International treaties already set out protections for astronauts in distress. But when disaster strikes here on Earth, there is still no comprehensive global treaty specifically focused on protecting people. That could be about to change.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched its Earth’s Missing Treaty campaign, backed by astronauts from around the world, to build support for a new global treaty to protect people before, during and after disasters.

Mud, quicksand and despair are all that’s left of many villages along the Trishuli River in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. One month on from the devastating flash flood that tore through the region, Nepal Red Cross Society, supported by IFRC, has been working tirelessly to airlift food to remote communities, install water tanks to supply safe drinking water and set up field clinics to treat as many patients as it can every day.

Nearly two months on, communities in quake-ravaged western Colombia are slowly rebuilding shattered lives helped by global support from Red Cross societies, including New Zealand Red Cross.

New Zealand Red Cross Secretary General Sarah Stuart-Black on why locally-led disaster response and Kiwi generosity offer hope amid global crises.

The generosity of New Zealand Red Cross supporters is helping communities in Venezuela as they move from the immediate aftermath of June’s deadly earthquakes into the longer and more complex journey of recovery.