The Joint Commission of the Empress Shōken Fund has announced its 2026 funding decisions, allocating 430,884 Swiss francs to support 15 innovative humanitarian projects across the globe. These grants will be implemented by 15 different National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, targeting critical gaps in disaster preparedness, mental health, and climate resilience.
The announcement comes amid a record-breaking surge in demand for innovation within the movement. For its 105th distribution of income, the Fund received 68 applications—the highest number in its history. This spike reflects a growing urgency among National Societies to test and scale new methodologies to meet the complexities of modern humanitarian crises, from AI-driven early warning systems to circular economy solutions for flood mitigation.
Administered jointly by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Fund operates as a catalyst for experimentation. By providing seed funding for “high-learning” initiatives, the Fund allows National Societies to pilot projects that can later be replicated across other regions if proven successful.
The tradition of these grants is rooted in the legacy of Her Majesty Empress Shōken, a founder of the Japanese Red Cross Society. Every year on April 11—the anniversary of the Empress’s passing—the Fund reveals its latest cohort of grantees. Since its inception in 1921, when it first funded tuberculosis initiatives in Europe, the Fund has distributed more than 17 million Swiss francs across 795 initiatives in 175 National Societies.
A Strategic Shift Toward Rigorous Innovation
The 2026 cycle marks a transition in how the Fund identifies and supports projects. Throughout 2025, the Joint Commission reinforced the rigor of its application and review processes to ensure that grants are not merely providing aid, but are generating scalable knowledge. This evolution included clearer selection criteria and structured expectations for experimentation.
A key component of this new approach is the integration of peer-to-peer support. Applicants now benefit from mentorship provided by the Solferino Academy network, which includes former grantees who can offer practical guidance on implementing and documenting innovative projects. This mentorship has resulted in higher-quality proposals with a more deliberate focus on how a project’s success can be replicated in different geographical or social contexts.
Climate Adaptation and Early Warning Systems
A significant portion of the 2026 funding is directed toward the intersection of climate change and community resilience. In Indonesia, the “Aldebaran” project will deploy an AI-powered platform supported by youth “agents of change” to provide real-time preparedness guidance to hazard-prone areas. Similarly, Sao Tome and Principe will implement “Aqua-Alert,” a digital monitoring system designed to protect coastal communities from erosion, and flooding.
Other climate-focused initiatives include Botswana’s “Circular Solutions for Resilience,” which converts automotive waste into usable products to reduce flood risks and create livelihoods, and Guatemala’s “Blue Guardians,” which establishes a Youth Water Observatory to monitor and protect vital water ecosystems.
Human-Centric Health and Social Inclusion
Beyond environmental threats, the Fund is prioritizing the psychosocial well-being of both the vulnerable and those who serve them. In Chile, the “Caring for Caregivers” project will pilot a preventive support model to combat burnout among volunteers through psychological first aid and peer support spaces.
Social inclusion remains a core pillar of the 2026 grants. Iceland’s “Project Samflétta” aims to reduce the isolation of refugee women through an adaptive support model, while North Macedonia is establishing a “House of Opportunities”—a multifunctional hub designed to streamline fragmented services for people experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty.
| Region/Country | Project Name | Primary Focus Area |
|---|---|---|
| Latin America (Costa Rica) | Resilient Indigenous Territories | Indigenous First Responders |
| Africa (Congo) | J-INNOV | Humanitarian Fab Labs |
| Asia (Pakistan) | YOUR-CAP | Urban Youth Climate Resilience |
| Europe (Latvia) | First Aid for Every Child | Pediatric Emergency Education |
| Asia (Lao PDR) | Youth Leadership Strengthening | Volunteer Development |
Empowering the Next Generation of Humanitarians
Youth engagement is a recurring theme across the 2026 portfolio, reflecting a strategic move to transition young people from passive recipients of aid to active designers of solutions. In Tanzania, youth-led innovation labs will co-create low-cost climate adaptation measures. In Denmark, the “Y2Y-VOICES” project will utilize peer-to-peer mentoring to allow young volunteers to shape mental health narratives and advocacy campaigns.
The Fund is also addressing the gap in practical skills. Egypt’s “The Creative Rescuer” project is testing experiential learning methods to make disaster preparedness more engaging for youth, while Latvia is developing a child-friendly first-aid training system tailored to different age groups to build life-saving skills from an early age.
In the Congo, the “J-INNOV” initiative is taking a technical approach by establishing humanitarian “fab labs.” These labs will train youth to develop and repair affordable tools locally, reducing dependence on external supply chains during recurrent crises and fostering micro-enterprise incubation.
These diverse projects—ranging from the highlands of Guatemala to the urban centers of Pakistan—demonstrate a shift toward localized, community-led humanitarianism. By blending traditional knowledge, such as that used by indigenous volunteers in Costa Rica, with cutting-edge technology like AI in Indonesia, the movement is attempting to create a more flexible and responsive global network.
The Joint Commission will now monitor these 15 initiatives as they move from the planning phase to implementation. The learning generated from these projects will be documented and shared across the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to inform future strategies and funding cycles.
The next official milestone for the Fund will be the annual announcement of new grants on April 11, 2027, marking the 106th distribution of income.
We invite readers to share their perspectives on humanitarian innovation in the comments below or share this report with colleagues in the development sector.
