We @ifrc defined the last 365 days as a "year of suffering". Hostages must come home. Bombs must stop falling. Aid must be allowed to get to where it’s needed most. Humanity must prevail. Thank you @BBCWorld @helenachumphrey for the space.

Behind every displacement figure is a family forced to leave everything behind in search of safety. In Moyale, Kenya, thousands of people are facing an uncertain future after fleeing violence across the border with Ethiopia. @KenyaRedCross volunteers, with support from the @IFRC, are helping families meet their immediate needs, offering essential assistance, care and dignity during an incredibly difficult time. For families who have lost so much, humanitarian support can make all the difference.

La Croce Rossa Italiana e il Corpo Militare Volontario della CRI rendono omaggio alla memoria e all'impegno della Sergente Laura Procacci e del Tenente Franco Adriano Zecchillo. La Sergente Procacci, laureanda in Medicina e Chirurgia, aveva 32 anni ed era operativamente orientata alla gestione dell'emergenza-urgenza. Il Tenente Zecchillo, con un'esperienza quarantennale in ambito sanitario, docente e figura di riferimento per la formazione professionale avrebbe compiuto 65 anni domani. Entrambi incarnavano con rigore e dedizione i valori dell'Associazione. Il loro percorso professionale e associativo rimane una testimonianza di costante impegno, alto profilo specialistico e spirito di servizio a favore della collettività. Uniamo il nostro dolore a quello delle loro famiglie e dei loro affetti.

I am deeply saddened by the tragic helicopter accident in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the victims were two Italian Red Cross volunteers @crocerossa, Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Laura Procacci, who were killed while serving as part of a medical evacuation team. A third team member was also injured. My heartfelt condolences go to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives, and to everyone at the Italian Red Cross. I wish all those injured a full and swift recovery.

Che tragedia! Le mie più sentite condoglianze e tutta la mia vicinanza ai colleghi della @crocerossa, alle famiglie e agli amici dei volontari scomparsi. Un abbraccio al volontario rimasto ferito e a tutta la Croce Rossa Italiana in questo momento di immenso dolore. nitter.siddz.com/crocerossa/status/2115…

For families fleeing conflict in Yemen, the search for safety means risking their lives at sea. In this week’s IFRC podcast, @TDellaLonga explores the humanitarian situation in Djibouti: the urgent needs of people arriving, the pressures on communities welcoming them, and how the Djibouti Red Crescent and @IFRC are delivering lifesaving support. 🎧 Listen to the episode wherever you get your podcast: YouTube: bit.ly/4ssnhfO Spotify: bit.ly/4svyrAl Apple: bit.ly/4ieSdgk

I am deeply saddened by the killing of Baderaldain Omer Musa Ibrahim, a Sudanese Red Crescent volunteer, while providing first aid in Blue Nile State. He was 33 and had served his community for six years. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues at the Sudanese Red Crescent. Just days after our discussions in Brussels on protecting humanitarian personnel, his death is another painful reminder that words must become action. Attacks against humanitarian personnel are unacceptable. Humanitarian workers and volunteers must be respected and protected. Our statement 👇

Too often, we are asking permanent institutions to live on temporary money. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are there before a crisis, during it and long after it. Yet much of their funding arrives with the headlines and leaves with them. Today in Geneva, with Lombard Odier and Fondation Philanthropia, we launched the @IFRC Endowment Platform to help address that gap. The idea is simple: contributions in the Endowment Platform remain invested, while the income they generate supports the people, local branches and essential systems that National Societies need to serve their communities, year after year. Endowment returns help our National Societies stay strong after the cameras have gone – strengthening their resilience for the next shock. The Ukrainian Red Cross Endowment Fund is the first fund under the Platform. Our ambition is to extend this opportunity to National Societies across our network. The strength we invest in today is the strength communities can count on tomorrow.

For communities already facing hardship, El Niño can bring further risks to food security and livelihoods. But early warnings can give people time to prepare and act before disaster strikes. In the latest episode of IFRC Weekly News, we speak with Jonathan Stone about how El Niño interacts with climate change, what this means for communities, and how the @IFRC and Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies turn early warnings into early action. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube: piped.video/JAS5EauyuCA Spotify: bit.ly/4yRmQxT Apple: bit.ly/3U1lsK8

Ahead of the International Conference on the Protection of Humanitarian Aid Workers in Brussels, the @IFRC and European Union @eu_echo reaffirm their strong partnership and shared commitment to protecting and supporting humanitarian personnel. Through this partnership, and with EU funding under the Protect Aid Workers initiative, the IFRC established the RED Family Fund, a solidarity mechanism supporting the families of IFRC staff and volunteers who have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty. In Brussels, together, and with the support of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union @Ireland2026eu, we will continue to advocate for meaningful protection, stronger accountability and practical support for those who put humanity first. Safety must be the standard, not the exception.

Our thoughts are with our colleagues, their families and the entire @RedCrossUkraine team. We wish them a full and speedy recovery. Humanitarian workers must be protected. They must be able to help communities safely.

Three years ago on 7 October, Rinat Ben David was called in to reinforce @Mdais 's emergency dispatch center. This year, on the same date, she helped deliver three babies over the phone in a single night shift.

Birgitte was an inspiring leader, someone from whom I always learned, a principled humanitarian and an icon of integrity, vision and courage. I feel honoured to have worked with her. I will always remember her extraordinary capacity to listen, her positive outlook, her ability to look ahead and anticipate emerging trends, and her amazing sense of humour, even in the most difficult moments. She led by example, never afraid to roll up her sleeves and work shoulder to shoulder with her team. Something I will never forget. She was tough, but always gentle, because above everything, Birgitte was an amazing human being: gentle, energetic, positive and deeply compassionate. She was someone with whom I could discuss anything, and whose perspective I always valued. I will miss her so much. Her loss is immense for the entire humanitarian community. My deepest condolences and thoughts are with her family, with all her friends and loved ones, and with the entire Europe region team. ifrc.org/statement/ifrc-mour…

I'm devastated to share the news of the sudden passing of my close friend and colleague, Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, the IFRC's Regional Director for Europe. We've published this statement. My deepest condolences to Birgitte's husband, family, friends and colleagues at this awful, painful time. ifrc.org/statement/ifrc-mour…

Three months after twin earthquakes devastated communities in Venezuela, families still need healthcare, psychological support, safe water and shelter. In the latest episode of IFRC Weekly News, we explore how the @CruzRojaVe and @IFRC are supporting affected families, and why sustained funding is essential to help communities recover in the months ahead. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube: piped.video/DUWqGmJeeH8

Nine minutes. 900 lives saved. That’s how quickly headmaster Mr Dawadi evacuated children, teachers and staff before disaster struck their school in Nuwakot, Nepal. The school was completely destroyed. Everyone survived. During his visit to Nuwakot, @IFRC Secretary General @jagan_chapagain met Mr Dawadi and saw the devastation firsthand. Red Cross preparedness training had given the headmaster the skills to act when every second counted. Preparedness saves lives. Investing in it cannot wait.

Three spaces in New York today at #UNGA81, one message. At the Yale Club’s climate adaptation event, a session with the Clinton Global Initiative and, later, in an interview with the BBC, I stressed that a warning alone saves nobody. Prepared, trusted and locally led action does. We need earlier action, stronger partnerships and a new international treaty to protect people when disasters strike. We must also ensure humanitarian personnel and volunteers can carry out their vital work safely.

The @IFRC is participating in the High-Level Week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Led by IFRC Secretary General @jagan_chapagain, the IFRC delegation will engage with governments, UN partners and key stakeholders to help shape global priorities on humanitarian action at a time when communities around the world are facing increasingly complex crises. Throughout the week, the IFRC will advocate for stronger support to locally led action and bring the voices of communities most affected by crises to the heart of global discussions and decision-making. #UNGA81

Julie Payette (@Astro_Payette), Canadian Astronaut and President of the @ASE_Astronauts, joins the @IFRC's call for the protection of people before, during and after disasters. Learn more at earthsmissingtreaty.org #EarthsMissingTreaty

☀️ The Cuban Red Cross is bringing light back where it is needed most. Despite extreme weather and severely damaged roads, Cuban Red Cross volunteers reached Tranquera, a community in Granma affected by Hurricane Melissa, to install a new solar energy system. “Today, in Tranquera, that light is on.” - Jorge Verdecia Ramírez, Cuban Red Cross Now fully operational, the system will help keep essential medical services running during power outages, enabling healthcare workers to provide uninterrupted care, safely store vital medicines and strengthen community preparedness. This support forms part of the @IFRC Emergency Appeal, which seeks to raise CHF 18 million to support the Cuban Red Cross response and help 100,000 people recover over 24 months.

Four months after the Ebola outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the virus continues to spread amid insecurity, misinformation and mistrust. In the latest episode of IFRC Weekly News, we explains the challenges facing the response, why community trust and safe and dignified burials are essential to stopping transmission, and how DRC Red Cross volunteers are working to protect communities. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts. Spotify: bit.ly/4cJykea Apple Podcast: bit.ly/46sSOEh