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
Kenya Red Cross: Mainstreaming of Accountability to Communities
This case study highlights the successes and challenges experienced by Kenya Red Cross and provides practical lessons for other National Societies and the IFRC about factors that may enable a successful mainstreaming process.
Recent additions to the CEA resources library
In a health crisis, the media has the power to save lives. Effective communication can help to prevent or reduce the spread of disease, and guide those affected towards health services and treatment. This manual provides tips for media practitioners on …
In March 2017, Madagascar was badly affected by Cyclone Enawo. The cyclone caused flooding across the country including in the capital Antananarivo. More than 400,000 people were affected in eight regions, with 80,000 people displaced. As part of the r …
The guide provides an overview of the approach together with guidance and tools for designing and implementing feedback cycles that bring continuous and real-time data flows into day-to-day decision-making. This contributes to better and more accountable programming and helps establish structures where people’s opinions are listened to and acted on, especially when making decisions that directly affect them.
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
Stories and photos collected by Aija Kuparinen | Written by Corrie Butler You can’t help but draw nearer to the beckoning drum base of music in the distance and bellowing laughter echoing through the streets. Coming closer, you can see people dancing …
Communities living along the porous borders of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remain at high risk of the spread of Ebola. Thousands cross each day to sell and buy goods, tend to their farm and visit family and friends. With the epicenter of DRC’s largest Ebola outbreak only 100 kilometers away from the Ugandan border, it is crucial to contain and stop the virus from spreading.
New tool for technicians, coordinators and volunteers that implement health projects within communities.