Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland allocates EUR 3 million to the International Red Cross Disaster Relief Emergency Fund

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland has allocated three million euros in humanitarian funding to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The fund will support the Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies in each country when a disaster or crisis strikes, or proactively before a disaster occurs. 

With the help of the money already collected, local aid workers will be supported quickly and flexibly in their work when funds are needed rapidly to organise emergency aid or preparedness, or when no other funds are available.  

For example, the Iranian Red Crescent Society, supported by the fund, launched an immediate aid operation to help people. With the support of the fund, the Iranian Red Crescent Society has been able to carry out coordinated search and rescue operations and provide emergency medical services quickly right from the start of the conflict. The fund will also strengthen the local Red Crescent Society’s own capacity to operate and provide long-term aid in challenging conditions in the region.

Tropical cyclones and other extreme weather events on the increase – the importance of foresight and preparedness is growing

The importance of foresight and preparedness is growing every year as tropical cyclones and other extreme weather events become more frequent. 

For example, in November 2025, Jamaica Red Cross volunteers launched an operation to prepare well in advance for Melissa, the strongest hurricane of the year. They distributed aid supplies and helped families to safety from the storm. 

Thanks to this foresight, lives were saved despite the enormous destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. The preparedness was supported by the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, DREF, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. With the help of the fund, local aid workers were able to prepare for the hurricane in advance and deliver aid swiftly.

The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, DREF, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is particularly important at a time when international funding is being cut and less support is available for aid work. 

The fund is funded by various countries, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other financiers. 

Since 2022, the Finnish Red Cross has supported aid work with a total of 2.8 million euros through DREF. In 2025, the Finnish Red Cross contributed one million euros to the fund from its own Disaster Relief Fund. 

For the first time, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland is allocating funds to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. This allocation puts Finland among the key DREF donors.

The Finnish Red Cross supports the activities and development of DREF in several ways. In collaboration with the International Red Cross, the Finnish Red Cross is developing proactive measures and supporting National Societies in preparing for increasing and extreme weather events. A quarter of the DREF will be allocated to development work aimed at improving preparedness and readiness at a local level.

The Finnish Red Cross has sent one of its employees to join the DREF team of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The employee is in charge of managing and coordinating the fund and provides support to local Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies in the event of a crisis or disaster. 

The DREF team also supports local Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies in preparing for foreseeable threats such as floods or tropical cyclones. In practice, this includes stockpiling aid supplies in nearby areas, protecting homes, livestock and livelihoods, and building flood barriers. 

The disaster relief fund of the Finnish Red Cross and the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, DREF, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are separate funds.