International Cooperation Funds
The Canadian Red Cross relies on flexible funding to the International Disaster Relief Fund and the International Programs Fund to help ensure we can respond to urgent needs around the world.
International Disaster Relief Fund
Donations to the Canadian Red Cross International Disaster Relief Fund (IDRF) will help provide those impacted by emergencies with urgently needed food, shelter, first aid, basic health care and medical supplies and services. The funds allow us to respond within hours of an emergency and to channel funding to where it is needed most. It also allows us to implement disaster preparedness programs to create stronger and more resilient communities.
Not being tied to a specific emergency, these funds give us the flexibility to send humanitarian experts, relief items, health services, and direct funding to the impacted area for various emergencies— including those that may not make headline news and are therefore unlikely to receive much support through fundraising.
Donate to the International Disaster Relief Fund
Below are some examples of how we have supported emergency responses around the world thanks to the generosity of donors contributing to the IDRF:
Conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan
(Photo credit: Armenian Red Cross)
During the escalation of hostilities in Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Canadian Red Cross contributed funds from IDRF to support the International Committee of the Red Cross’ (ICRC) response to this emergency. With IDRF funding, ICRC worked closely with the Armenian Red Cross Society emergency response team to support the distribution of life-saving aid including food, medical supplies, blankets, and hygiene items, in addition to conducting medical evacuations and identifying some of the most at-risk families who remained in the area as access to basic services deteriorated.
Hurricane Otis
(Photo credit: Mexican Red Cross)
In October 2023, Hurricane Otis, reported to be the strongest Pacific hurricane on record to make landfall, caused mass devastation in Acapulco and surrounding areas in Mexico. The storm ripped homes and other structures apart, flooded streets, and cut communications across the city—leaving thousands severely impacted. With IDRF funding, the Canadian Red Cross provided funds to the Mexican Red Cross to support their work on the ground, including search and rescue efforts, supplying disaster relief items to people affected, and more.
Sudan complex emergency
(Photo credit: Sudanese Red Crescent Society)
In Sudan, the armed conflict that broke out in 2023 continues to cause widespread displacement of people and a humanitarian crisis of a catastrophic scale. Through IDRF, the Canadian Red Cross has provided support to people impacted in Sudan by supporting the vital work that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) is doing. The funds helped to provide shelter, water sanitation and hygiene, and essential household items, as well as food distributions, cash grants, and urgent healthcare services, including mental health and psychosocial support services.
International Programs Fund
The International Programs Fund (IPF) provides the Canadian Red Cross with flexible funding to provide longer-term support to our local Red Cross and Red Crescent National Society partners where it is needed most.
The funds help us to establish primary health care programs, water and sanitation programs, and make families more resilient against future disaster or conflict situations. Donations will support programs that provide communities with clean water and sanitation, help reduce preventable deaths of children and maternal health, teach children basic health care lessons to help build stronger and healthier families, and help communities discover long-term improvements on top of short-term relief after disasters or conflicts.
By contributing to the IPF, donors enable the Canadian Red Cross to extend its humanitarian reach and uphold the dignity and well-being of people around the globe.
Donate to the International Programs Fund
Here are some of the ways in which the IPF is making a difference in various parts of the world:
Honduras
(Photo Credit: Juergen Ordoñez /Honduran Red Cross)
As part of a five-year partnership with the Honduran Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross has contributed funds through the IPF, with a focus on increasing the capacity of Honduran Red Cross to respond to disasters and emergencies in the region. This has helped them improve health emergency services and climate change risk management, and support humanitarian efforts through local leadership. Funds have also enabled Honduran Red Cross to support people and communities impacted by ongoing large-scale migration in the region and forced internal displacement, and support initiatives that strengthen resilience within communities that are facing the invisible effects of climate change in the region.
Somaliland
(Photo credit: Angela Hill / IFRC)
Funds from the IPF are supporting the ongoing “Strengthening the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Capacity” project. The project is improving Somali Red Crescent Society’s response to health emergencies with an emphasis on community-based health and epidemic preparedness and response. It is tailored for diverse groups, and implemented through a gender-sensitive approach guided by principles of community engagement.
A previous project with the Somali Red Crescent Society, “Strengthening Service Delivery of Emergency Response in Somaliland,” improved Somali-Somaliland Red Crescent Society’s ability to respond to health and emergency needs amid the country’s pre-existing complex humanitarian situation, COVID-19, and natural disasters. Thanks to additional funding from the Canadian Red Cross, this project has indirectly assisted more than 1.1 million people.
Ethiopia
(Photo credit: Canadian Red Cross)
Through the IPF, the Canadian Red Cross has been able to support vital recovery and rehabilitation efforts in two regions of Ethiopia. Funding has helped strengthen the operational capacity of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, and supported multipurpose cash assistance, emergency medical services and Community-based health insurance. With challenges due to the ongoing conflict, these funds have enabled the Ethiopian Red Crescent Society to implement activities that effectively reach communities throughout these regions.