ReliefWeb

Everyone Counts: report reveals millions receiving life-saving health services from Red Cross and Red Crescent

Geneva, 10 April 2018 – More than 170 million vulnerable people around the world received health services from Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers in 2016, a new report revealed today.

Everyone Counts, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), also shows that volunteers supported nearly 50 million people with disaster response and recovery work worldwide in 2016, and trained more than 11 million people in life-saving first aid.

“The data shows that, every day, Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers are extending formal health services to vulnerable communities all around the world,” said Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of IFRC.

“To give just one example, Somali Red Crescent Society health volunteers supported nearly 5.4 million people - more than a third of the country’s population – in 2016. That is exceptional coverage considering the largely nomadic nature of many communities.”

The report gathers data from 190 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide, and offers insights into humanitarian and societal trends such as spontaneous volunteering; how volunteer numbers rise and then stabilize following a major disaster, and how National Society “per million” indicators are affected by sociodemographic factors such as population size and the Human Development Index.

“The data presented in this report also shows how the Red Cross and Red Crescent is evolving to meet new and growing needs,” said Mr Sy. “A lot of our focus has been on social inclusion and building a culture of non-violence and peace, and we reached 16.3 million people with these programmes in 2016. We also expanded our cash transfer programming, giving choice and autonomy to 2 million people in need.”

The 2016 numbers are part of a five-year dataset on Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian work worldwide, which is freely available for download and analysis here. Mr Sy added: “Our IFRC network has a global reach because our local action on the ground in 190 countries is saving lives every day.”

Note to editors: In 2010, IFRC created a system for performance reporting called the Federation-Wide Data and Reporting System (FDRS) to collect data from all IFRC member National Societies based around several main indicators. Two years later, after a successful pilot scheme, 100 per cent of member National Societies were reporting on at least one indicator, and 77 per cent reported on all indicators.

The 2018 edition of Everyone Counts presents self-reported data for National Society work in 2016 alongside an analysis of the 2012-2016 data.

For more information, contact:

In Geneva: Laura Ngo-Fontaine, +41 79 570 44 18, laura.ngofontaine@ifrc.org
Alison Freebairn, +41 79 251 93 33, alison.freebairn@ifrc.org
In Beirut: Rana Cassou,+961 5 428420, rana.cassou@ifrc.org
In Budapest: Nichola Jones, +36 1 888 4538, nicholalyndsay.jones@ifrc.org
In Kuala Lumpur: Rosemarie North, +60 12 230 845, rosemarie.north@ifrc.org
In Nairobi: Euloge Ishimwe, +254 731 688 613, euloge.ishimwe@ifrc.org
In Panama: Diana Medinia, +507 6780 5395, diana.medina@ifrc.org

About IFRC:

IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network, comprising 190 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies working to save lives and promote dignity around the world. www.ifrc.org - Facebook - Twitter - YouTube – Flickr