In this episode, we look at a major vaccination drive now underway across Gaza and Lebanon, where IFRC and Red Cross and Red Crescent teams are working to reach children who have missed routine immunizations due to conflict, displacement, and economic collapse.

Health systems across the region are under immense strain, leaving many children unprotected from diseases like measles and polio. Backed by funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the IFRC is supporting the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Lebanese Red Cross to deliver vaccines through primary health centers, mobile teams, and outreach in hard-to-reach communities.

We speak with Tasneem Obaid, IFRC’s Immunization Senior Officer in MENA, who joins us to share the program’s priorities, the challenges volunteers face on the ground, and the early results showing how vital this work is for families living through crisis.

In this episode, we turn our attention to COP 30 - the United Nations climate conference taking place this year in Belem, Brazil. As world leaders, scientists, humanitarians and activists gather to negotiate critical climate commitments, the stakes are higher than ever for communities at the front lines of the climate crisis.

The IFRC is working to ensure that communities on the front lines of the climate crisis are heard, and that global commitments translate into real action. We speak with Ninni Ikkala Nyman, IFRC’s climate lead, who joins us from inside the conference to share key priorities, major highlights from the past week, and what outcomes we hope to see as COP 30 draws to a close.

In this episode, we focus on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and what may be the hardest winter for millions of Ukrainians since the beginning of the conflict. The combination of relentless attacks, rolling blackouts, colder forecasts, and deepening economic hardships is leaving entire communities in the dark and cold. With prices rising and incomes shrinking, many people will face an impossible decision: choose between food, medicine and other essentials. This is why the Red Cross teams are scaling up for winter across Ukraine. In this episode, we speak with IFRC's Diana Hohol, who supports the IFRC response in Ukraine from Bucarest, Romania.

First, a powerful earthquake struck Cebu at the end of September. Then Typhoon Kalmaegi battered the same region - and just days later, Super Typhoon Fungwong swept across the country, leaving a trail of destruction. Millions of people have been affected, with hundreds of thousands still in evacuation centres. The country has faced disaster after disaster - testing the resilience of communities and stretching the limits of front-line humanitarian responders. In this episode, we’re speaking with the IFRC’s Ellie van Baaren in Cebu City to learn more about this extraordinary series of disasters.  

In this episode, we turn our attention to Sudan, where after more than 2.5 years of conflict, the country faces one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and the largest displacement crisis globally. Joining us is IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa, who helps us understand the latest developments and the extent of the urgent humanitarian response.

In this first episode of IRCS News, we look at the Red Cross response to disaster at a huge scale. Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, is a stark reminder of how the climate crisis is driving humanitarian emergencies. 

IFRC and Red Cross teams in the region have been providing emergency shelter, clean water, and health assistance, while also helping communities prepare for future storms. 

Loyce Pace, the director of IFRC operations for the Americas talks about the hurricane's impact and the IFRC's regional response. Even more importantly, she details how Red Cross National Societies helped communities prepare and reduce storm risks well before it made landfall.