
The global Red Cross Red Crescent network’s 2018 World Disasters Report: Leaving No One Behind spotlights the global challenges involved in delivering aid to the most vulnerable people—along with solutions to help humanitarian actors better reach communities around the world.
Reaching the hardest to reach
In the report, global experts in humanitarian assistance and disaster response reveal that a lack of funding is not the only issue limiting how many people in need receive aid.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) found that millions of people may not be reached because of issues including:
Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of IFRC writes in the report, “Who are these millions of people left behind? Every human being has a name, a story–and a beating heart”. He continued, “the missing millions become ‘crisis-affected populations’, ‘migrants’, ‘refugees’, ‘beneficiaries’– or just the neglected, the dispossessed, the dead”.
Calling partners to action
Local grassroots groups and organizations—including Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies—often have critical information about who is in need, where they are, and how they could be helped.
The report urges humanitarian actors to invest in local action and solutions to ensure no one is left behind. The report presents key solutions to the humanitarian sector, including:
Learning from experience
Everyday down the street, across the country, and around the world the Red Cross works around the clock to reach people in need after disasters and crises. In Nepal, which is known for its rugged terrain, Red Cross responders faced steep mountains and extreme conditions after the devastating earthquakes that killed around 9,000 people in 2015.
The Nepal Red Cross and other partners, including the American Red cross, travel hours to remote areas to provide health support and other assistance to communities. After the earthquakes, the humanitarian community mapped rural villages across Nepal using the Humanitarian Open Street Map platform. These maps enable relief workers to reach even the most remote communities.
The Red Cross is also investing locally by training neighbors to help neighbors, as community-based volunteers.
READ THE FULL REPORT
Read the 2018 World Disasters Report here: https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/world-disaster-report-2018/
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
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