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This document provides additional background information to complement our Roadmap on Technological and Biological (CBRN) Hazard Preparedness.
It provides an overview of multi-hazard risk management, an explanation of CBRN terminology, data and figures, and case studies relevant to the IFRC network.
The Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is warning that communities will suffer due to a lack of urgency expressed in the final text of the COP28 summit. While welcoming much of the agreement, Jagan Chapagain warns it does not go far enough, fast enough and that financial commitment is lacking to meet the needs of communities.
Reacting to the agreement, Chapagain said:
“This agreement is a step in the right direction – but we needed a leap. The establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund and progress on the Global Goal on Adaptation are both welcome. It’s good, too, that there’s some improved language on mitigation. But this is not yet backed by the necessary finance, and everything is happening far too slowly. We need to be focused on reaching those who need action most. Communities are suffering now. They need action now.”
The IFRC is particularly keen to comment on three areas of the agreement:
On mitigation
Whilst the text may have moved further than before, the current actions outlined will not be enough to keep the planet below 1.5 degrees of warming. If – or when – we pass this threshold, the humanitarian consequences will be dire. We will see more intense, frequent and overlapping extreme climate and weather events destroying homes, lives and livelihoods, with sea level rise taking away people’s lands and ways of life.
On adaptation
The agreement on targets and a framework for the ‘Global Goal on Adaptation’ is welcome and encouraging. However, communities need more than good intentions. To achieve adaptation targets, build resilience and reduce vulnerability, financial backing is needed, and now. We call on parties to quickly move beyond the doubling commitment on adaptation, to truly close the gap.
Adaptation must also reach the communities who need it most, many who are currently getting left behind. In a positive move forward, COP28 recognized this challenge and proposed action in a new Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace. This declaration commits to "substantially scale-up financial resources for climate adaptation and resilience building... in situations of fragility, conflict, or severe humanitarian needs”. The important – and hardest part – will be putting these words into action.
On Loss and Damage
One real success of COP28 was establishing a formal ‘Loss and Damage Fund’. But that funding structure now needs funds! While current commitments get the fund off the ground, they are a tiny fraction of what’s needed. This also needs effective coordination with wider funding arrangements to identify gaps and reach people in need.
The IFRC
The IFRC supports communities to prepare for and react to extreme weather and climate-related hazards all over the world. Those hazards are getting more frequent and worse. In just the last two weeks alone, while COP28 has been underway, Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers have been helping people following floods in Kenya, Angola, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic and Tanzania. Families and communities are already dealing with the very real impacts of extreme weather and as climate change gets more severe, those needs will grow exponentially. We therefore remind the world that words are never enough. We need action, a great leap forward in action.
Interviews are available with IFRC leaders and climate policy experts.
Contact: Andrew Thomas +41 76 3676587; [email protected]
Ankara/Damascus, 3 August 2023: Six months after the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) calls for urgent support to affected communities still reeling from the monumental impacts of the disaster.
Although recovery efforts are well underway, the earthquakes have had an immeasurable impact, leading to the loss of thousands of lives and affecting millions more.
“We have seen astounding resilience in communities, but people still find themselves stuck in a very difficult situation,” says Ruben Cano, IFRC Head of Delegation in Türkiye. “Many people in Türkiye – particularly those who lost their homes and income – are still struggling with their day-to-day needs, including paying for food, rent and other necessities. A ‘normal’ life is still far from reach.”
Many people are falling deeper into debt to help cover their needs while they recover and build back income sources. More than 50 percent of families supported by the IFRC and Turkish Red Crescent are taking on new debts after the earthquakes as the country battles inflation and a drastic increase in prices.
In Syria, the reality for many people is even more dire – the earthquake's impact, coupled with 12 years of conflict, has rendered recovery exceedingly challenging. The economic situation continues to push already vulnerable communities deeper into hardship and uncertainty.
“The rescue phase of the earthquake response may have concluded, but the emergency situation persists,” says Mads Brinch Hansen, IFRC Head of Delegation in Syria. “Immediate international support is needed right now, both to meet immediate humanitarian needs, as well as to build people’s resilience and rehabilitate vital infrastructure and community services, which are on the brink of collapse.”
The IFRC, together with the Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent, has been at the very heart of this response since day one. Teams have been providing immediate relief to affected communities, including food, water, shelter, healthcare and mental health and psychosocial support. Financial support through cash and vouchers is helping many families recover as best they can, as is support for rebuilding businesses and opportunities for income.
The IFRC launched two Emergency Appeals, one for Türkiye and one for Syria, totaling CHF 500 million. There is still a funding gap of 74% in Türkiye and 56% in Syria. Further support and funding are urgently needed to make a significant impact on the lives of those affected and empower individuals to rebuild their lives and contribute to their local economies in both Syria and Türkiye in the long term.
Notes to the editor:
More about the operation in Türkiye: click here
The Turkish Red Crescent has been providing 416 million meals to affected communities and responders in the last six months while also ensuring people have clean water, essential hygiene items and health services. Teams have set up safe spaces offering mental health and psychosocial support to many children, parents, first responders and other individuals who need it. To help survivors buy the items they need as they recover, cash assistance has been given to more than 137,000 families in partnership with the IFRC and WFP. In partnership with the IFRC, the Turkish Red Crescent has reached over 590,000 people with cash and voucher assistance.
For the short-term, multipurpose cash assistance gives people the opportunity to buy what they need the most, but it will also be a vital tool to provide livelihood assistance to those who lost their jobs or their sources of income. IFRC and the Turkish Red Crescent are currently ramping up aid support for livelihood assistance to people with a focus on agriculture, animal husbandry and small businesses.
The IFRC Emergency Appeal is seeking CHF 400 million to support the Turkish Red Crescent response has already been funded up to CHF 105.5 million, thanks to some of our national societies’ support, the generosity of multiple governments, the European Union and the international community. The current funding gap is approximately 74 per cent.
More about the operation in Syria: click here
Communities affected by the earthquake in Syria are grappling with the daily struggle for survival, as access to necessities like food, water, shelter, and medical care is becoming increasingly scarce.
Since day one, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) staff and volunteers were the first on the ground to respond, and they have provided more than 12 million humanitarian services, including food, water, shelter, healthcare and mental health support to the affected population.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent continues to be the main humanitarian actor in Syria and is covering the impacts of the earthquake on a broad scale, including food, water, shelter, healthcare and mental health support, and items to meet people’s basic needs. It will continue to support communities over the years to come. So far, SARC provides 80% of the Syrian population with safe water through the treatment and maintenance of damaged water infrastructure and has a network of 229 health facilities, which represent a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
The IFRC Emergency Appeal seeking CHF 100 million to support the SARC response has already been funded up to CHF 44million, with a current funding gap of approximately 56%.
For more information or to coordinate an interview, please contact: [email protected]
Global: Anna Tuson: +41 79 895 6924
Syria: Mey Al Sayegh: +96176174468
Türkiye: Sevil Erkus: +905366449122
As the escalation of hostilities in Israel and Palestine enters its fourth month, the conflict continues to take the lives of civilians, disrupt the delivery of life-saving medical care, interrupt critical services that people rely on to survive, and leave families grieving the loss of loved ones.
The IFRC has called on all parties for humanitarian access across Gaza and West Bank, the release of hostages, the protection of civilians, hospitals and humanitarian workers from indiscriminate attack and compliance with international humanitarian law.
Among those killed have been humanitarian aid and health workers who lost their lives while trying to save others, as well as people seeking safety and care at health facilities.
IFRC and National Society response
Meanwhile, IFRC member National Societies in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories continue to respond to urgent humanitarian needs and to provide life-saving assistance and other essential services. The IFRC, meanwhile, is supporting its National Societies Magen David Adom in Israel and the Palestinian Red Crescent in their on-going, live-saving work.
Israel
Magen David Adom in Israel (MDA) has been supporting affected communities since the beginning, with ambulance and medical services on call 24/7. Staff and volunteers have been working tirelessly, putting their lives and well-being in harm's way to tend to the wounded and deceased. A total of 1,500 ambulances and 10,000 first responders (EMTs and paramedics) have been mobilized. Since 7 October, they have treated over 4,000 patients.
These staff members and volunteers have been working under difficult and dangerous circumstances. Tragically, several volunteers and staff have died in line of duty, killed while treating patients. Several others also suffered major or minor injuries while on duty. Ambulances have also come under attack at various times during the hostilities.
The MDA has also supported the Ministry of Health in the transfer of patients and the evacuation of bed-ridden people close to the border. MDA is also helping communities prepare in case of further escalation. For example, the National Society offers free, first-aid training focusing on trauma care. It has also gathered, tested and processed over 50,000 units of blood to supply ambulances, mobile intensive care units, hospitals and clinics.
Palestine
As the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen, Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) teams are working around the clock in extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances. Already, several PRCS volunteers have been killed in the escalating violence. Most recently, on 10 January 2024, four PRCS ambulance crew members were killed along with two patients when their ambulance was hit.
Earlier in January, continuous shelling near the Al-Amal Hospital and PRCS headquarters in Khan Yunis also resulted in several casualties, including a 5-day old baby, and displaced thousands who were seeking refuge at the hospital. Read the IFRC’s statement condemining the attacks here.
In the meantime, the combination of shelling around health care facilities — along with a lack of supplies and fuel, power and communications outages, damage to infrastructure and mounting demand — is pushing Gaza’s severely damaged health services to the brink of collapse. For the people of Gaza, there are also drastic shortages of critical basic necessities, such as fuel, water, food and medical supplies.
These shortages have also pushed PRCS Emergency Medical Service (EMS) centers to their limits. By late December, two PRCS EMS centers in Gaza and Northern Gaza were out of service, unable to provide emergency response and rescue services due to fuel shortages and restricted access. Hospitals in the North are also non-functional, making humanitarian evacuations impossible.
The IFRC commends the bravery of PRCS volunteers and paramedics, many of whom have lost family members or been detained, yet continue to respond selflessly.
Life-saving care continues
Despite the challenges, PRCS has continued to provide critical, life-saving care. In the Gaza Strip, the PRCS has provided emergency medical care to roughly 15,000 injured people as of 5 January, 2024. PRCS ambulance crews have also responded following the deaths of more than 5,000 people killed due to the conflict.
This life-saving work is being done in the face of regular power and communications blackouts as well as the extreme danger posed by the on-going conflict. Since the beginning of hostilities, PRCS teams have reported shelling very close to their hospitals, ambulance center, main warehouse, and headquarters causing injuries, damaging the buildings and restricting access to the hospitals.
Meanwhile, PRCS staff have also distributed relief items to internally displaced families in temporary shelters and at their hospitals. Aid items include food parcels, milk, blankets, mattresses, water as well as some hygiene kits, kitchen sets, and baby necessities.
In the West Bank, PRCS has provided emergency medical care to more than 3,700 injured people. Ambulance crews have also transported more than 115 people killed in the fighting.
Aid delivery to Gaza so far
As of December 31, 2023, more than 5,200 trucks containing medical supplies, food, water and hygiene products were delivered to Gaza and distributed by PRCS and UNRWA. Notably, more than 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid entered North Gaza during a humanitarian pause, while 81 ambulances were also distributed.
Following an earlier blockage on all fuel imports,fuel and cooking gas has also been supplied to Gaza, however it still falls far short of what is needed for daily life, basic services and humanitarian response.
The Egyptian Red Crescent (ERCS) is at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Gaza, with support from over 39 countries and UN agencies. ERCS volunteers work tirelessly in shifts to ensure that aid is sorted and repackaged for entry into Gaza.
In collaboration with PRCS, ERCS is also helping to establish a camp in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, to house displaced people. Additionally, the Qatari Red Crescent is working with PRCS to set up a field hospital in Rafah that will include 50 beds, an ICU, and an operating room.
But the aid that has been received is only a drop in the ocean considering the immense needs of Gaza’s two million people.
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt
In view of the scale of likely needs and in order to complement the PRCS’s response efforts outlined in their appeal, the IFRC will enhance the capacities to respond through an Emergency Appeal by coordinating the response in neighbouring countries to the occupied Palestine Territories.
The IFRC will be supporting – in close coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - the response of its membership, as significant humanitarian actors in their own geographies, and strengthen their organizational capacities.
The IFRC also launched this Emergency Appeal, the IFRC and its membership seek CHF 30 million (CHF 20 million of which is expected to be raised by the IFRC Secretariat)to support the Lebanese Red Cross, Egyptian Red Crescent, Syrian Arab Red Crescent and Jordanian Red Crescent in preparing and strengthening their response readiness to the potential escalation of hostilities in the region and subsequent humanitarian needs.
On 13, October, the IFRC also allocated CHF 1 million from its Disaster Emergency Relief Fund to support a wide range of humanitarian assistance in the occupied Palestinian territories impacted by the hostilities.
The highest price
Since the escalation of hostilities began on 7 October, the IFRC has decried the fact that civilians are paying the “highest price” in the hostilities and has called on all parties to allow humanitarian organizations to safely access and support people impacted by the crisis.
In a joint statement on 14 October, IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain and ICRC Director General Robert Mardini said they were “appalled to see the human misery that has unfolded” and that “civilians - including women and children, the elderly, and the wounded and sick - are currently paying the highest price.”
“Human suffering is happening on all sides,” the statement said. “And it is always devastating. The death of a son or daughter, a sibling, a parent, is a human tragedy no matter where it happens or who it happens to. Civilian life must be protected on all sides.”
The IFRC governing board, which includes National Society leaders from all parts of the globe, also expressed its shock and horror at the “growing humanitarian needs and the mounting loss of life” in a special statement released on 20 October.
“This situation underscores the critical importance of access to all civilians, including those held hostage,” the statement continued.
Since that time, the IFRC has continued to raise the alarm about an increasingly dire situation. In early November, the IFRC called for “safe and unhindered access across the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages” and most recently, the IFRC released a statement on 5 January 2024 condemning the continuous shelling near the Al-Amal Hospital and PRCS headquarters in Khan Yunis that led to “the loss of innocent civilian lives.”
Media enquiries
If you are a journalist and would like more information or to request an interview about this emergency, please email [email protected].
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@elsharkawi - IFRC MENA Regional Director, Hossam Elsharkawi
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@BirgitteEbbesen - IFRC Regional Director for Europe, Birgitte Ebbesen
Ankara, 6 December 2023: As a significant milestone in its commitment to humanitarian aid, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) concluded the implementation of the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) Programme and handed it over to the Ministry of Family and Social Services (MoFSS) of the Republic of Türkiye alongside Türk Kızılay, which will continue to be the implementing partner, with the financial support of the European Union (EU).
To mark this pivotal moment, the IFRC hosted an event on 6 December 2023 that included a photo exhibition at The Ankara Hotel, with the presence of the Head of Unit for Southeast Europe and Eastern Neighbourhood for the EU’s Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) Juha Auvinen and the Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the EU to Türkiye Odoardo Como.
The IFRC was represented by Regional Director for the Europe and Central Asia Office Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Family and Social Services by its Deputy Minister Zafer Tarıkdaroğlu and Türk Kızılay by its Director General for International Affairs and Migration Services Alper Küçük.
“This programme has successfully provided monthly cash assistance to more than 1.5 million vulnerable refugees in Türkiye,” said Jessie Thomson, IFRC Türkiye’s Head of Delegation. “Today, we proudly hand over the programme to the capable hands of the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Family and Social Services and Türk Kızılay. We are thrilled to see this vital programme continue in support of the most vulnerable refugees in Türkiye for the years to come.”
“The first step towards the great goals we all aspire to, such as sustainable development and lasting peace, is to empower individuals in need of protection. This is our perspective as Turkish people and the policy we wish to convey to the international community,” said Adil Çalışkan, MoFSS Director General. “With this will, I believe that the ESSN Programme, which we have been implementing since 2016 will continue being one of the best practices of humanitarian assistance in the world following this new milestone.”
Since 2020, the partnership between the IFRC and Türk Kızılay, together with the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Family and Social Services, had been leading on this EU-funded cash programme, which provided cash assistance to more than 1.5 million refugees in Türkiye on monthly basis via the KIZILAYKART debit card, with the specific objective of stabilizing and improving the living standards of the most vulnerable households.
"Türk Kızılay assumes a crucial role as a bridge that connects Türkiye's social assistance network to the extensive international assistance framework," said Alper Küçük, Türk Kızılay’s Director General for International Affairs and Migration Services. “Positioned centrally, the organization actively facilitates the exchange and coordination of resources, information, and expertise between national and international domains. Serving as a vital nexus, it plays a pivotal role in integrating humanitarian efforts across local, regional and global scales, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of social assistance initiatives."
The ESSN Programme in Türkiye, also known as the largest humanitarian cash programme in the history of the EU, was first implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Türk Kızılay in 2016, in partnership with the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Family and Social Services, funded by DG ECHO. This financial support was crucial in increasing the economic resilience of the refugee population while enabling them to meet their most essential needs.
“In 2016, we faced an unprecedented refugee crisis. Through the ESSN, we demonstrated that the EU, Türkiye and international humanitarian organizations could work together to create a unique humanitarian programme, which brought relief to millions of refugees,” explained Juha Auvinen, Head of Unit for Southeast Europe of the EU’s Humanitarian Aid Operations.”
The Ministry of Family and Social Services, as the main applicant with Türk Kızılay as the co-applicant, have taken over the implementation of this programme since August 2023, and will continue serving millions of vulnerable refugees in Türkiye with the financial support of the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) under the ministry’s collective Social Safety Net Programme (SSN).
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is devastated to confirm the killing of an on-duty Ethiopian Red Cross staff member in the northern Tigray region of the country. Woldu Aregawi Berha – an ambulance driver – was shot while in a vehicle clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem. He was severely injured and died before reaching hospital.
The IFRC condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the killing. Healthcare workers must be respected and protected in every situation.
The IFRC sends its deepest condolences to the man’s family and to his colleagues in the Ethiopian Red Cross.
Since the start of the year, seven members of the IFRC network teams lost their lives while carrying out their life-saving humanitarian work. This is unacceptable. They are #NotATarget.
Dr. Hossam Elsharkawi has more than 30 years’ experience in the humanitarian sector. His career has included assignments in more than 35 countries, comprising volunteer and professional roles across the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Dr. Elsharkawi leads the efforts of the IFRC in the Middle East and North Africa—a region comprising 17 countries with a total population of more than 500 million people. Crises include protracted wars, natural disasters, malaria, cholera, dengue, and COVID-19.He and his team focus on strengthening local health preparedness and response, water, sanitation and hygiene, volunteer mobilization, emergency medical services, psychosocial support, food and non-food aid,and targeted assistance to refugees, migrants, and internally displaced people.
Dr. Elsharkawi always seeks to reach people and communities in ‘last mile’ settings and forgotten disasters where access is challenging due to physical challenges, insecurity, stigma and marginalization.As resources are always limited, he prioritizes assistance to the most vulnerable: women, children, sick/wounded, disabled, detainees, and the elderly.
Dr. Elsharkawi was formerly Vice President of Health in Emergencies, Learning and Innovation at the Canadian Red Cross, where he led the preparedness and response for complex humanitarian emergencies. He has also previously worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop guidance for medical teams responding to health emergencies in armed conflict and insecure environments.
Dr. Elsharkawi received his PhD in Health Management/Public Health from City, University of London. He received a Certificate in Health/Health Care Administration/Management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta.
Alongside his role at the IFRC, he is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia and guest faculty at McGill where he teaches disaster response and health care in complex humanitarian crises.
The Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine was a publication and storytelling hub run by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement from 1986 to 2023. The Magazine uncovered powerful stories of disasters, climate change, health emergencies and conflict, as told by people around the world.
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Morocco on September 8, killing and injuring thousands of people and causing widespread destruction. The Moroccan Red Crescent Society (MRCS) responded immediately, providing first aid and psychosocial support, helping transport the injured to hospitals, evacuating people from damaged buildings and providing dignified burial management.Through this appeal, the IFRC is supporting MRCS to meet the immediate and early recovery needs of 500,000 affected people. Priorities include providing food and safe water, essential household items, shelter support, health and mental health services, and cash assistance.
Our Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF)has enabled National Societiesto deliver fast and effective humanitarian assistance, in response to and anticipation of crises, for 35 years. As we continue to grow and improve the Fund, the IFRC has set up a DREF Council to advise on its development and make sure it remains relevant to donors and to the people it supports.
By the Climate CentreOn Monday 12 February the IFRC approved a Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) operation for half a million Swiss francs to help the Chilean Red Cross assist nearly 10,000 people affected by the fires, which it says have had “profound consequences” and are notably worse than similar wildfires a year ago.The Chilean Red Cross is continuing to assist thousands of people affected by the wildfires that the UN now says are believed to be the deadliest on record in the country, collecting aid in kind donated by residents all over the country, and partnering with a local bank to expedite online donations.The Red Cross is also assisting on the ground with first aid and has set up a hotline to help family members separated by the fires to re-establish contact.A full account of the Chilean Red Cross response to the disaster – which President Gabriel Boric earlier this week described as the “biggest tragedy” since the 2010 earthquake – is now available (in Spanish) via an IFRC X/Twitter space.“The inhabitants of Viña del Mar, of Quilpué, of Villa Alemana, have gone through and are experiencing a situation that has been tremendously catastrophic, exceptional, unprecedented and painful,” President Boric said.Chilean authorities said Tuesday that 131 bodies had been recovered from burnt-out neighbourhoods.Destructive seasonsThe fires in Chile come two weeks after Colombia declared a disaster as nearly 30 wildfires continued to rage there out of more then 300 since November, UNDRR noted, adding that a 2022 report by the UN Environment Programme anticipated a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 per cent by 2030 “due to climate change and land-use change”.In Chile, wildfires have “dramatically risen in recent years”, according to a study published late last month in Nature journal, which researched the 2022–23 southern hemisphere summer fire-season. Nearly 2 million hectares have been ravaged by wildfires over the past ten years, the study says, three times the amount for the preceding decade, with all but one of the seven most destructive seasons observed since 2014.“Fire weather conditions (including high temperatures, low humidity, dryness, and strong winds) increase the potential for wildfires, once ignited, to rapidly spread,” the Nature authors write, while “the concurrence of El Niño and climate-fuelled droughts and heatwaves boost the local fire risk and have decisively contributed to the intense fire activity recently seen in central Chile.”MegadroughtJuan Bazo, the Climate Centre’s regional representative for Latin America, said today: “There is clear evidence that climate change and variability, including ENSO, have a significant relationship to fires in Chile, especially in the past decade when they’ve been increasingly extreme".“Unprecedentedly severe droughts and heatwaves are closely linked to wildfires and are having a serious impact on the most vulnerable communities.”Additional investments in adaptation and resilience that may be needed in the light of intensifying climate impacts include “include improving the country’s Early Warning System (EWS), a critical tool to take early action, reduce disaster risk, and support climate adaptation,” the Nature article adds.“These systems allow forecasting hazardous weather and help to minimize impacts by opportunely informing governments, communities, and individuals.”For much of the last decade, Chile has also been in the grip of what is termed a megadrought – the longest since records began, heightening the risk still further.
Zimbabwe has been grappling with a cholera outbreak since February 2023, with the number of cases increasing across the country. As of 5 November 2023, suspected and confirmed cases have been reported in all 10 provinces of the country and in 41 out of 62 districts, with the most alarming spikes in the south-eastern provinces of Masvingo and Manicaland. A total of 6,686 suspected and 1,127 confirmed cases were reported by early November. More than 6,200 people had recovered while the total number of suspected or confirmed cholera-related deaths had exceeded 175. The IFRC and its members seek CHF 3 million to support the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society to reach 550,455 people with life-saving assistance and help to contain the outbreak. A total of CHF 2 million will be raised by the IFRC secretariat.