Need for help on the rise – recent report summarises the challenges facing Finnish society
The ‘Changing needs for aid’ report compiles the challenges that contribute to the increasing and deepening needs for help. The report was put together to support the reform work of the Red Cross. The report was aimed at identifying those in most need of aid.
The Red Cross is reforming to be able to provide effective, correctly timed help to those in the direst need. Decisions on the allocation of aid are always information-based. In order to get comprehensive information on the needs for help, the Diaconia University of Applied Sciences compiled a situational picture on the changing needs for aid for the Red Cross.
The report lists the changing factors affecting the Red Cross. These include increasing poverty and the financial difficulties of the welfare society, climate change as well as a changing social climate and a growing sense of insecurity. The importance of local help, communities and face-to-face encounters will increase as social and health services are increasingly moved online. Online services are not accessible to all and increase the number of people experiencing loneliness by reducing face-to-face interaction with other people.
Local help makes a big difference
According to the report, people who need help include impoverished people whose numbers are rising; immigrants; and older people, especially those living in sparsely populated areas.
The rise in poverty is already visible in the food aid provided by the Red Cross, for example. The number of people on low incomes will increase, in part due to the cuts to social security decided on between 2024 and 2025. In the future, access to many public services will also become more difficult, and the availability of help for mental health problems, for example, will be reduced.
Local help and community spirit are of great importance, especially in sparsely populated areas. These areas are home to plenty of elderly people, many of whom crave contact with each other. Among them, demand for social and health services is high, but at the same time services are constantly being cut back. In addition to everyday encounters, community is an important safeguard in times of crises, as people who know each other find it easier to offer help.
Working towards a Red Cross that is constantly renewed and quick to help
We are constantly gathering information on the needs for aid and target our actions accordingly. The aim is to be able to change our operations quickly in the future, depending on where help is needed.
Find out more about the ‘Changing needs for aid’ report here.
Red Cross is evolving
