A woman smiles as she carries a container full of safe drinking water

Norwegian Red Cross International Programs and Activities

Our mission is to improve the health of people affected by conflict, crises and climate change. Our operational focus covers health, water and sanitation (WASH), protection and climate change.

The Norwegian Red Cross is part of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, which consists of 192 National Societies, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is the world’s largest humanitarian network and represents an estimated 13 million volunteers in 192 countries. The Norwegian Red Cross is present across the world and you can read more about this on rodekors.no (only in Norwegian). 
 
The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is guided by seven fundamental principles; Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary service, Unity and Universality. 

Norwegian Red Cross International Strategy 2021-2023

Norwegian Red Cross International Strategy. PDF

The overall strategic goal is: To help people anticipate, survive and quickly recover from crises.

The 2021-2023 International Strategy aims to achieve this through the provision of health and protection support to the most vulnerable people in areas where healthcare is limited or non-existent.

This requires engagement and contributions by a range of stakeholders, including communities, government institutions and civil society. While the Norwegian Red Cross focus is on the community level, we also contribute at the national, regional and global level.

To reach the overall objective outlined in the International Strategy, the Norwegian Red Cross has developed a thematic framework for its priority areas; health, WASH, disaster risk management, climate, protection and, to underpin the others, National Society Development. Protection considerations are included in most programmes, as part of a mainstreaming approach.

Results Reports

Norwegian Red Cross International Results Reports 2019

Norwegian Red Cross International Results Reports 2018

HEALTH - Focus  on community-based disease prevention, health promotion and health care services, as well as improving access to water and sanitation in conflict and protracted crisis.

DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT – The  Red Cross Red Crescent  Movement works on Disaster Risk Management (DRM), including Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Disaster Preparedness (DP), Disaster Response (DR) and Recovery. Within this framework,  the  main focus of the Norwegian Red Cross  is disaster preparedness and response, as well as supporting owner-driven shelter reconstruction in recovery to large-scale disasters.

PROTECTION – The Norwegian Red Cross’s interpretation of the term protection encompasses activities seeking to increase the protection of a population by encouraging all relevant stakeholders to fulfill their obligations and ensure respect for the rights of those affected by armed conflict and violence.

NATIONAL SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT - Norwegian Red Cross  aligns with the  IFRC  Strategy 2020, recognizing a strong, well-functioning and decentralized organization as the foundation for every National Society to reach the people most in need with quality community actions and services of relevance. Supporting National Societies in their organizational development processes, including finance development, resource mobilization and planning,  is therefore a substantial element in  our  partnerships.