go back becausethe scars of the war are still there. I was born there. I grew up there and from time to time, you feel this nostalgic. You have to look at your health situation as well and if I went back I would feel overwhelmed to be in my country again. But at the same time, you have this fear of going back and bringing up all the memories again. It’s a difficult thing.”
“When you live here as an undocumented migrant,one thing that keeps you alive is contact. When you meet friends, that gives you the energy to do things every day when you wake up. But because of Covid, that has stopped.”
“Covid has affected me a lot. First, because I lost a few friends, people that I knew— both Dutch and foreigners – to the disease. But also, and I think more importantly, because of the situation where you have no contact with friends. Things are no longer the way they used to be. You don’t allow people to come and visit you any more. That’s one thing we lost.”
Izzy and his friend Kieta from Guinea buy some ingredients for the meal he will prepare for at theWorld House, a place where undocumented migrants can get a warm meal. “There are a lot of Africans in Amsterdam and many of them come to the World House,” says Izzy. “It is a place for refugees and, for most of them, it is their last hope when they have to leave the asylum camps. They have to go somewhere and usually the only place they can go is the World House. We feed them. We help them to find shelter and get back into the asylum application procedures.”
“By law I’m not allowed to work or go to university in Netherlands because I still don’t have a residency permit. But I do like to help out becauseI think I have to contribute to society as well. I sometimes cook food for people in the World House, a place where undocumented people can receive help, spend the night and get a plate of warm food.I also help out at the Red Cross sometimes, preparing food packages for undocumented people and people without income. I help at some churches as well, cooking and storytelling, teaching kickboxing, but because of Corona, most of the church activities have been suspended.”
“I am doing a course in website design. It is funded by an organisation that helps refugees. I have always had the idea of creating my own website, and maybe doing it for other people as well. So when this opportunity came, I decided to grab it and try to make something of it.I really would like to do something that will contribute to society herebecause I’ve stayed here a long time and this country has supported me, so I think I have to give something back.”
--
This story was produced and originally published by the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine. To learn about the Magazine, and to read more stories like this,click here.
From goats to gourmet
Molnárné Tomi Tünde spent much of her childhood in the kitchen next to her grandmother, learning thelocal cuisineand the ingredients that people in her part ofnorth-eastern Hungaryknew how to find in the landscape, or grow from the region’s fertile ground. Nearly everyone at that time had a garden, some sheep and a few goats.
But successivewaves of economic and social upheavalchanged all that and many people found themselves out of work and distanced from the land. Many of the old ways of making delicious food from local plants and animals fell by the wayside in a world where the main foods people could afford where industrial commodities produced at a large scale.
No wonder that even this energetic and dynamic woman — a force for various good causes in her community — never conceived that she would end up helping to reinvigorate some of her region’s traditional cuisine as a gourmet cheese master.
“I always liked cheese,” she says. “But I never dreamt of producing it.”
After all, Tünde was a social worker, not a chef.As a Red Cross employee, she was well known for organizing blood drives and other initiatives to help those hardest hit by the changes in the local economy.
Cooking up a new approach
Butthenthe Hungarian Red Crossbegancooking up a planthat would changeTünde’slife,while alsohelpingturn around the lives of many people in the area who were going through hard times.
The idea wasto createa sustainable social enterprise that wouldgenerate enough income togive marginalised people(with mental or physical disabilities,health problems or who aremembers of ethnic minority groups)achance to learn new skills, earn asteady income, andfinda place to belong.
The product thatthe Hungarian Red Cross hadsettledon was goat cheese,which would beproduced in a small factory using milk from asmall, nearbygoatfarm. To some in the region, itfirstseemed like a pretty radical idea.
“This is the first goatfarm here inMezőcsát,”Tündenoted.“The people here were surprised, and even more about the fact, thatthe Red Cross is doing something like that.Here, the Red Cross ismainlyknownforblood donation.”
The cheese factory and farmgot off the ground with funding from the Hungarian government, the European Union and the Hungarian Red Cross, andaftermany long daysput in byRedCross employees, from the local branch to Budapest,the new cheese brand was officially launched in April 2019.
The idea came from Red Cross staffwhowanted toexplorenew approaches to humanitarian workin whichasocial enterprisewouldcreate a sustainable way ofhelp disadvantaged residents of the region to find theirown long-term livelihood,instead ofonlygivingfood or other kinds of donations.
At the same time, this new humanitarian business modelwouldgive socially conscious food consumers a waytoconnectthe food they lovewith things they care about: preserving local food traditions, environmental sustainability,acts of kindnessand solidarityand,last but not least,tasty andhealthy foodsto enjoy(all the farm’s cheeses aremade with no preservatives and artificialflavors).
In the end,the goat farm was not only accepted, it took off. The Red Cross’s cheese brand,Kis-Hortobágy Major,launched in April 2019,(see here alink to itsFacebookpage and a recentYouTubepromotional video), has already found a home on shelves in markets fromMezőcsátto Budapest.
Becoming a master cheese maker
Fortunately, when leadership from theHungarian Red Crossasked Tünde to consider directing the operation, she did have some experience to fall back on. “My grandmother and great-grandmother used to make cheese,” she says. “They owned cows, so [the process] was not entirely new to me.”
Still Tünde had some homework to do. Just passed her 50th birthday, Tünde reinvented herself, putting all her culinary and people skills to the test. Fortunately, her husband Tibor had some experience with animals and took on the task of running the goat farm. Tünde, meanwhile, sharpened her own culinary talents and studied to become a certified master cheese maker.
“We usually wake up very early, at 4 o’clock,” she says. “We drink our coffee with my husband. We start working at 5 o’clock, I go to the cheese factory, and he goes to the farm.”
In the beginning,there were 10 people taking care of 50 goatsand preparing the handmade gourmet cheese in a modern and accessible factory building. Today,Kis-Hortobágy Major is financially self-sustainableand its farmstead housesmore than 90 goats, 200 hens and quails and it boasts a large vegetable garden, giving work to the employees who prepare dairy products ranging from smoked cheese to orda, parenica, yoghurt and many other products.
A growing farm, a big family
“I never worked at a farm before, but I like it,” says Norbi, one of the farm workers, whose tasks on any given day might range from feeding the chickens to milking goats or tending the garden.
One of the workers in the cheese factory says she’s also learned a variety of new skills. “I’ve learned how cheese is produced, I had no clue about it earlier,” she says.
Aside fromproviding jobs to people who really need them, Kis-Hortobágy Majoris playing a role in a growing movement that celebrates locally produced, artisanal productsas a key part of finding solutions to a range of social and environmental challenges.
But for many of the workers, it’s about even more.
“For me it’s not just a working place, it’s like a family,” says one of the farm workers.
That family spirit comes through during meals when team members sit down together to share the fruits of their labors. Using their own goat cheese to make the meal is only natural since goat cheese is used in a wide range of regional dishes, from salads to pastries and meat dishes.
But it’s not just Tünde’s talents in the kitchen that make this social enterprise a success. It’s also her natural compassion and experience as a social worker that make Kis-Hortobágy Major a special place to work.
“I don’t think of her as a boss,” says one of the cheese factory workers. “I think of her rather as a friend. It is very good to work with her. She listens to me and helps me in every aspect of life.”
The recipe: goat cheese blueberry cheesecake
--
This story was produced and originally published by the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine. To learn about the Magazine, and to read more stories like this,click here.
IFRC statement at the Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region pledging conference
Excellencies, distinguished representatives, ladies, and gentlemen, for years we have gathered here to support the future of Syria and the region.
After years of unrelenting conflict, the collapse of the Syrian economy, and a recent, devastating earthquake there is still no solution in sight.
And the scale of the crisis outstrips our collective humanitarian response.
The IFRC with its long-time presence in Syria, supports Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC)—the country’s largest community-based provider of humanitarian assistance to deliver quality and accountable services.
SARC provides 5 million people each month with food and relief items and supports their longer-term resilience with livelihoods support, healthcare, water, and sanitation services.
In neighbouring and host countries, the IFRC and its members, with the support of the European Union and other partners, have been providing assistanceto Syrians and host communities. We hope this continues.
The pressure to expand our humanitarian programmes is immense.
Aid alone will not reduce the humanitarian needs or contribute to a long-term resilience and sustainable recovery in Syria.
This conference is a vital opportunity to focus on a key message:
Saving lives must be our collective priority.
SARC has unparalleled and trusted access in most of the country.
Investing in local actors like SARC and National Societies in neighbouring countries is essential.
Guaranteeing their unhindered delivery of assistance ensures that donor funding is directly supporting humanitarian and recovery programmes designed by and for communities who need it most.
Ensuring basic services, and long-term economic opportunities, are critical to millions of Syrians.
Livelihoods support, and strengthening basic services like health, sanitation, and education are long-term interventions that build resilience and must be developed with the needs of the Syrian people at centre-stage.
We must also continue to work together to reduce the unintended impacts of sanctions on humanitarian response.
The IFRC, closely working with other Movement partners, will continue to deliver impartial, neutral, and independent humanitarian aid, but to do so, we need collective and convergent leadership across the political divide.
It is time for real responsibility-sharing and real solidarity amongst the international community if we want to see real and sustainable impactful change in the lives of Syrian people.
Thank you.
Nova Kakhovka dam collapse, Ukraine: How we're supporting people affected by flooding
The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine on June 6 has resulted in a devastating flood, impacting numerous communities. People have already suffered the devastating impacts of the conflict and are now displaced from their homes; many have lost their houses and belongings with the flood waters. The health risks for affected people could increase in the coming weeks and there is a need for clean drinking water.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) network is working alongside the Ukrainian Red Cross Society to provide vital assistance to people who have been affected.
Addressing immediate humanitarian needs
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the IFRC, together with its membership, is actively supporting the Ukrainian Red Cross Society in their response efforts. This includes operational, technical, and financial assistance to bolster its local capacity to deliver aid, distribute relief items, provide health support, promote good sanitation and hygiene practices, and address the immediate needs of the affected population.
Long-term recovery and rehabilitation
In addition to immediate relief efforts, the IFRC network remains committed to supporting communities affected by the flooding in their long-term recovery and rehabilitation. This includes facilitating projects to restore people’s livelihoods, provide psychosocial support, and rehabilitate damaged infrastructure to help communities rebuild their lives.
In the aftermath of the Nova Kakhovka Dam collapse, the IFRC network and Ukrainian Red Cross Society stand united in providing unwavering support to affected communities.
Since February 2022, the IFRC has scaled up its response with the Ukrainian Red Cross, together with National Societies from around the world. Together, we provide urgent humanitarian assistance to people in Ukraine and those who have been forced to flee to other countries.
Together, we are working tirelessly to address immediate needs, offer hope, and pave the way for long-term recovery. With the power of compassion and solidarity, we are committed to rebuilding lives and restoring resilience in the face of this devastating event.
--
Click here for more information about our work supporting people in Ukraine.
National Society Investment Alliance: 2023 call for applications now open
The fifth round of applications for the National Society Investment Alliance (NSIA) is now open.
The NSIAis a pooled funding mechanism, run jointly by the IFRC and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
It provides flexible, multi-year funding to support the long-term development of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies—particularly those in complex emergencies and protracted crisis—so they can increase the reach and impact of their humanitarian services.
The NSIA can award up to one million Swiss francs ofaccelerator fundingto any one National Society over a five-year period. In addition,bridge grantsof up to 50,000 Swiss francs over 12 months can help National Societies prepare the ground for future investment from the NSIA or from elsewhere.
How to apply
Interested National Societies should applyusing this online form,where all application documents are also located.
The deadline for submissions ismidnight (CET) on Tuesday 11 July 2023.
Please contact the NSIA Office if you have any questions about the application process:[email protected]
More information
Please visit our dedicatedNational Society Investment Alliance (NSIA)page for more information on how the NSIA works, how it's funded, and details of previous years' allocations. You can also read our latest NSIA Annual Report.
Andclick here to learn more about our work supporting National Society Development.
Sudan conflict: Sudanese Red Crescent Society and IFRC teams responding
Latest information
Sudan: Complex emergency- our Emergency Appeal to support people inside Sudan
Sudan crisis: Regional population movement- our Emergency Appeal to support people fleeing the conflict to neighbouring countries
--
Fighting broke out in Marawei military base, Sudan on 15 April and then escalated rapidly in Khartoum and across the country. Reports indicate that hundreds of peoplehave lost their lives, with thousands more wounded and in need of urgent medical attention.
Civilians are unable to access food or water because shops remain closed and their safety is not assured. Basic services like electricity and internet services have been disrupted. So far, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced internally or fled across borders to seek safety in neighbouring countries.
Medical personnel are struggling to access health facilities due to the fighting. Hospitals that are usually re-stocked every 2-3 days are now going weeks withoutsupplies. Some of the most urgent needs in hospitals are first aid kits, diesel for power generators, stretchers, and beds, as well as transportation for medical staff and volunteers.
This latest flare-up of violence threatens to worsen a humanitarian crisis in a region that has suffered from years of violence, instability, economic hardship andfood insecurity.
Our response so far
More than 200 Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) volunteers have been deployed in Khartoum to offer first aid services and psychosocial support to those affected.
Hundreds of volunteers have also been deployed in other states; North Darfur, South Darfur and Northern State (Merawi) to offer first aid services in hospitals.
Volunteers are running a family reunification service for people who have been separated from their loved ones, offering psychosocial support to those who have lost contact.
On 2 May we launched an Emergency Appeal for Sudanfor 30 million Swiss francsto scale-up the Sudanese Red Crescent Society's local, life-saving action in the country, in collaboration and coordination with members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The IFRC has also made the following funding allocations to National Societies through ourDisaster Response Emergency Fund(DREF):
475,320 Swiss francs to the Sudanese Red Crescent Societyto enable them to provide health services, psychosocial support, and search and rescue efforts across multiple states. Find out more.
137,369 Swiss francs to the Chad Red Cross to help them support the growing number of people fleeing the conflict and crossing the border into Chad. Find out more.
305,832Swiss francs to the Egyptian Red Crescent to help them support the growing number of people fleeing the conflict and crossing the border into Egypt.Find out more.
485,297 Swiss francs to the Ethiopian Red Crossto help them support the growing number of people fleeing the conflict and crossing the border into Ethiopia. Find out more.
355,567 Swiss francs to the South Sudan Red Crossto help them support the growing number of people fleeing the conflict and crossing the border into South Sudan. Find out more.
223,438 Swiss francs to the Central African Republic Red Cross to help themsupport the growing number of people fleeing the conflict and crossing the border into Central African Republic. Find out more.
We continue to call on parties involved in the conflict to provide vital humanitarian space. With every single hour that the wounded and the sick cannot receive urgent assistance, the human toll continues to grow. Health-care facilities must be protected, and their personnel and transport must be given safe passage. It is an urgent priority for us to be able to reach these facilities and for maintenance teams to reach power and water stations.
For more information
English:
Reuters article 'Red Cross warns of possible humanitarian disaster on Sudan-Chad border'(23 May)
Audio report from IFRC Deputy Regional Director for Africa (17 May)
Press release about an IFRC shipment of aid arriving in Port Sudan (16 May)
Audio update from IFRC Africa Migration and Displacement Coordinator (5 May)
SciDev.net article 'Sudan conflict leaves health system in 'total collapse'quotingIFRC Head of Country office for Sudan (27 April)
Audio report from IFRC Operations Manager in Sudan, Mohamed El Amin Ibrahim (26 April)
ABC interview with Farid Abdulkadir, IFRC Head of Country office for Sudan (25 April)
Al Jazeera English interview with Farid Abdulkadir, IFRC Head of Country office for Sudan (20 April)
Reuters article 'Almost impossible to provide aid in Sudanese capital', quotingIFRC Head of Country office for Sudan (April 18)
Other languages:
(Arabic) AlQAhera interview with IFRC MENA Regional Head of Disasters (28 April)
(Arabic) AlQAhera interview with IFRC Head of Country office for Sudan (25 April)
(Spanish) El Pais article quotingOsama Osman, Director of Communications at the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (19 April)
Media enquiries
If you are a journalist and would like more information or to request an interview about this emergency, please contact [email protected]
Follow these Twitter accounts for the latest updates:
IFRC Africa Regional Team: @IFRCAfrica
Sudanese Red Crescent Society: @SRCS_SD
Farid Abdulkadir, IFRC Head of Country office for Sudan: @FARID1969
@IFRC
Donations
If you would like to donate to help us support people affected by the conflict in Sudan, please click here.
We are grateful for your valuable support. You can learn more about donating to the IFRC here.
Türkiye and Syria earthquakes: IFRC response to date
Two devastating earthquakes (magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6) struck southeast Türkiye in the early hours of Monday 6 February 2023, followed by several aftershocks. The earthquakes killed tens of thousands of people and injured many more in the region, as well as in bordering Syria.
This was the largest earthquake Türkiye and Syria have faced in more than a century.
Both the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and Turkish Red Crescent responded immediately, with thousands of volunteers and staff working around the clock to provide life-saving care.
Months later, millions of people continue to be affected and displaced and in need of shelter, health and mental health services, sanitation, food, and water.
Our emergency appeals
The IFRC launched two Emergency Appeals to support the response of our National Societies on the ground, with a combined value of 650 million Swiss francs (CHF). Follow these links to learn more about each appeal and priorities for the response:
In Syria:200 million Swiss francs to support the Syrian Arab Red Crescent
In Türkiye: 450million Swiss francs to support the Turkish Red Crescent
Donations
Please use the following links to donate to our response in each country:
Donate to Syria response
Donate to Türkiye response
We are grateful for your valuable support which will enable us to help the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and Turkish Red Crescent to deliver lifesaving support.
Click here for general information about donating to the IFRC.
Media enquiries
If you are a journalist and would like more information or to request an interview about this emergency, please [email protected].
What are our National Societies doing?
Both the Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent have been at the very heart of this earthquake response.
InTürkiye, Turkish Red Crescent deployed more than 5,000 staff and volunteers in ten affected provinces with stocks of food and basic aid items to support those injured and evacuated. Teams have distributed more than 300 million hot mealstopeople outdoors and at emergency shelters.
InSyria, Syrian Arab Red Crescent teams responded with 4,000 volunteers and staff inthehardest hit areas – including Hama, Aleppo, Lattakia and Tartous. Through their clinics and mobile health units, they have provided healthcare and medicines for more than 1.1 million people. And they have distributed more than 3.2 million humanitarian relief items,including shelter, blankets, mattresses, winter clothes, hygiene supplies, and food and agriculture supplies.
Red Crescent National Societies in both Türkiye and Syria are providing mental health and psychosocial support to those in need to alleviate distress and refer them to long-term mental health care services where necessary.
The earthquake prompted a huge wave of solidarity from the IFRC network: dozens of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from aroundthe world have offered technical support. Many of them have supported the Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent with emergency relief items. Almost 60 National Societies have started domestic fundraising campaigns.
Follow these Twitter accounts for the latest updates:
@IFRC
@IFRC_Europe
@IFRC_MENA
@SYRedCrescent- Syrian Arab Red Crescent
@RedCrescent- Turkish Red Crescent
@BirgitteEbbesen - IFRC Europe Regional Director, Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen
@elsharkawi - IFRC MENA Regional Director, Hossam Elsharkawi
Useful links
Press release from 3 March: "Türkiye and Syria one month on: A mental health ticking time bomb"
Press release from 16 February: "Syria and Türkiye: IFRC increases emergency funding ask to CHF 650 million, as humanitarian needs rise"
Press release from 11 February: "IFRC calls for long term support and solidarity for the people of Türkiye and Syria"
Our first press release from Monday 6 February with an initial update and announcing our two appeals.
Rights-free photos and videos from our response so far which you can download and use.
General information about earthquakes and earthquake preparedness.
Last year ‘eighth in a row’ of temperatures above pre-industrial level, threatening Paris target of 1.5°C
This article was originally posted on the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre website here.
The past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fuelled by “ever-rising emissions and accumulated heat”, according to six international datasets consolidated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and explained yesterday.
The WMO says the global temperature last year was 1.15°C above an 1850–1900 baseline, and 2022 was the eighth year in a row that it reached at least 1°C above pre-industrial levels, apress releasefrom Geneva said.
“The likelihood of – temporarily – breaching the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement is increasing with time,” it added.
The persistence of a coolingLa Niña, now in its third year, means that 2022 was not the warmest on record, but at least the sixth warmest nevertheless.
The WMO work shows a ten-year global average to 2022 of 1.14°C above the 19th century baseline, compared to the IPCC’s most recent figure 1.09°C for the decade to 2020, indicating that long-term warming continues.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said yesterday: “In 2022, we faced several dramatic weather disasters which claimed far too many lives and livelihoods and undermined health, food, energy and water security and infrastructure.
“Large areas of Pakistan were flooded, with major economic losses and human casualties. Record-breaking heatwaves have been observed in China, Europe, North and South America [and] drought in the Horn of Africa threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.
“There is a need to enhance preparedness for such extreme events and to ensure that we meet the UN target of early warnings for all in the next five years.”
The WMO said its provisionalState of the Global Climate in 2022report speaks of “record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere”, continuing to cause extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating floods, and affecting millions of people.
Responding to the latest figures on global temperature, IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said: “People around the globe are feeling the effects of our warming climate, and scientific data continues to reinforce this terrifying reality. Inclusive climate action, led by those most at risk, is key to combating the climate crisis.
"The window to implement life-saving adaptation measures is slowly closing, but there is still time to help communities adapt to climate-related disasters, including investments in early warning systems that reach everyone.”
Last September, the IFRC unveiled aOne Fund, Two Pillarsapproach for its Disaster Response Emergency Fund, reflecting an increased commitment to anticipatory action.
Temperature rankings of individual years should be considered in the long-term context since the differences between years can be marginal, the WMO press release added. “Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one. This is expected to continue.”