International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the worldwide membership organization that supports and coordinates 191 National Societies in humanitarian action.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the global federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and one of the principal institutions of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It works before, during and after disasters and health emergencies, supporting locally led action intended to reduce vulnerability, protect lives and strengthen community resilience. The federation is headquartered in Geneva and operates through a network of 191 member National Societies, their volunteers, staff and local branches. The organization was established in Paris on 5 May 1919 as the League of Red Cross Societies. Its creation followed the First World War and was driven by Henry P. Davison of the American Red Cross, who argued that the Red Cross should have a permanent international body focused not only on armed-conflict relief, the traditional domain of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but also on public health, epidemics, natural disasters and the development of National Societies in peacetime. Sir David Henderson became its first director-general. The league initially brought together the societies of the victorious Allied powers, but progressively expanded its membership and became increasingly universal. The IFRC is distinct from the ICRC. The ICRC has a mandate principally connected with armed conflict and international humanitarian law, while the IFRC supports National Societies in disaster response, health, development, preparedness, climate-related risk reduction, migration and other humanitarian work. The two organizations cooperate within the wider Movement, together with the National Societies, and their respective responsibilities have been clarified through Movement statutes and agreements, including the 1997 Seville Agreement. The federation’s work is delivered with and through National Societies. In an emergency, the society in the affected country normally acts as the host National Society, while other societies may provide personnel, funding, technical expertise or supplies as partner National Societies. The IFRC Secretariat helps coordinate international support, launches appeals, manages or supports operations, promotes common standards and represents humanitarian concerns to governments and international institutions. Its approach emphasizes impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Early priorities included epidemic control, nursing education, first aid, youth programs and the creation and strengthening of National Societies. The federation’s operational role grew through major disasters, including the 1923 Japanese earthquake, post-war relief, severe weather emergencies and large public-health crises. Its largest mission at the time was mounted after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, when dozens of National Societies and tens of thousands of volunteers supported relief and recovery. Since the late twentieth century, the federation has increasingly combined emergency response with preparedness, long-term development, disaster-risk reduction and advocacy. The IFRC is not a commercial consumer brand and does not sell a conventional product portfolio. Its principal offerings are humanitarian coordination, emergency appeals and response, health and first-aid programming, capacity building, disaster preparedness, climate and resilience work, migration support, policy advocacy and technical assistance to member societies. It also contributes to the development of humanitarian standards and to public understanding of risks. The organization describes the Red Cross and Red Crescent network as the world’s largest humanitarian network, reaching vulnerable people through local branches and volunteers across almost every region.
History
The IFRC originated in the international reorganization of humanitarian cooperation after the First World War. On 5 May 1919, representatives of the American, British, French, Italian and Japanese Red Cross Societies established the League of Red Cross Societies in Paris. Henry P. Davison, chairman of the American Red Cross War Committee, was the principal initiator, and Sir David Henderson became the first director-general. The new body was intended to complement, rather than replace, the ICRC by giving the Movement an institution dedicated to peacetime health work, disaster relief and the development of National Societies. The league’s early years involved institutional tension with the ICRC over authority, mandate and the place of defeated powers. International Red Cross conferences in the 1920s helped clarify the division of responsibilities, and the 1928 statutes formalized cooperation arrangements. The secretariat moved from Geneva to Paris in 1922, but returned to Geneva in 1939 when the outbreak of the Second World War made Switzerland’s neutrality important to operational continuity. It has remained in Geneva, moving to its present Petit-Saconnex headquarters in 1959. The first years emphasized information exchange, epidemiology, public health, nursing and youth education. The league observed a typhus epidemic in Poland and circulated prevention information. Its first major international relief operation followed the 1923 earthquake in Japan, with 35 National Societies participating and substantial international donations. During the interwar period it also promoted postgraduate public-health nursing, poverty-related programs and road-accident first aid. In the late 1930s it supported civilian relief connected with the Spanish Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War. Wartime arrangements, including the Joint Relief Commission formed in 1941, helped the league and ICRC continue assisting National Societies under difficult political conditions. After a six-year interruption, the league’s governing board met again in October 1945. Post-war relief, refugee assistance and responses to severe weather expanded its operational role. In 1948 it participated in a United Nations emergency program for Palestinian refugees, with responsibility for work in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Disasters during the early 1950s led to more systematic appeals and field operations. Decolonization subsequently produced a major increase in recognized National Societies, making the federation more globally representative. The league and ICRC jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1963. The organization changed its name to the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in 1983, reflecting the growing use of the Red Crescent emblem. Its statutes incorporated the Movement’s Fundamental Principles in 1986. In 1991 the General Assembly adopted the present name, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The 1997 Seville Agreement further defined how the IFRC and ICRC would lead or support different types of international operations. The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries brought a shift from a single multilateral response model toward more varied cooperation among host and partner National Societies. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 was an important example of this changing operational environment. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami produced the federation’s largest mission at that time, combining international assistance with local volunteers and National Society capacity. Today, the IFRC combines emergency response with preparedness, anticipatory action, health, migration support, disaster-risk reduction, climate adaptation, resilience and humanitarian advocacy. Its central model remains a worldwide federation of locally rooted, legally recognized National Societies working under common humanitarian principles.
- 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami response
[6]The federation coordinated a major relief and recovery effort involving more than 40 National Societies and over 22,000 volunteers.
- 1997
Seville Agreement
[5]The IFRC and ICRC agreed a framework for dividing responsibilities and coordinating leadership within the Movement.
- 1991
Present name adopted
[1]The General Assembly adopted the name International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
- 1983
Red Crescent added to the name
[1]The organization became the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
- 1963
Nobel Peace Prize
[4]The league and the ICRC jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1923
Japanese earthquake relief operation
[1]The league and the ICRC coordinated a large international response to the earthquake in Japan, involving 35 National Societies.
- 1919
League of Red Cross Societies founded
[1]National Red Cross representatives from five Allied powers established the league in Paris to coordinate peacetime health, relief and National Society development.
Products and positioning
A neutral, independent and impartial global federation that enables locally based Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations to prevent and respond to humanitarian crises.
Humanitarian response
Emergency appeals and operations
The IFRC supports coordinated international appeals and field operations when disasters, epidemics or other emergencies exceed the capacity of an affected National Society. Assistance can include funding, logistics, technical specialists, relief supplies, shelter, health services, protection and recovery support. Operations are normally designed around the host National Society and local branches, with partner societies contributing resources.
Health services · 1919
Health and first-aid programs
Through National Societies, the federation supports community health, epidemic preparedness, disease prevention, mental-health and psychosocial support, blood services and first-aid education. These programs seek to make health knowledge and basic assistance available before crises occur, while also strengthening response capacity during outbreaks and emergencies.
Risk reduction
Disaster preparedness and resilience
The IFRC helps communities and National Societies anticipate hazards, improve early warning, prepare contingency plans and reduce exposure to disasters. Increasingly, its work includes anticipatory action and climate adaptation so that assistance can begin before a forecast event causes its greatest damage.
Capacity building · 1919
National Society development
The federation provides governance, organizational, financial, volunteer-management and technical support to National Societies. It also works with the ICRC in the establishment and recognition of new societies, helping them develop the capacity and accountability required to serve their communities and participate in the Movement.
Brand decisions
1997
Seville Agreement on Movement responsibilitiesStrategyBackground
The IFRC and ICRC needed a clearer operational framework after decades of cooperation and occasional overlap between their mandates.
Action taken
They adopted an agreement defining primary responsibilities and coordination arrangements for international operations.
Aftermath
The agreement became a key reference for cooperation between the two international components of the Movement.
1991
Adoption of the International Federation nameStrategyBackground
The growth of Red Crescent National Societies made the previous league name increasingly incomplete and prompted a formal organizational rebranding.
Action taken
The General Assembly renamed the organization the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Aftermath
The new name became the federation’s official identity and reflected the broader composition of its membership.
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