At the ICRC, director Robert Mardini fears an unprecedented financial crisis

Familiar with crises of all kinds, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is preparing to face a major one: for the first time in 160 years of history, none of its ten major humanitarian operations – Ukraine, Nigeria , Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia – is not adequately funded. This means that as it stands, it might miss 500 to 700 million from the budget of 2.79 billion that the ICRC plans by the end of 2023. “If this is confirmed, we will no longer have the means to help the populations in the most difficult places to access, where our presence is the most important”, is alarmed with the Temps ICRC Director General Robert Mardini.