Improving communication, engagement and accountability in all we do.
Community engagement and accountability (CEA) is an approach to Red Cross Red Crescent programming and operations. It is supported by a set of activities that help put communities at the centre of what we do, by integrating communication and participation throughout the programme cycle or operation.
CEA is the process of and commitment to providing timely, relevant and actionable life-saving and life-enhancing information to communities. It is about using the most appropriate communication approaches to listen to communities’ needs, feedback and complaints, ensuring they can actively participate and guide Red Cross Red Crescent actions. CEA supports those involved in programmes and operations to adopt innovative approaches to better understand and engage with people and communities and help them address unhealthy and unsafe practices. It maximizes the Red Cross Red Crescent’s unique relationship with the community to help them speak out about the issues that affect them and influence decision and policy-makers to implement positive changes.
What is CEA?
Minimum actions
The CEA Guide
The CEA Toolkit
Recent additions to the CEA resources library
The Canadian Red Cross in close cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has developed its CERA Project “Capacity Building for Emergency Response in the Americas”.
This poster provides safety tips in the case of a flood.
This poster provides information on a Red Cross hotline with the relevant telephone numbers, opening hours, available languages and more.
CEA in Action
In focus: World Radio Day
Radio is a powerful tool to engage and help affected communities across the world. Read more about our work.
In focus: Ebola
Community engagement has been central to responding the Ebola emergency in West Africa and to keep communities safe and the virus contained.
In focus: Migration
Virtualvolunteer.org helps migrants find local support and provides tips on how to keep safe and healthy.
In focus: TERA
The TERA system provides life-saving information when and where it is needed during an emergency or crisis.
News stories
‘When a woman has health concerns, she may not always feel comfortable discussing them with a male doctor. Based on our suggestion, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society arranged for a female doctor to be recruited. We consulted with her, and received prescriptions and medicines.’
Saumya Sanesha reads a headline in one of the local newspapers which says, “Worst dengue outbreak in Sri Lanka; 298 deaths.” As she heads out the door, she thinks about the importance her day’s assignment and all the people in her community whose lives are at risk.
The excited chatter from the waiting crowd quiets down the moment the brightly-dressed performers take the stage. The subject of the play is nothing poetic or Shakespearian, but the audience is eager, understanding the gravity of the messages to be conveyed in the performance. The play will be about preparing for floods and landslides.