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Climate change increased the chance of the “extreme fire weather” witnessed in Australia over the past few months by at least 30 per cent, says a new analysis by World Weather Attribution scientists.
The true figure could be “much higher” because models underestimate the trend in heat extremes – one of the main factors making up indicators of fire danger.
If global temperatures were to rise by 2°C, the study adds, the fire-weather conditions experienced in summer 2019–20 “would be at least four times more common as a result of human-caused climate change,” a WWA press release says.
The researchers, from Australian, European and American universities and research institutes = including the Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Centre - used an international Fire Weather Index first developed by Canada and France and adapted for use in Australia and other countries.
They compared present-day conditions, with more than 1°C of global warming, to the climate as it was around 1900, focusing on heat and periods of very low rainfall.
Heatwaves like Australia’s this summer “are now hotter by 1–2°C than they were around 1900”, the WWA release says; the scientists did not, however, “directly link the recent record low annual rainfall nor the driest month of the fire season with climate change.”
The Australian Red Cross, which to date has raised the equivalent of nearly US$ 30m for its humanitarian response to the fires, has described the episode as “extraordinary times with extraordinary responses”.
Climate Centre Director Professor Maarten van Aalst, a joint author of the WWA study, said today: “Climate change is already making our global humanitarian work more difficult; we’re facing bigger risks and more surprises.
“This study shows that these rising risks are reflected in the huge losses inthe Australian bushfires that it will take even a wealthy, well-prepared nation a long time to recover from.
“Adaptation and resilience are criticalbut on their own are not enough: reducing emissions is also crucial.”
The WWA scientists, who say the chief aim of their methodology is to provide findings relatively quickly after an extreme event, have are submittingtheir results to the scientific journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, where it will be available for open peer-review.
Story: Alex Wynter, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre
Millions of people around the world are displaced and moving in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change. This is only set to worsen as climate change increases the intensity and frequency of sudden- and slow-onset hazards. We, collectively, have a duty to address the humanitarian impacts of climate-related displacement. But we do not need to wait until communities are displaced, we can and must take action now to protect them.
This report presents a collection of case studies of how Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide are protecting and assisting communities in the context of climate-related displacement. And it calls for more ambitious climate action and investment in local communities and local organizations to address this urgent humanitarian challenge.
Find out more about our work supporting people on the moveand addressing the climate crisis.
By: Dr Michael Charles
Today South Africa marks Women’s Day. Much like the women being commemorated for the march to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956, women in southern Africa today may well hold the same flint that lights a “new movement” – climate change.
Southern Africa is one of the regions projected to experience the most serious consequences of global warming and the El Niño effect. In 2019, we experienced one of the worst disasters the region has ever seen - Cyclone Idai ravaged communities in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe and continue to rebuild their lives.
Urgent action is needed to increase the region’s preparedness for natural disasters. It is only a matter of time until the next disaster strikes. Being female often automatically means that personal susceptibility to sexual and domestic violence, rape and assault in emergency situations is significantly heightened. Women experience additional difficulties because they are typically responsible for sourcing water and preparing food; caring for children, the injured, sick and elderly; and maintaining family and community cohesion.
Tackling climate change is, undoubtedly, women’s business. They have a vested interest in avoiding and mitigating the impacts of climate change. It is time that humanitarian actors and policy and decision-makers mainstream gender in policy and practice. It is not a “nice to do”; it is crucial to making real and sustainable differences in the lives of affected people.
In 1956, 200,000 South African women declared that enough was enough and acted to defend themselves and the unity and integrity of their families from restrictive laws that required them to carry a pass to reside and move freely in urban areas.
Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo! Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock! was the rallying cry of that day, used to signify the women’s unshakeable and unbreakable resolve in the face of adversity as they marched to the Union Building in Pretoria, and sparked change in the course of South Africa’s history.
As countries in southern Africa ramp up their disaster risk management and humanitarian organisations work to strengthen community recovery and resilience, women in southern Africa should not just be considered victims and survivors who need special protection and assistance. They are forces for change who can be relied on to represent themselves within their communities and at the highest decision-making levels.
I am always inspired by the women I meet responding in disasters, most recently in Cyclone Idai. Women like, Sonia, a volunteer who was working long hours to support women in a shelter, displaced by Cyclone Idai or Flora, who was affected herself by flooding but was dedicated to helping her neighbours rebuild their homes and their lives.
Happy Women’s Day, South Africa. May the flame that was lit in 1956 and the fire of women’s empowerment and participation that was built over the decades rage on.
Geneva, 5 December 2019 – The two newest members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) both consider responding to the humanitarian impacts of climate change as one of their main priorities.
The Bhutan Red Cross Society and the Marshall Islands Red Cross Society were admitted today as 191st and 192nd full members of the IFRC. This was decided unanimously at the 22nd Session of the IFRC General Assembly that is currently underway in Geneva.
IFRC President, Francesco Rocca, said:
“The tiny, mountainous Kingdom of Bhutan and the 29 coral atolls and five low-lying islands that make up the Republic of the Marshall Islands are examples of how the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement unites and brings peace and cooperation among diverse countries.
“They are also examples of how humanity is united in a battle against the climate crisis. In both countries, the humanitarian impacts of climate change are real and represent a clear threat to vulnerable communities.”
In Bhutan, climate change is contributing to heavier rains, flash floods and the emergence of new diseases. The Bhutan Red Cross Societies’ staff and 2,400 volunteers in 20 district branches are helping communities prepare by focussing on health, including training bus and taxi drivers in first aid, disaster management and climate change adaptation.
Bhutan Red Cross Society Secretary General, Dragyel Tenzin Dorjee, said:
“The seven Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement - humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality - represent timeless morals and deeply resonate with Bhutan's own guiding philosophy of gross national happiness, which places human welfare as the most vital objective of the Royal Government.”
The Marshall Islands Red Cross Society began as a small but dedicated group of volunteers who wanted to help drought-stricken communities in 2013. It has now grown into an organisation that focuses on health, disaster management, climate change adaptation and volunteer mobilisation, and its network of 50 volunteers includes 11 emergency response teams across the country of 75,000 people.
Marshall Islands Red Cross Society President Dr Alexander Pinano said:
“Our country is at the forefront of the global climate crisis. Even as I speak, we are facing climate change-related increases in diseases including dengue fever as well as drought and regular coastal inundation because of large swells and king tides. Our volunteers are actively supporting their communities and we are proud to continue to do so as an official part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.”
Kingston, Jamaica – November 15, 2021: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) are calling for governments to urgently invest in climate change adaptation measures to tackle the growing climate crisis in the Caribbean.
The call follows two key climate events - the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) and the 7th Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas and the Caribbean (RP21).
In the Caribbean, storm events account for US$7 billion in losses in average per year (or US$135 billion between 1990 and 2008). Research indicates that 70% of people in the Caribbean live near the coast, where vulnerability to climate change is higher. Studies have also shown that the impacts of climate change are unevenly weighted against the most underserved people – those who are the poorest, most exposed and have the least resources to withstand climate shocks and stresses. In addition, data from the IFRC’s World Disasters Report 2020 reveals that international climate and disaster risk reduction finance are not keeping pace with climate adaptation needs in low-income countries, and the countries with the very highest risk and lowest adaptive capacities are not being prioritized. In fact, less than 1 US dollar per person was made available for climate adaptation funding in high vulnerability countries.
“The priority and focus should be the communities that are most exposed and vulnerable to climate risks and the Caribbean region has proven to be one of the most susceptible to climate-related disasters. Therefore, governments must ensure that all efforts and actions to address climate change must prioritize, and not leave behind, those most prone to its impacts,” said Velda Ferguson Dewsbury, IFRC Project Manager for the Resilient Islands by Design (RI) imitative in the Caribbean.
Red Cross societies are on the forefront of helping communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related disasters and see, every day, the rising risks for vulnerable people. Through projects like the Resilient Islands, the IFRC in partnership with TNC, has been working with communities to help them find innovative, low-cost, and sustainable nature-based adaptation and risk reduction measures.
“Climate change isn’t a distant threat - it is happening now. We have all seen the visible impacts of climate change before our eyes such as more extreme weather and natural disasters, chronic drought and economic instability. While our work with the Red Cross is helping at-risk communities across the Caribbean to adapt to climate change, with the power of nature, we need more investments in these and other communities and we need joint actions from all relevant stakeholders,” said Eddy Silva, TNC RI Project Manager.
The IFRC and TNC are working with communities in the Dominican Republic, Grenada and Jamaica helping them protect and restore natural habitats, such as mangroves, that help reduce the impact of severe storms and floods. Studies indicate that up to 65% of the increase in projected economic losses due to climate change could be averted through timely adaptation to climate change. In addition, nature-based solutions to minimize climate change can reduce 37% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Resilient Islands incorporates ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) measures, that harness natural systems to prevent and reduce natural hazards and climate change impacts. For example, by protecting and supporting the growth of coral reefs that provide cost-effective natural barriers, protecting our coasts from waves, storms and floods, or by planting more mangrove trees, which grow roots that mitigate coastal erosion, provide food and other services, and serve as nurseries for a diversity of fish species. These actions help communities reduce their exposure to hazards by identifying and lessening their vulnerabilities while at the same time enhancing their livelihood sources, as well as building their capacities and resilience to prepare for and respond to emergencies.
The RI initiative aims to protect Caribbean people against the impacts of climate change not just by promoting the use of natural coastal and marine habitats to reduce risks, but also by helping governments, partners and communities implement sustainable development plans that prioritize nature. Resilient Islands is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.
For more information, please contact:
In Jamaica: Trevesa DaSilva | +876 818-8575 | [email protected]
In Panama: Susana Arroyo Barrantes | + 506 8416 1771 | [email protected]
In Washington, D.C.: Claudia Lievano | +1 786 230-6144 | [email protected]
In Geneva: Marie Claudet | +33 7 86 89 50 89 | [email protected]
Geneva, 5 December 2019 – Climate related shocks and hazards are amongst the major humanitarian emergencies confronting humanity today, according to a new decade-long strategy adopted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today in Geneva.Climate change emerged as a growing concern through an exhaustive two-year consultation with the entire Red Cross and Red Crescent network that led to the design of the new Strategy 2030. The process highlighted how climate change is a growing concern for nearly every single one of the 192 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.Speaking at IFRC’s 22nd General Assembly, which is currently underway in Geneva, IFRC President, Francesco Rocca, said:“The message from our members and from our millions of volunteers couldn’t be clearer: climate change is an existential threat that is already completely altering the work we do, and the lives of the people we support.“Tackling climate change will be our major priority over the coming decade. This means strengthening the capacity of each and every National Red Cross and Red Crescent Society so that they can effectively respond in their own contexts, as well as investing heavily in methods to help communities adapt.”Strategy 2030 places ‘climate change and environmental crises’ at the top of a list of five global challenges that must be addressed in the coming decade. The other challenges identified in the strategy are ‘evolving crises and disasters’; ‘growing gaps in health and well-being’; ‘migration and identity’; and ‘values, power and inclusion’.IFRC Secretary General, Elhadj As Sy, said:“It is clear that the existing international humanitarian system will have to significantly transform to cope with climate related challenges.. Strategy 2030 is IFRC’s commitment to this transformation, as well as to the communities we live and work in.”IFRC’s work to respond to climate change and environmental crises will involve a greater focus on identifying and addressing the drivers of vulnerability that are already being compounded by climate change. Ways in which IFRC can reduce these impacts – and even prevent them completely – include community strengthening, early warning systems, early alert, early actions , innovation and new forms of financing.ENDSNote to editors: IFRC’s Strategy 2030 has three goals: that people anticipate, respond to and quickly recover from crises; that people lead safe, healthy and dignified lives and have opportunities to thrive, and that people mobilise for inclusive and peaceful communities.It identifies five global challenges: climate and environmental crises; evolving crises and disasters; growing gaps in health and well-being; migration and identity; and values, power and inclusion.To address these challenges and achieve these goals, seven transformations will be needed across the IFRC, in supporting and developing National Societies as strong and effective local actors; in inspiring and mobilising volunteerism; in ensuring trust and accountability; in working effectively as a distributed network; in influencing humanitarian action; in undergoing a digital transformation, and in financing the future.Learn more about IFRC’s Strategy 2030 at https://future-rcrc.com/
This report analyses trends, dynamics and humanitarian needs of people on the move in the Asia Pacific region in the context of disasters and climate change.
It offers guidance to Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Asia Pacific region on how to improve their humanitarian action in the context of disasters, displacement and climate change. This includes case studies of good work already being undertaken by National Societies in this area.
Additional information:
You can view additional case studies from the Asia Pacific region on the IFRC Resilience Library for Southeast Asia website.
Read our guide for Asia Pacific National Societies on planned relocation in the context of disasters and climate change, also on the IFRC Resilience Library for Southeast Asia website.
Find out more about our worksupporting people on the moveand responding to the climate crisis.
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.
This paper sets out several simple strategies that can help us manage the unavoidable impacts of climate change (adaptation) and curb its long-term effects by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation). Though the problem may seem huge and complex, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and other humanitarian organizations, can implement five straightforward actions that will benefit the safety, livelihoods, health, attitudes and quality of life of people at risk:
Heatwave awareness and preparedness
Planting and caring for trees
Campaigns to clean and recycle solid waste
Promotion of fuel-efficient stoves
Capacity building and promotion of family emergency planning
This report highlights the devastating impact of climate change on coastal communities across the globe. People living in the world’s coastal regions already face multiple and compounding risks from climate change. Sea levels are rising, coastal floods are becoming more severe, storms and cyclones are intensifying, and storm surge is reaching higher levels, further inland. In addition to extreme weather events, large areas are becoming uninhabitable, and millions of people have been or will be forced to leave their homes.
The report includes first-hand accounts of remarkable and resilient people living in coastal areas in Mexico, Somalia, and Bangladesh. Heat, sea level rise, droughts or storms, the climate crisis is already pushing those communities towards the very limits of their future survival.
New York, 16 July 2019 – A new resource launched today in New York will help cities prepare for heatwaves – extreme weather events that are among the world’s deadliest types of natural hazard.
Speaking at UN headquarters in New York, the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Francesco Rocca, said:
“Heatwaves are one of the deadliest natural hazards facing humanity, and the threat they pose will only become more serious and more widespread as the climate crisis continues.
“However, the good news is that heatwaves are also predictable and preventable. The actions that authorities can take to save lives and significantly reduce suffering are simple and affordable.”
The new Heatwave Guide for Cities from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre offers urban planners and city authorities an authoritative summary of the actions they can take to reduce the danger of heatwaves, which are defined as a period of time when temperatures, or temperature in combination with other factors, are unusually high and hazardous to human health and well-being.
Seventeen of the 18 warmest years in the global temperature record have occurred since 2001. Several serious heatwaves have killed tens of thousands of people worldwide during this period, including the 2015 heatwave in India that killed around 2,500 people, and the 2003 heatwave across Europe that lead to more than 70,000 deaths.
The people at greatest risk of heatwaves tend to be those with pre-existing vulnerabilities, including elderly people, very young children, pregnant women, those with medical conditions, and people who are socially isolated.
“Heatwaves are silent killers because they take the lives of people who are already vulnerable,” said Rocca. “It’s vital that everyone knows how to prepare for them and limit their impact.”
Around 5 billion people live in regions where extreme heat can be predicted days or weeks in advance.
Examples of the actions that cities can take include establishing systems to warn people ahead of anticipated periods of extreme heat; strengthening health systems to reduce the risk of them being overwhelmed during a heat crisis; conducting community awareness campaigns; establishing cooling centres/telephone helplines for vulnerable people in need of help, treatment and support; and “greening” cities and urban centres, for example by planting trees, protecting open green spaces, and introducing car-free zones.
The influence of climate change on heat extremes was evident again in Europe in June when cities across the west of the continent recorded record temperatures – an event that scientists believe was made at least five times more likely by climate change.
Note to editors
The Heatwave Guide for Cities has been produced by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre in collaboration with more than 25 partner institutions including ICLEI, Arizona State University, Met Office, John Hopkins University, USAID, International Research Institute for Climate and Society, the World Meteorological Organization and World Health Organization Joint Office for Climate and Health, Thomson Reuters Foundation and the cities of Cape Town, Kampala, Entebbe, Ekurhuleni and Phoenix. It can be downloaded here.
Cannes/Geneva, 11 April 2019— An event billed as “the first ever humanitarian COP” will take place in Cannes, France next week to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).Organized by the French Red Cross Society, the two-day “World Conference on Health and Climate Change”, will bring together 400 international and field experts to take stock of latest scientific research, and to explore innovative solutions designed to meet rising public health challenges resulting from climate change.Changes to the climate have already started impacting human health, and the projections are alarming. Even if the COP21 Paris Agreement’s ambitions for climate change are met and the planet warms by no more than 2°C, there will still be consequences – some of them severe – for human health. Every country in the world, from north to south, is affected by this issue and must adapt, not least to protect their most vulnerable citizens.A full programme and list of speakers available at: worldconference.croix-rouge.fr1919-2019: 100 years of humanitarian actionThe World Conference is being held to mark the 100th anniversary of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network. The IFRC, known then as the League of Red Cross Societies, was created on 5 May 1919 by the American, British, Italian, Japanese and French Red Cross societies.A month before, from 1 April to 11 April 1919, the same Red Cross societies gathered at a medical conference in Cannes to decide on how they could coordinate their public health actions and pool the resources of national Red Cross ‘Committees’ more effectively in time of peace.Useful information:Dates: Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 April 2019Location: Théâtre Croisette in Cannes, historic location of the 1919 Medical ConferenceTranslations: French and English
Geneva/New York19September 2023- What happened in Derna should be a ‘wake up call forthe world’ on the increasing risk of catastrophic floods in a world changed by climate change, saysJagan Chapagain,Secretary Generalof the International Federation of Red Crossand Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).Chapagain was talking in the light of a reportsaying climate change made the disaster in Libya significantly more likely.
Rapid analysis by theWorld Weather Attribution group– a group of scientists supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - analyzed climate data and computermodel simulations to compare the climate asit is today, after about 1.2°C of global warming, with the climate of the past. Thescientistsfound that human caused climate change has made heavy rainfall in north-eastern Libya up to50 times more likely to occur than it would have been in a world not experiencing human-caused climate change.They also found there was up to 50% more intense rain than there would have beenin a comparable rainstormin a pre-climate change world.
The scientists are clear that, even in a 1.2°C ‘warmed’ world,therainfall that fell on Libya was extreme. It was an event that would only be expected to occuronce every 300-600 years.Even so, that frequency is much higherthan would be the case in a world that had not warmed.
Rainfall alone did not make the Derna disaster inevitable. Enhancedpreparedness, less construction in flood-prone regions and better infrastructure managementof dams wouldhavereducedthe overall impact of Storm Daniel.Nonetheless, climate change was a significant factorin causing and exacerbatingtheextremeweather event.
Julie Arrighi, Interim Director at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre which hadresearchers working on the World Weather Attribution report said:
“This devastating disaster shows how climate change-fuelledextreme weather events are combining with human factors to create even bigger impacts, as more people, assets and infrastructure are exposed and vulnerable to flood risks. However, there are practical solutions that can help us prevent these disasters from becoming routine such as strengthened emergency management, improved impact-based forecasts and warning systems, and infrastructure that is designed for the future climate.”
Jagan Chapagain, SecretaryGeneralof the International Federation of Red Crossand Red Crescent Societies said:
“The disaster in Derna is yet another example of what climate change is already doing to our weather. Obviouslymultiple factors in Libya turned Storm Daniel into a human catastrophe; it wasn’tclimate change alone. But climate change did make the storm much more extreme and much more intense and that resulted in the loss of thousands of lives.That should be a wake upcallfortheworld to fulfill the commitment on reducing emissions, to ensure climate adaptation funding and tackle the issues of lossanddamage.“
More information:
To request an interview, please contact: [email protected]
In Geneva:
Andrew Thomas: +41763676587
Mrinalini Santhanam: +41 76 381 50 06
Tommaso Della Longa: +41 79 708 43 67
This guide has been developed to specifically support Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and IFRC staff to more systematically integrate risk reduction measures into their planning. By describing in detail what key issues need to be considered and when, this guidance aims at ensuring that risk reduction measures are taken into account in different sectors and contexts.
By Rita Nyaga
IFRC senior communications officer
In the early morning of Saturday, 15 April 2023, the city of Khartoum woke up to the sound of gunfire and explosions. Up to two million people fled the city and became displaced either within Sudan or in neighouring countries.
As the conflict in Sudan enters its seventh month, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) continues to support many impacted by the fighting through a network of more than 2,000 volunteers in 18 branches spread across the country.
Before fighting started, the socio-economic, political, and security situation in Sudan was already very tense, impacting the work of volunteers directly and indirectly. With the onset of conflict, the effort to keep them safe, secure and motivated became more critical than ever.
“Safety is the matter of life and death,” says Nagat Farah Khairi, national volunteer coordinator for the SRCS. “ Ensuring the safety and security of staff and volunteers therefore is one of the SRCS’ top priorities.”
“Fortunately, prior to the eruption of war in April 2023, three training courses were organized and attended by more than one hundred volunteers, who received and refreshed their knowledge on safety and security,” Nagat says. “That resulted in them being able to practice it and remain safe in the frontlines of crisis and to continue the provision of humanitarian support. "
These are some of the reasons that volunteer safety and security was one of twelve thematic areas of the SRCS’s ongoing Transformation Process. A total of 111 volunteers attended the training from all states, which took place in May 2022 with support from the Swedish Red Cross.
This training course also aimed to improve the quality and ensure accountability in all aspects of the SRCS’s work with volunteers, strengthening its ability to mobilize, recruit, protect, maintain, and develop its volunteers network.
Six months on, work continues with insufficient funds
Thus, by the time fighting begun, the lessons from this training could be put into practice. Meanwhile, just over six months into the conflict, SRCS volunteers continue to work to ease the plight of people impacted by the conflict. Many of the residents who were left behind in Khartoum and could not afford to leave, have now been locked down for months in a deteriorating situation. They suffer from significant reductions in essential goods and services such as health care, power, water and food. For those who consider leaving, families sometimes must choose whether to leave the elderly behind or remain with them.
People are also being hit by the effects of erratic climate patterns that are also impacting many parts of Africa, resulting in widespread food insecurity, drought and sporadic flooding.
In response, IFRC has launched two appeals to provide support for people now in very vulnerable situations.
• An emergency appeal for CHF 60 million to support the SRCS in scaling up their life-saving activities within the country.
• A regional appeal of CHF 42 million to support the humanitarian response in neighboring countries, including Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Libya.
Currently, these appeals are largely underfunded with only nine and eight percent respectively. The funds are critical to allowing the volunteers, who are now well experienced in working in this challenging environment, to carry out their essential work supporting communities.
“The SRCS recognizes and values volunteering as a means of creating and supporting community members and who are available to offer support and work in the frontline during emergencies”, says Nagat. “At the SRCS, we value all volunteers for their individual contributions, enthusiasm, and commitment, as well as for the experience and skills they bring onboard”.