New report on volunteering highlights risks for local humanitarian workers

Local humanitarian volunteers are often exposed to greater risks and operating in highly dangerous locations, a latest report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the University of Northumbria found.

According to the report, named "Global Review on Volunteering", the scale of humanitarian need around the world is expanding significantly, emerging from environments that are so dangerous and complex that few organizations can act within them.

The report was launched in Geneva during the 20th session of the IFRC General Assembly to mark the International Volunteer Day which falls on Dec. 5.

IFRC said that more than 600 people from 158 countries were interviewed or surveyed, including volunteers, managers, staff and external experts.

Around the world currently there are more than one million Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers working in countries where there are situations of conflict or violence, including many thousands who are regularly on the front line.

According to the report, over the past two years, nearly 50 Red Cross and Red Crescent local aid workers, including volunteers, have died in the line of duty.

The report also showed that in the years leading up to 2014, around 60 per cent of Red Cross Red Crescent aid workers killed were in natural disasters, whereas in the last 2 years, 80 per cent of fatalities have been as a result of conflict or violence.

In addition to fatalities, many more have been injured or put under such extreme psychological stress that they require significant and advanced support for many years. Endit