Humanitarian response and recovery
Earthquakes, epidemics, flooding, violence or hunger – whenever disaster strikes, the Red Cross provides emergency assistance. It provides people in need with essential supplies. During the recovery stage, it makes sure that people are better prepared for future disasters.
Challenges
Disasters are getting worse and more complex
Every year, around 100 million people are directly affected by natural disasters, causing enormous suffering. People lose their homes, harvests, livelihoods and even their families. More than 95% of these disasters are related to weather and climate. And climate change is causing natural disasters to get worse. Droughts, floods, storms and forest fires are becoming more and more common. The consequences are devastating. People do not have time to recover, and neither does the environment. Harvests are less productive. Conflicts over resources, such as water and fertile land, are increasing. Violence and displacement are causing further hardship.
In many places, disasters were made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, making recovery more complicated and the damage even greater.
Disasters leave scars
Natural disasters destroy human lives and livelihoods. Besides all the damage to houses, fields and facilities, disasters also leave social and economic scars behind them. The victims lose their livelihoods and sometimes even their families. Many people are traumatized by the life-changing events and the economic repercussions. It often takes them years to recover.
Our goal
Our goal is to save human lives and prevent unnecessary suffering. To achieve this, we increase people’s resilience. We support them before, during and after a disaster.
Hand in hand with the local population, we devise measures to help them cope better with future disasters and ensure that less damage is caused. This approach is sustainable because it combines emergency relief, recovery and disaster preparedness.
What we do
Insights into our projects
Fast, effective action
Saving lives when disaster strikes requires fast, effective action. Cash handouts and essential relief supplies must be available and emergency response teams and logistics specialists must be ready to respond.
As a member of the worldwide Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the SRC is ready to act. Its emergency response teams comprise logistics specialists and medical personnel who are ready to travel to disaster zones at short notice.
International network
Local Red Cross workers and volunteers are the first on-site. They rescue victims, assist relatives, distribute food and drinking water, and provide first aid. But if they are to help, they need financial resources and coordination behind the scenes. This is provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)Opens a new window, which coordinates all emergency relief operations.
Cash handouts
Cash-based relief is becoming more common. Disaster victims receive cash handouts, vouchers or rechargeable debit cards, so they can decide for themselves what they most urgently need.
Local procurement
Wherever possible, the SRC’s emergency relief specialists purchase materials from local suppliers. This gives the local economy a helping hand.
Recovery
The SRC helps people get back to a dignified and independent everyday life. It builds back stronger communities and infrastructure, and homes that are safer and more durable.
Recovery is not just about replacing damaged infrastructure. People who have been robbed of almost everything by a disaster must be able to recover socially and economically.
GOOD TO KNOW
Emergency response operations
The SRC has a pool of experts who can be deployed within 48 hours to disaster zones abroad. These logistics and healthcare specialists are released by their employers for the duration of the mission.
To cope with these demanding operations, they undergo a foundation training course and keep up to date with annual refresher courses.
Where we help
The SRC is providing emergency relief and reconstruction assistance in many countries around the world in partnership with other members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Our project countries
World map.The Swiss Red Cross project countries are highlighted in red. Here is the full list: Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malawi, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, Paraguay, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Ukraine.