What we do

And when the crisis is over, we help people recover and move on with their lives.

In the UK

Our work in the UK focuses on four areas:

• emergency response – we help individuals and communities respond to and recover from emergencies, such as floods, fires and evacuations
• first aid training – we promote life-saving and other humanitarian skills so individuals can be ready to help their own communities
• health and social care – we help people during difficult periods of their life, such as an illness, breakdown in support arrangements or bereavement
• refugees and other vulnerable migrants – we help new arrivals to the UK and work to reunite families separated by conflicts and disasters.

Find out more about our work in the UK

Around the world

Our overseas work focuses on four areas:

• emergency response – we help communities affected by conflicts and disasters
• disaster preparedness – we work in countries that are vulnerable to disasters, giving communities the skills and tools to survive
• health and social care – we support vulnerable communities with a range of healthcare needs, including HIV, tuberculosis, community-based healthcare, and water and sanitation
• international humanitarian law – we promote the international laws governing the way conflicts are fought, minimising the negative effects they have on civilians and combatants.

Read more about what we do overseas

The International Movement

We are part of a global network of volunteers – the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – responding to natural disasters, conflicts and individual emergencies. There are 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies around the world, making the Movement the world's largest independent humanitarian organisation.

Read more about how we work as part of the Movement