Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today presented measures designed to maximize the effectiveness of its humanitarian assistance in line with its initial 2024 budget forecast of 2.1 billion CHF.

NEWS RELEASE 11 SEPTEMBER 2023

The 2024 initial forecast is a 13 percent decrease from the ICRC’s revised 2023 budget. ICRC delegations will face less capacity to assist those in need, given lower operational budgets and a reduction in personnel. The ICRC is highly concerned about the impact that reduced humanitarian assistance will have on people living through armed conflict and violence. We are therefore working to reduce costs, create organisational efficiencies, and maximize resources to deliver our core work.

The ICRC’s 2024 forecast comes amid a trend of reduced humanitarian aid budgets, even as global humanitarian needs have never been higher, as underscored by armed conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, and the Sahel. The ICRC already faced a financially challenging 2023 that resulted in job losses and the closure or downsizing of some locations.

Adjusting to this economic reality will unfortunately entail further significant staff reductions in some locations. The full impact on our delegations around the world will be known once our teams complete the budget process for 2024 in November. At our Geneva headquarters, approximately 270 positions will be cut from the 1,400 people employed at headquarters today. This is a difficult moment for valued members of staff, and we are working to support those impacted.

We count on and appreciate the support of our donors for our critical humanitarian mission, including those that stepped up their funding in 2023 despite the challenging fiscal environment. The ICRC remains reliant on their voluntary contributions so that we can deliver life-saving protection and assistance in areas of armed conflict.

In 2024, the ICRC will be implementing a deliberate global strategy to prioritize areas where it has unique value, expertise, and access as a neutral humanitarian organisation. We will also be working to optimize our processes and structure for more efficient service delivery to people most in need.

With this clear vision, our overriding goal is to ensure that the ICRC reaches people in areas close to the frontlines where others are not working; to provide protection services such as working in detention centres and reuniting family separated by conflict; to play our role as neutral intermediary; and to promote respect for international humanitarian law to reduce the human costs of war.

About the ICRC

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.