Climate-related disasters are increasing in intensity and frequency, and communities around the world are facing the humanitarian consequences of climate change on a daily basis. Volunteers from the very communities that are at risk are the ones that are adapting quickest to these fast-changing crises and they can make a real difference, according to Bekele Geleta, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Speaking on International Volunteers Day at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland, Mr. Geleta stressed that proactive preparation and greater awareness will be needed if the challenges of climate change are to be met. "It is vital that we better prepare and train community-based volunteers to meet the critical challenges ahead. Well-trained volunteers remain our best defence against disasters and, as first responders, volunteers are best-placed to protect communities at risk," says Geleta.

"Humanitarian organizations and governments need to build a strong culture of prevention and build real resilience within communities against the ravaging effects of disasters," continued Geleta. "Disaster response on its own is never enough. We also have an obligation to significantly develop the highest levels of preventive action. We must take inspiration from the volunteer spirit of solidarity and be even better prepared and organized," he said.

"Our network of Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers, working closely with other civil society partners and government agencies, is an impressive force that can effectively contribute to improving safety and reducing loss of life. The IFRC has 90 years of experience in disaster preparedness and risk reduction as well as in disaster response, and we have never turned our backs on a crisis or a person in need."

Geleta noted some current examples where proactive operations involving Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers made a real difference. "In Mozambique, hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated to safety when floods swept across the Zambezi valley in January," he explained. "In the Caribbean, where 17 ferocious hurricanes have battered coastal communities in quick succession, pre-emptive, large-scale evacuations saved countless lives. When heat waves affect central Europe, effective preventive measures carried out by volunteers from within the affected communities are minimizing unnecessary loss of life."

Geleta's call for action is all the more pertinent as 2009 will mark 150 years since the birth of the idea that gave rise to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. "During 2009 we will run a joint campaign with the International Committee of the Red Cross that calls on people throughout the world to get involved and to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable people everywhere. Under the slogan "Our world. Your move." the campaign will encourage a renewed sense of action to tackle the current and unprecedented challenges threatening humanity as a whole.

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