In addition to records detailing relief services and public health campaigns in these communities, researchers will find documentation on the IFRC’s conferences, the movement of goods and volunteers, nursing and medical issues, the protection of human rights for prisoners of war, reports on the environment, and calls for disarmament and preparedness for atomic catastrophe. Materials on relief operations also include unique insights from the activities and experiences of individual IFRC representatives and local figures in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and Europe.

This collection’s focus on the work of Red Cross societies around the world complements existing Gale Primary Sources on refugees and public health as well as future collections that will showcase the effects of environmental disasters.

VALUE OF THE COLLECTION 

• Regional Breadth: With member national societies in the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and Europe, the IFRC files document environmental concerns, development priorities, and international conflicts reaching nearly every part of the world. 
• Supports Teaching & Learning: Disasters and humanitarian crises are often difficult to research as a limited amount of material exists or survives such events. This collection is valuable for students at all levels, and the arrangement of material—with files focused on specific disasters or themes—lends itself to the creation of case studies and undergraduate teaching. 
• Caters to Current Research Trends: Red Cross records share unique international insights into the Global South, migration, conflict, environmental impacts, and those affected by disasters who are often among the most vulnerable populations.

ABOUT THE IFRC 

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network and is made up of three independent parts: the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the International the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The IFRC acts before, during, and after disasters and health emergencies, including floods, earthquakes, epidemics, famines, and more, to help communities prepare and respond to disruptive events. As an international membership organization that unites and supports nearly 200 independent national Red Cross societies through a global secretariat, the IFRC impacts 160 million people a year around the world.