World Disasters Report 2012
Our 2012 World Disasters Report widened and sharpened the focus on the complex causes of forced migration, and the diverse consequences for affected populations and humanitarian actors.
It revealed that to respond to the growing numbers of forced migrants worldwide, humanitarian actors, including the IFRC network, need:
Better preparedness initiatives
Better instruments for protecting vulnerable people
New tools for assessing vulnerability and building resilience
More effective community engagement and capacity building with a longer-term lens
Innovative approaches for delivering assistance
Responding to Disasters and Displacement in a Changing Climate: Case studies from Asia Pacific National Societies
Disasters and the adverse impacts of climate change are already leading to the forced displacement of more than 20 million people each year. The vast majority of this displacement (more than 80 percent) occurs in the Asia Pacific region.
This collection of case studies demonstrates the important work many National Societies across the Asia Pacific region are undertaking to address the challenge of climate-related displacement.
Literature Review on Law and Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction
This literature review contributes to the work of the IFRC Disaster Law Programme to support governments in strengthening their domestic legal frameworks to enable more effective disaster recovery.
It reviewed documents published between 1999 and 2020 and examines:
key concepts associated with disaster-related ‘recovery’ and ‘reconstruction’ as understood by governments, practitioners, scholars and international organisations
the state of international laws, rules and principles with respect to recovery and reconstruction
key legal and operational issues arising in recovery and reconstruction, which may be relevant to domestic law and policy making.
Unseen, unheard: Gender-based violence in disasters
Although it is increasingly recognized that gender-based violence (GBV) is a major feature of many conflicts, its occurrence during disasters is not as well understood. This study, commissioned by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is designed to foster that discussion within both the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and the larger humanitarian community.
The research addresses three questions:
What characterizes GBV in disasters?
In what ways should legal and policy frameworks, including disaster risk management, be adapted to address GBV in disasters?
How should National Societies and other local actors address GBV in disasters, and what support do they need to fulfil their roles?
The IFRC and community resilience: Communication guidance for National Societies
What do we mean when we saycommunity resilience?
This paper explains the IFRC’s definition of and approach to building community resilience, sets out key messages, and suggests how to communicate the rationale for promoting community resilience to a broad audience. The document draws on the IFRC’s Framework for Community Resilience.
Community Early Warning Systems: Guiding Principles
Early warning is one of many important tools that contribute to the prevention of disasters and preparedness for hazards and threats. A well-prepared National Society or NGO will understand and promote the role of people-centred early warning systems (EWS) in reducing disaster risk.
These guiding principles are one of a set of guides prepared by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), along with the guides for vulnerability and capacity assessment (VCA),public awareness and public educationand contingency planning,to provide a solid toolkit for disaster risk reduction/management practitioners.
If you are from a National Society, you can access the completeCommunity Early Warning Systems Training Toolkit on FedNethereand the related field guide here.
World Disasters Report 2018
In recent years, Governments and aid organisations have made various commitments about ensuring that the world’s most vulnerable people are not “left behind”.
But those commitments are not being reached. We estimate in the 2018 World Disasters Report that millions of people living in crisis are not receiving the humanitarian assistance they desperately need.
The report identifies five mistakes that can lead to international humanitarian actors inadvertently leaving people behind. It also includes clear and compelling recommendations to overcome these structural problems.
World Disasters Report 2016
Our 2016 World Disasters Report was all about resilience: saving lives today and investing for tomorrow.
It made the case simply and eloquently for a different approach to humanitarian action, one that strives to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable and at-risk communities. To paraphrase the report: investing in resilience saves lives and money
Public awareness and public education for disaster risk reduction guide
This guide is designed to help Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies plan and develop public awareness and public education efforts for disaster risk reduction.
Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Guidelines
The IFRC produced these guidelines following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident to help National Societies prepare for, respond to and recover from nuclear and radiological emergencies.
Learn more about technological and biological hazard preparedness.
All Under One Roof: Disability-inclusive shelter and settlements in emergencies
Persons with disabilities often experience discrimination and exclusion, despite the adoption of an increasingly rights-based approach to humanitarian assistance. All Under One Roof wants to transform the way humanitarian organisations approach inclusion and accessibility in their shelter and settlement programmes. It is the result of a collaborative process that started in 2013, involving CBM, Handicap International and the IFRC.
IFRC Health and Care Framework 2030
The IFRC’s Health and Care Framework sets out our contribution to healthier, more resilient communities and individuals. It presents the collective priorities and programming modalities that define our workin health and care. It illustratesa pathway for National Societies’ engagement with public health authorities in their auxiliary role around health and care. And itlinks the work of the IFRC in health and care to the global agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
World Disasters Report 2020
The impacts of climate change are already devastating lives and livelihoods every year, and they will only get worse without immediate and determined action.
The World Disasters Report 2020 analyses climate disaster trends and shows how we can tackle the humanitarian impacts of the climate crisis together.
Download the full report below in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Individual chapters are also available to download below in English.
You can also click here to learn more about the IFRC's work tackling the climate crisis.
Study: Localization of Humanitarian Action in the Red Cross Red Crescent
This study examines the effectiveness of support forNational Society Development(NSD) and its relevance for localization in five Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (in Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico and Turkey).It demonstrates that long-term purposeful investment in NSD increased humanitarian impact in challenging, diverse and complex environments.
Why was this study needed?
The World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 agreed a new agenda for the localization of aid, with participants committing to agreement called the “Grand Bargain” that would increase international investment in the leadership, capacity and delivery of local humanitarian organizations.Investment in long-term institutional capacity of local actors is a critical piece of the Grand Bargain – based on a shared understanding among those with long experience in the humanitarian community that it will lead to more effective and less costly aid.
This study aims to back up this understanding by documenting how sustained investment and support to NSD has resulted in the profound and positive transformation of five different National Societies.
Scroll down to download the full study report as well as the five individual country case studies.
And click here to learn more about National Society Development.
DREF Annual Report 2022
In 2022, the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) supported 91 National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies with predictable funding to anticipate specific hazards, implement early actions and respond to disasters, allocating almost 60 million Swiss Francs.
The Fund supported 154 operations through 32 loans to Emergency Appeals, 114 grant allocations to operations in anticipation and response to hazards, and 8 triggered Early Action Protocols, which collectively supported National Societies to reach more than 15 million people.