Women supporting women: On International Women’s Day 2026, we tell the stories of women around the world helping shape a safer, more equal future for the next generation

IFRC Health and Care Department Success Stories 2025

The 2025 Success Stories of the IFRC’s Health and Care Department highlights the Department’s key achievements, progress, and strategic direction over the past year, showcasing advancements in Global Health Security, Global Health Protection and Universal Health Coverage, Global Water Security, and Transformative Partnerships. This report reaffirms IFRC’s commitment to community‑based action in public health, water security, and resilient water systems, and embraces innovation in both health and water-system strengthening. It highlights how the IFRC, through National Societies, continues to strengthen integrated, people‑centered solutions that advance equitable health and water outcomes for all.

Capacity Building Fund

The CBF is a funding mechanism that aims to strengthen the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, enabling them to increase the scale and quality of their humanitarian services and programs. National Societies with reinforced capacities can reach out to more people within their local communities, responding to more need and vulnerability.

Health and care

Everyone, everywhere should have access to the health services they need, including during emergencies. Our 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reach millions of people every year with a wide range of health and care services, improving health and well-being for all.

Cameroon’s “silent food insecurity crisis” deepens as millions struggle to find food

Yaounde/Nairobi/Geneva – 10 March 2026 — Millions of people in Cameroon are facing a worsening food crisis that is receiving little international attention, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned today.A new assessment conducted by the Cameroon Red Cross with support from the IFRC network, surveyed nearly 6,000 households and found that hunger is rapidly increasing.More than 3.3 million people are struggling to find enough food, with families in the country’s Far North, North and East regions already skipping meals, selling livestock or taking on debt just to survive.In some of the worst-affected areas, 64 per cent of households are experiencing severe food insecurity, while food stocks last less than one month.Adesh Tripathee, IFRC Head of Country Cluster Delegation in Yaounde, says:“Cameroon is facing a silent hunger crisis. Families are doing all they can to simply to stay alive. This crisis is not making headlines, but for millions of people it is already an everyday reality.”The Cameroon Red Cross, supported by IFRC and Movement partners, is delivering cash transfers, cereal bank support, agricultural recovery, nutrition activities and community resilience programmes. However, existing resources are insufficient relative to the scale of needs.The IFRC has launched an Emergency Appeal for CHF 9.6 million to support the Cameroon Red Cross in scaling up assistance for the most vulnerable communities. The operation will provide integrated support including cash assistance, food support, livelihood recovery, nutrition services, clean water and sanitation, and protection programmes.The IFRC calls on partners and donors to urgently mobilize resources to protect the most vulnerable communities and prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation.Families at breaking pointThe Red Cross assessment revealed that more than 60 per cent of households are relying on extreme coping strategies, including selling livestock, tools and other productive assets needed to plant crops in the next season.Only five per cent of households still have the capacity to absorb another shock, leaving communities extremely vulnerable to further climate shocks, price increases or conflict.Parents are increasingly sacrificing their own meals so their children can eat.A father from Logone-et-Chari in Cameroon’s Far North region says:“We no longer talk about eating well; we talk about staying alive. First, we sold our goats to buy maize. Then I had to sell my plough so we could eat that evening. Now my wife and I skip food for two days so our children can have a handful of grain.”Children are particularly at risk. The assessment found that eight in ten children are not eating enough nutritious food, putting them at risk of acute malnutrition and long-term developmental harm.Cécile Akama Mfoumou, President of the Cameroon Red Cross, says:“The situation is deteriorating rapidly. Families are exhausting the coping mechanisms available to them. Immediate support is critical to prevent further suffering.”The situation is expected to worsen as the lean season (the period between planting and harvesting crops where food availability is at it’s lowest) arrives earlier than usual, starting in April instead of June, due to exhausted food stocks and reduced harvests caused by floods and erratic rainfall.At the same time, more than 510,000 people are internally displaced, further straining already fragile livelihoods.Although food is still available in many markets, it has become unaffordable for most families.More information To request an interview, contact: [email protected]  In Yaounde:Muriel Atsama Obama, +237 650 610 006In Nairobi: Susan Mbalu, +254 733 827 654In Geneva: Scott Craig, +41 76 370 3575

IFRC launches CHF 40 million Emergency Appeal to support Iranian Red Crescent response

Tehran/Beirut/Geneva, 10 March 2026 - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched a CHF 40 million Emergency Appeal to scale up the vital work of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), as it responds to sharply growing humanitarian needs resulting from the ongoing hostilities.The appeal will support five million people across 30 affected provinces over the next 16 months, prioritising those directly affected by hostilities, damage to infrastructure and disruptions to essential services. Across the country, communities are facing growing humanitarian needs related to health care, shelter, water and sanitation, and mental health and psychosocial support.“With humanitarian needs growing sharply with every passing day, this Emergency Appeal will help scale up lifesaving assistance and get support to those most affected,” said Maria Martinez, IFRC Head of Delegation in Iran. “The Iranian Red Crescent Society immediately mobilised its network of staff and volunteers to respond to communities affected by the hostilities. This work on the ground by the Iranian Red Crescent Society and the IFRC is vital to saving lives – every moment counts.”The Iranian Red Crescent Society has been responding to the crisis since hostilities escalated on February 28. Currently, 529 branches are engaged in response operations across 30 affected provinces and 197 cities. More than 2,100 response teams and over 6,500 staff and volunteers have been deployed to support communities.Emergency teams are engaged in search and rescue operations, emergency medical assistance and community outreach. The Iranian Red Crescent Society’s ‘4030’ nationwide phone hotline has also received thousands of calls, providing mental health and psychosocial support to people affected by the crisis.Through this Emergency Appeal, the IFRC will support the Iranian Red Crescent Society to scale up humanitarian assistance in key areas including emergency shelter support, relief items and household supplies, health services, water and sanitation support, and community-based mental health and psychosocial services. The response will also strengthen search and rescue capacity, emergency medical services and preparedness for potential displacement of people from their homes.IFRC has already allocated CHF 1.5 million from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) to support immediate lifesaving activities and operational readiness while international support is mobilised through the Emergency Appeal. IFRC calls on governments, donors and partners to urgently support this appeal to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches communities affected by the crisis.For more information or to request an interview, please contact:[email protected]:Tommaso Della Longa,+41 79 708 4367Scott Craig, +41 76 370 3575In Beirut: Mey El Sayegh, +961 03 229 352

IFRC condemns the killing of a Lebanese Red Cross paramedic in Lebanon

Beirut/Geneva, 11 March 2026 - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is outraged by the killing of Lebanese Red Cross volunteer paramedic Youssef Assaf, who succumbed to the injuries he sustained while carrying out his humanitarian duty to assist and save lives.Youssef Assaf was among the Lebanese Red Cross ambulance volunteers who responded to people affected by hostilities following an airstrike in Majdal Zoun, Tyre in South Lebanon, on 9 March. While assisting in the evacuation of the wounded, he sustained serious injuries and later succumbed to them.Youssef had joined the Lebanese Red Cross ambulance and emergency teams in Tyre on 27 June 2025. Like many Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers around the world, he dedicated himself to serving people in need, providing life-saving assistance and comfort to those affected by crises, in line with the seven fundamental principles of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.The IFRC extends its deepest condolences to Youssef’s family and loved ones, as well as to the leadership, volunteers, and staff of the Lebanese Red Cross, who have lost a dedicated colleague. The IFRC also expresses its concern over the injuries sustained by three Lebanese Red Cross paramedics while carrying out ambulance missions at two separate locations. Two paramedics were injured on 7 March in Arnoun Al-Shaqif (Nabatieh, South Lebanon), and a third was injured on 9 March in Majdal Zoun (Tyre district, South Lebanon) during the same incident in which Youssef sustained the injuries that later claimed his life.At the time of the attacks, the ambulances were clearly marked with the protective Red Cross emblem, visible from all sides and illuminated on the vehicles, in accordance with international humanitarian law. As is standard practice for Lebanese Red Cross operations in conflict areas, these missions were properly coordinated through the usual channels.The IFRC reiterates its call that ambulance personnel, medical staff, and Lebanese Red Cross staff and volunteers must be respected and protected at all times. Under international humanitarian law, medical and humanitarian personnel must not be targeted and must be allowed to carry out their life-saving work safely.Despite the risks, the Lebanese Red Cross continues to provide vital humanitarian services across Lebanon, supporting people affected by the ongoing hostilities and those displaced from their homes.For more information or to request an interview, please contact: [email protected] Geneva: Tommaso Della Longa, +41 79 708 4367Scott Craig, +41 76 370 3575 In Beirut:Mey El Sayegh, +961 03 229 352 

Auxiliary role

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are neither governmental institutions nor wholly separate non-governmental organizations (NGOs).Their relationship to the authorities in their country is defined by their role as “auxiliaries” and by the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Commissions and committees

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is supported by five constitutional commissions and committees which review and advise upon different areas of our work. Composition and functions of our commissions and committees are described in Section IV of our Constitution.

'Mothers in survival mode' Standing together against Food Insecurity in Cameroon

IFRC warns harmful information is putting lives at risk during crises

Geneva, 5 March 2026 – Harmful information is undermining life-saving humanitarian action at a time when disasters are affecting more people, more often, according to the World Disasters Report 2026, released today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).Between 2020 and 2024, disasters affected nearly 700 million people, caused more than 105 million displacements, and claimed over 270,000 lives – with the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance more than doubling (INFORM Severity index).The World Disasters Report 2026 warns that harmful information and dehumanising narratives are increasingly undermining trust, putting the lives of humanitarian workers and communities at risk. In polarized and politically charged contexts, humanitarian principles such as neutrality and impartiality are increasingly misunderstood, misrepresented or deliberately attacked online.Drawing on evidence from crises across the world, the report emphasises that trust has become one of the most critical, and fragile, assets in humanitarian action.Jagan Chapagain, IFRC Secretary General, said:“In every crisis I have witnessed, information is as essential as food, water and shelter. But when information is false, misleading or deliberately manipulated, it can deepen fear, obstruct humanitarian access and cost lives.”Global examples of harmful information in action:Spain: During floods in Valencia, false narratives online accused the Spanish Red Cross of diverting aid to migrants, fuelling xenophobic attacks on volunteers.South Sudan: Rumours that humanitarian agencies were distributing poisoned food caused people to avoid life-saving aid and led to threats against local Red Cross staff, temporarily disrupting operations.Lebanon: Overlapping crises saw false claims that volunteers were spreading COVID-19, favouring certain groups in aid distribution, or providing unsafe cholera vaccines, eroding trust and endangering vulnerable communities.Bangladesh: Despite delivering first aid and assistance across multiple districts during a period of political unrest, volunteers faced widespread accusations of inaction and political alignment, leading to harassment and long-term reputational damage.The report highlights that around 94 per cent of disasters are managed by national authorities and local communities without international assistance. However, while volunteers, local leaders and community media are often the most trusted messengers, they operate in increasingly hostile and polarised information environments.Mr. Chapagain added:“Without trust, people are less likely to prepare, seek help or follow life-saving guidance; with it, communities act together, absorb shocks and recover more effectively. Maintaining trust is not optional – it is a humanitarian necessity.”The World Disasters Report 2026 calls on governments, technology companies, humanitarian agencies, communities and local actors to recognise that trustworthy information is a matter of life and death. Recommendations include:Technology platforms:Prioritise authoritative information from trusted humanitarian, health and local actors in crisis contexts. Provide low-bandwidth, multilingual, and locally relevant tools and transparently moderate harmful content.States and policymakers:Invest in evidence-based regulation and support local data systems that monitor crises and harmful information, strengthening transparency, accountability and an environment that enables principled humanitarian action.Humanitarian agencies:Embed harmful information preparedness into humanitarian operations as a core function, with trained teams, standardised tools, predictive analytics, and strong community engagement to anticipate, detect, and respond to harmful narratives.Communities and local actors:Act as trusted messengers, support digital and media literacy, participate in rumour tracking, and ensure local perspectives shape responses to safeguard access and trust – recognising that communities are central to the solution.The World Disaster Report 2026 is available to policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and the public, providing a roadmap for building resilience to harmful information before, during, and after crises.Note to editors:Link to World Disaster Report 2026Link to Executive SummaryFor more information or to request an interview, please contact:[email protected] Geneva:Tommaso De Longa,+41 79 708 4367India Roberts-Smillie,+41 76 372 6251

IFRC Operational Guidelines: Membership Coordination in Emergencies

This document provides guidance to Country Coordination Teams (CCTs) to implementMembership Coordination in Emergencies (MCiE), both at the onset of an emergency and forthe duration of a Federation-wide Emergency Appeal (EA). It focuses on establishing a coordinatedapproach to international cooperation at country level in emergencies, based on the prioritiesidentified by the National Society and in line with the IFRC network "Way of Working" approach.Click here to see the entire toolbox of documents to assist in membership coordination in emergencies.

Study: Record downpours that caused lethal landslides in Brazil will worsen with further warming

This is an adaptation by the Climate Centre of a press release issued by World Weather Attribution on 12 March 2026.The landslides that struck the state of Minas Gerais in south-east Brazil last month (pictured) have laid bare the vulnerability of the country’s cities and its coffee industry to an increasingly volatile climate, World Weather Attribution scientists said.The WWA team warn in a new study that this event is a preview of the heavier rainfall expected as global temperatures rise further.It was the wettest month on record in the worst-affected city of Juiz de Fora: 65 people were killed there and over 6,400 were forced from their homes after particularly intense rainfall fell between 22 and 24 February; seven other people more were killed in Uba.Minas Gerais is the heart of Brazil’s coffee industry and the leading producer of arabica beans. After years of extreme weather caused as much as a 20 per cent reduction in output and global spikes in prices, there were hopes for a better harvest this year, but the above-average rainfall is now fueling disease across plantations.While the scientists didn’t find definitive evidence that climate change increased the intensity of rainfall in this event, models do show the strength of these downpours worsening by an estimated 7 per cent as global temperatures rise, but the true number could be higher.Rapid urban growth on steep slopes and floodplains has seen natural vegetation replaced by paved surfaces, reducing water drainage and increasing runoff, they add.‘Early warning systems are thedecisive instrument for saving lives’Pedro Camarinha, Deputy Director at the Brazilian National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters, said: “This disaster made clear how extreme rainfall can trigger the consequences of risk that was already known, but insufficiently addressed through preventive public policies.”“Where land-use planning, risk reduction measures, and the protection of exposed communities remain inadequate, early warning systems become the decisive instrument for saving lives.”“Their effectiveness, however, depends on disaster risk being communicated clearly to the population through coordinated action among institutions and with society as a central actor in the system.”“Early warning systems must therefore be better valued and continuously improved, while risk awareness is strengthened among exposed communities and urgent action is taken to reduce exposure and vulnerability.”Regina R. Rodrigues, a professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, added: “Looking to the future, there are clear implications for Brazil’s leaders to ensure people aren’t living in harm’s way as we see more of these events unfold.”“Minas Gerais is the heartbeat of Brazil’s coffee production and this rainfall is another example of the extreme weather it is having to deal with. It’s a reminder that our changing climate is already pushing up prices and disrupting supplies for products people around the world take for granted.”

'Now I've lost everything': Conflict in Sudan has forced millions to seek safety in neighbouring countries, where they face an uncertain future.

From vision to action: Promoting women’s leadership in the humanitarian sector in East Asia

From enhancing female representation at all levels to implementing family-friendly workplace policies, National Red Cross Societies in East Asiaare taking concrete action to fulfil the long-term vision of advancing gender equality and women’s leadership.To date, these efforts have yielded tangible progress across multiple areas.Increasing women's representation in leadershipThe East Asia National Societies are tracking data on women in leadership, working toward the goal of 50 per cent representation in governance and senior management positions.As of 2025,for example, women held more than 50 per cent of the seats on the governing board of the Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS). The MacauRed Cross (branchof the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC))has achieved50 per cent women in management positions.Implementing family-friendly practicesSeveral National Societies have introduced practices to support family responsibilities. For example, the Hong Kong Branch of the RCSC has implemented a work-from-home policy and flexible working arrangements. In 2025, the Republic of Korea National Red Cross (KNRC) received government certification for supporting work-life balance and gender equality.These practicesare applied to all employees, male and female, helping to transform traditional gender norms.Empowering women in the communitiesBeyond promoting gender equality in the workplace, engaging and empowering women in the community is another emphasis.The RCSC, jointly with Alibaba, initiated the “Model Mama” project, to provide skills training for disadvantaged women and support them in starting their own businessor getting employed. By the end of 2024, the project had trained more than 26,000people in 12 provinces across China.In 2025, the Hong Kong Branch of the RCSC launched the EmpowerHer Network, mobilizing women leaders from diverse backgrounds to join and contribute to the humanitarian cause.Fostering public advocacyPublic advocacy represents another focus.Two major events supported by the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) in 2025 contributed to the efforts: a panel discussion hosted by GLOW Red (the global network for women leaders in the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement) at the 2025 World Expo Women’s Pavilion in Osaka, and the GLOW Red Annual Meeting in Tokyo.Both events served as powerful platforms to strengthen networks, share insights, and advance collective action toward gender equality.Reviewing the progress, Olga Dzhumaeva, Head of the IFRC East Asia Delegation, commented that, “Leadership support plays a crucial role in dismantling barriers and forging pathways for gender diversity and equality across every level of their organisations”.Since 2022, a dedicated session on gender diversity and women’s leadership has been included in the annual East Asia Five Plus Leaders Forum, a primary platform for East Asia National Society leaders to discuss regional humanitarian priorities. Further strengthening the coordinating mechanism, the National Societies designated gender focal points in June 2025.“We will strengthen cooperation with other global efforts and contribute to further promoting women’s leadership in the humanitarian sector,” said Bonnie So, Secretary General of the Hong Kong Branch of the RCSC and Chair of the East Asia Red Cross gender focal point group.Driven by the IFRC network’s Protection, Gender and Inclusion Policy as the core framework, these advancements in East Asia are supported and built on a robust global and regional roadmap.Dedicated targets for women's leadership were established through the Hanoi Call for Action, a set of commitments endorsed at the IFRC’s 11th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in 2023.According to the IFRC Everyone Counts Report 2024, progress toward gender balance in governance remains slow and uneven across regions, but the Asia-Pacific region as a whole has shown incremental improvement. As of 2025, women held 37 percent of governance and leadership positions, up from 34 percent in 2024.For Alexander Matheou, IFRC Asia Pacific Regional Director, an important part of the solution lies in male allyship and institutions taking responsibility for change.“Talented female leaders have not always felt comfortable positioning themselves for promotion in very male-dominated organisations and men themselves haven’t always created the pathways for them to occupy the top positions,” he said . “Male leaders have a responsibility to create opportunities and ensure that female leaders can show their full potential.”Learn more about gender and inclusion in humanitarian actionProtection, Gender and Inclusion at the IFRCProtection and gender and inclusion in emergencies