Red Cross faces 17% budget cut

The ICRC has to cut its budget for next year by 17 per cent Keystone-SDA

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) must cut its budget by 17% by the end of the year, resulting in job losses.

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“The overall figure is 17%,” said an ICRC spokesperson on Tuesday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, confirming a report in the newspaper Le Temps. Cuts will be made at the headquarters as well as at the regional centres and operations.

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The ICRC wants to maintain its operations in Ukraine, the Middle East, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan. However, it must also become more efficient in line with the policy it adopted in 2023, the spokesperson added.

The plan still has to be confirmed by the Assembly, the institution’s highest body, in November. In 2023, the ICRC ran into difficulties and reduced its budget from CHF2.8 billion to CHF2.1 billion. Some 4,500 jobs were cut at the time.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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