International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Geneva, Switzerland
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Jagan Chapagain, Sec-Gen & CEO of IFRC, is a humanitarian leader. He has decades of experience in crisis response, community resilience, and global partnerships
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network. Our secretariat supports local Red Cross and Red Crescent action in more than 191 countries, bringing together more than 16 million volunteers for the good of humanity.
The IFRC acts before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people.
We are an international membership organization that unites 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and supports them through a global secretariat.
We are present in virtually every community on earth. We reach 160 million people every year through long-term services, development programmes and disaster response. And we work to improve global humanitarian standards and persuade leaders to act in the interests of vulnerable people.
Our strength lies in our volunteer network, our unparalleled community-based expertise and our independence and neutrality.
We are committed to saving lives and changing minds. And we are guided by Strategy 2030—our collective plan of action to tackle the major humanitarian and development challenges of this decade.
Through our work we enable healthy and safe communities, reduce vulnerabilities, improve people’s resilience and promote peace around the world.
Learn about our current priorities in our Global Plan and browse plans for our work by country.
The IFRC integrates disability inclusion across its humanitarian work, ensuring people with disabilities have equal access to protection and assistance.
Through its Protection, Gender, and Inclusion ("PGI") approach, IFRC supports National Societies in making disaster response, health, and community programs more accessible. Key actions include inclusive disaster preparedness—ensuring shelters and evacuation plans accommodate disabilities; health services—providing assistive devices, rehabilitation, and medical care; livelihood programs—creating employment opportunities and vocational training; education support—improving school access and resources for children with disabilities; and mental health and psychosocial support—helping people with disabilities cope with crisis situations.
The Minimum Standards for PGI in emergencies incorporates key standards on disability inclusion for all sectors of humanitarian response. The accompanying PGI in Emergencies Toolkit provides more detailed guidance on how to integrate disability inclusion measures in all operations.
IFRC also promotes advocacy and policy change, working with National Societies to reduce barriers and embed disability inclusion into all aspects of humanitarian response.
Jagan Chapagain is the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General of the IFRC. He was appointed by the IFRC Governing Board in February 2020 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Jagan has extensive experience in leading effective and principled humanitarian response around the world and has dedicated his life to helping empower local communities. He brings decades of experience in building and leading inclusive teams and forging trustful partnerships to address global challenges, ranging from climate to health, and from migration to protection, gender, and inclusion. He has also championed policies and programmes that promote youth engagement and volunteering, and that strengthen localization and accountability in humanitarian action.
Jagan began his humanitarian journey as a youth volunteer with the Nepal Red Cross and has extensive experience in, and broad knowledge of, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Prior to being appointed Secretary General, he served as Under Secretary General for Programmes and Operations at the IFRC. He was also previously Chief of Staff and Regional Director for Asia Pacific, where he provided leadership during large-scale humanitarian crises and built resilient communities alongside National Societies and other partners.
An engineer by training, Jagan holds certificates in Leadership and Turnaround Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona USA, in Emerging Social Sector Leadership from the Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, and in High Performance Boards from the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. A national of Nepal, he is fluent in Nepalese, English and Hindi and has basic knowledge of Urdu and Russian.