Global Leadership Team
The IFRC's Global Leadership Team is made up of our Secretary General, three Under Secretaries General, five Regional Directors, the Director of the Office of the Secretary General and the Director of the Office of Internal Audit and Investigations. Discover them below.
Contingency planning
Contingency planning means preparing an organization to be ready to respond effectively in the event of an emergency. It is an important part of the IFRC'swork supporting National Society preparedness. Time spent in contingency planning equals time saved when a disaster strikes.
Hailstorms
Hail is a type of solid rain made up of balls or lumps of ice. Storms that produce hail which reaches the ground are known as hailstorms. They typically last for no more than 15 minutes but can cause injuries to people and damage buildings, vehicles and crops. When hail builds up it can cause a loss of power, bring down trees and cause flash floods and mudslides in steep areas. Hailstorms can sometimes be accompanied by other severe weather events, such as cyclones and tornadoes.On rare occasions, massive hailstones have been known to cause concussions andfatal head injuries.
Wildfires
Wildfires (also known as bushfires, brush fires or forest fires) arelarge, uncontrolled and potentially destructive fires that can affect both rural and urban areas.They can spread quickly, change direction and even 'jump' across large distances when embers and sparks are carried by the wind. They are caused by a range of natural causes (such as lightning) or by human carelessness (such as a discarded cigarette). The spread of a wildfire depends onthe arrangement of land,available fuel (vegetation or dead wood)and weather conditions (wind and heat). They can start in just seconds and turn into infernos in a matter of minutes.
Avalanches
An avalanche, sometimes called a snowslide,is the rapid flow ofsnow, ice and/or rockdown a slopeor mountain.Theycan be triggered by natural forces such as precipitation, earthquakesor the weakening of snowpack (layers of slow that accumulate in areas of high elevation and cold temperatures). They can also be caused by human activity when someone walks or rides over a weak area of snow. Slab avalanches—when a large slabof stronger ice or snow dislodges from ontop of a weaker snow layer—are the most dangerous. Avalanches can obstruct everything in their path, destroy entire buildings and lead to serious injury and death.
Haiti: Earthquake and Cholera
A major 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on 14 August 2021, killing more than 2,000 people and causing widespread destruction to people's homes and infrastructure. The Haiti Red Cross Society responded rapidly to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to those affected. More than one year on, this Emergency Appeal is supporting ongoing recovery and reconstruction efforts. And in December 2022, we revised the Appeal to also help the Haiti Red Cross Society control a Cholera outbreak in the country through water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and community engagement activities.
Red Cross Society of Niger
Earthquakes
An earthquake is a sudden andrapid shaking of the ground caused by the shifting of rocks beneath the earth’s surface, or by volcanic or magmatic activity in the earth. Earthquakes strike suddenly, without warning, and can occur at any time. Theycan lead to death, injuries, property damage, loss of shelter and livelihoodsand disruption of critical infrastructure.Most deaths are due to buildingscollapsing or to secondary hazards, such as fires, tsunamis, flooding, landslides and release of chemicals or toxic materials.
Cold waves
A cold wave, sometimes knownas a cold snap or deep freeze, is a weather event involving a cooling of the air,or the invasion of very cold air, over a large area. It is marked by a drop of average temperature well belowthe averages of a region. Cold waves can havenegative impactson people, crops, properties and services. Theycan be preceded or accompanied by significant winter weather events, such as blizzards or ice storms. And they can feel even colder during periods of high winds.
Heat waves
A heat wave is an extended period of unusually high temperatures and often high humidity.They are expected to become more frequent and more severe in future due to climate change. People affected by heat waves cansufferfrom shock, becomedehydrated and developserious heat illnesses. Heat waves can also worsenchronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
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Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of the Secretary General
Christopher Rassi has worked in various roles with the IFRC, including most recently as Head of Country Cluster Delegation, based in Bangkok, Thailand and Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific. In this capacity, Christopher worked with National Societies in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as with IFRC leadership throughout Southeast Asia.
Before joining the IFRC, Christopher had several roles with the United Nations and in private law practice. He worked with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and with the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in The Hague, Netherlands and Arusha, Tanzania. He was also a foreign law clerk at the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg. He serves on the Board of the Jean-Pictet Competition in International Humanitarian Law.
Mozambique Red Cross Society
Regional Director for Asia Pacific
Alexander Matheou has worked in the humanitarian sector for 20 years, both within and outside the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. He has worked across a variety of fields, including: disaster response, food security, social exclusion, displacement and migration, HIV/TB prevention and institutional development.
Prior to taking on his current role at IFRC, Alexander was the Executive Director of International at the British Red Cross.
Previously, Alexander held several high-level positions at the IFRC in Africa and the former Soviet Union. He was also Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in India and worked for the Open Society Foundations and the International Finance Corporation in Russia and Central Asia. Alexander is a regular contributor of opinion pieces on humanitarian and development issues to an assortment of audiences and forums.
Mexican Red Cross