The World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) renews its agreement to better meet healthcare needs of populations in times of emergencies.
This Memorandum of Understanding, also known as the Red Channel Agreement, is the culmination of years of collaboration between IFRC and the WHO Emergency Medical Team Initiative. Originally signed in December 2020, the agreement set out a collaborative framework to achieve better care in emergencies through heightened coordination in emergency systems and in emergency response. In the last three years, significant strides have been made through this agreement which served as a framework to bridge the gaps that are often apparent in emergencies.
Emergency Response, Classification, and Capacity Building
With this agreement, improved emergency response accountability and collaboration was witnessed in emergencies such as the Ukraine war in 2022, Turkiye earthquake in 2023, and most recently in the ongoing cholera response in the African Region, and the crises in Sudan and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Since the agreement, ten Emergency Response Units from the movement officially joined the process of International Classification—aligning the IFRC’s system with that of the WHO Emergency Medical Teams global classification system. And since 2021, IFRC staff have been integrated in global, regional and national trainings and workshops on EMT awareness, EMT global mentoring for minimum standards and EMT Coordination in emergencies.
Through the Red Channel Agreement, the increased communication and enhanced collaboration at both field and headquarters levels between IFRC and WHO will continue to see the improved quality of emergency healthcare services in emergencies for years to come.