'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

IFRC International First Aid, Resuscitation and Education Guidelines 2025

The International first aid resuscitation and education guidelines 2025 evaluate and report on the science and best practices behind first aid, resuscitation and education. The 2025 Guidelines have been produced with the main goal of supporting National Societies in harmonizing first aid practices across the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement by providing a strong evidence base, a key asset to move forward the IFRC First Aid Vision 2030.

First aid

The IFRC and our 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are the world’s leading providers and trainers in first aid. Together, we trained more than 12.4 million people in first aid in 2022—empowering them with the skills to save lives.

'We did not know how to respond to something like this': What the Lebanese Red Cross learned from the 2020 Beirut explosion

The Red Family Fund

The Red Family Fund honours volunteers and staff from National Societies who die in the line of duty and provides a mechanism for one-time financial assistance to the families they leave behind. This financial support is intended to complement any other local or global insurance mechanisms or funds that may exist for families.

Statement: 'We are outraged that humanitarian workers continue to be killed across conflicts.' 

This statement is attributed to Kate Forbes, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red CrossGeneva, 13 March 2026 - Since hostilities erupted across the Middle East, humanitarian and medical personnel are being caught in the line of fire, putting at risk the lifelines civilians depend on to survive. If this pattern continues, we fear we will soon be grieving more colleagues killed while trying to save lives.In less than two weeks, these fears are already becoming reality. A Lebanese Red Cross paramedic died from critical injuries sustained while trying to help wounded civilians, and others were injured. In Iran, Iranian Red Crescent Society staff and volunteers suffered casualties while helping civilians amidst hostilities.Despite the dangers, Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers, as well as those of Magen David Adom in Israel, continue to work across the region at great personal risk to support those in need.Humanitarian personnel are protected under international humanitarian law. One year ago this month, eight Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics were brutally killed while responding to casualties in Gaza, sparking a global outcry. Yet across conflicts, humanitarian and medical workers continue to be killed, injured, kidnapped or detained while trying to reach people in need.Just Wednesday, a UNICEF colleague was killed in a reported drone strike in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Already this year, Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers have been killed while on duty not only in Lebanon, but also in Sudan, Gaza and Iran.We have called for it before, and we call for it again: states and parties to conflict must take immediate concrete steps to protect those who risk everything to save lives. When humanitarian workers are protected, so is our shared humanity. The lives of our teams, and those they serve, depend on it.For more information, please contact: IFRC: [email protected] ICRC: [email protected] 

Water without fear: Special World Water Day reporting from South Sudan, where local Red Cross teams provide water that helps thousands stay safer and healthier in the midst of conflict and drought.

Under pressure: Special World Water Day reporting from camps in eastern Chad, where refugees are coping with extreme heat, water scarcity, and rising food prices.

IFRC warns: Sudan crisis spills across borders as humanitarian crisis worsens

Juba, Nairobi, Geneva, 17 March 2026 – The effects of the ongoing conflict in Sudan are felt far beyond its borders. The International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC) warns the regional humanitarian situation in Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda is deteriorating rapidly, as funding dries up while needs continue to rise.Almost 4.5 million people have now fled Sudan to neighboring countries, placing heavy strain on already fragile systems. Overcrowded camps and limited funding have deepened humanitarian needs for refugees and host communities across the region.Pierre Kremer, Deputy Regional Director for Africa said, “The Sudan crisis doesn't stop at its borders. People flee in search of safety but arrive in overcrowded shelters without enough food or clean water, where medicines are running dangerously low. Most people in refugee camps are women and children, and they face a high risk of violence. Floods, drought, skyrocketing food prices, and disease outbreaks mean Sudanese refugees and host communities are repeatedly hit in every aspect of their lives. Especially with rainy season around the corner and the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, the situation becomes a nightmare.”Families struggling to surviveMore than 450,000 children in South Sudan are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. There are outbreaks of measles and malaria in Ethiopia and in Chad, access to water has become a daily struggle.In eastern Chad, border areas are overcrowded, some refugee sites are full and can no longer receive new arrivals. In Tiné and Adré, thousands of people are awaiting relocation. Many displaced people are living under plastic sheets or building shelters with only the clothes they could carry from Sudan. Two out of three registered refugee children in Chad are not enrolled in school, and many others, both in host communities and among refugees, are severely malnourished. Food rations have been reduced by half due to lack of funding.A transit center in Renk, South Sudan, hosts 8,000 people, waiting to be relocated to established refugee camps. Many are sleeping in makeshift tents, as the shelters can only accommodate 2,000 people. Food is in critically short supply and has become very expensive due to the large number of people Renk is hosting. People collect firewood to sell, to hopefully earn enough to feed their children.(See IFRC's latest reporting from refugee camps in Chad and South Sudan).Situation continues to worsenVolunteers from the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies in Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan, supported by the IFRC, are working tirelessly to help people, providing clean water, build latrines, psychosocial support, cash assistance.The South Sudan Red Cross built a female friendly centre in Renk: a safe and private space where women and girls can meet, dance, and speak confidentially about experiences of gender-based violence. With support of the IFRC, it also promotes women’s economic independence by providing materials for women to knit traditional bedsheets that they can sell to earn an income.The Chadian Red Cross, with support from the IFRC, operates humanitarian service points where volunteers help newly arrived refugees. They provide first aid, mental health support, and safe spaces for children. To increase access to water, a resource that is increasingly scarce in the eastern part of the country, they drill boreholes.In Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Red Cross support returnees with financial assistance to start small businesses. Some people have been able to open small electronics or poultry businesses. Yet the scale of the crisis continues to outpace the support available, especially with the rainy season starting in a few weeks.On top of this, the IFRC is already experiencing the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. Disruptions to supply chains are making it more difficult to deliver essential aid into the country. For example, tents currently stored in Dubai may face delays, and shipments of cholera treatment kits to Chad have also been affected.“For many families in Chad, South Sudan, or Ethiopia it already feels like the worst possible situation. But with higher logistical costs, more funding drying and the rainy season approaching, conditions are likely to deteriorate even further. The IFRC is supporting National Societies to help people survive today, but we urgently need international support to help families rebuild tomorrow. We call on governments, institutions, and private partners to act now. Without urgent international support, lives will be lost, and the situation will worsen dramatically,” Kremer added.Note to editors:Visuals: Audiovisual material is available for download and use.IFRC Sudan Complex Emergency appeal for fundingFor more information or to request an interview, please contact: [email protected] In N’Djamena: Alexis Aubin, +235 3031528In Juba: Daniëlle Brouwer, +316 10222382   In Nairobi: Susan Mbalu, +254 733 827 654In Geneva: Tommaso Della Longa, +41 79 708 43 67; Scott Craig, +41 76 370 3575

The IFRC is saddened by the killing of another two members of Palestine Red Crescent Society

With deep sorrow, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) confirms the death of two Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics.Haitham Tubasi and Suhail Hassouna were both working on duty in a clearly marked PRCS ambulance when it was hit on 29 May. Both were killed at the scene in the Tal Al-Sultan area, west of Rafah.The IFRC sends its deepest condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues at the Palestine Red Crescent Society.Since the beginning of the conflict, the IFRC network has lost 24 members while on duty. 20 staff and volunteers of the Palestine Red Crescent Society have been killed and 4 from Magen David Adom in Israel.We are devastated at these losses. Protecting humanitarian workers is a legal and moral obligation.The level of human suffering in Rafah and overall in the Gaza Strip is unconscionable.More than one million people, including PRCS volunteers and staff, have fled multiple times in search of safety with no access to basic services.We call on all parties to take measures to protect humanitarian workers and end the human suffering.Visit our In memoriam page to homage their service and their sacrifice.

Programmatic Partnership / IFRC

The Pilot Programmatic Partnership was an innovative and ambitious three-year partnership (2022-2025) between the IFRC, 37 National Societies, and the European Union. Together, we supported 17 million people in communities worldwide to reduce their risks and be better prepared for disasters and health emergencies, while strengthening local humanitarian capacity across 25 countries.

Shelter and settlements

Shelter and settlements programming is a vital part of humanitarian assistance delivered by the IFRC and our National Societies. It is important not only in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but in helping to restore communities’ dignity and build their resilience to future shocks and hazards.

The power of women and water: Special World Water Day report on the ways women in rural Togo are making their community safer through the power of easily accessible clean and safe water.

From Cyclones to Cooperation: The case for a disaster treaty in Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar, one of the world’s most disaster-prone island states, is extremely vulnerable to climate change and faces recurring threats from cyclones, floods, droughts, and epidemics. This document uses the example of Madagascar's recent experience with successive cyclones to make the case for an international treaty that would make disaster preparedness, cooperation and rapid response more effective and efficient.