In a statement, the agency said the increasing frequency of natural disasters linked to climate change poses great humanitarian challenges and the a huge amount of money would be needed to finance disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
It cited data gathered in 2004, when the agency responded to some 63 floods worldwide. That number expanded to 137 in 2006. This alarming trend was most visible in Africa, where the number of floods rose from five in 2004 to 32 in 2006, the statement said.
Markku Niskala, IFRC secretary general, said in the statement, "The people most affected by climate change will be the world's most vulnerable ... the elderly, the disabled and the poorest of the poor."
"It is crucial that we invest heavily in making communities stronger and more resilient," he said.
The appeal for more money for 2007 also highlights the federation's increasing commitment in fighting HIV/AIDS, which is expected kill more people in the next decade than all the wars and disasters combined over the last 50 years.
Mukesh Kapila, the federation's special representative for HIV and AIDS, said, "HIV has destroyed the very fabric of communities in many sub-Saharan countries and is on the increase across Asia and Eastern Europe."
"We must not let this virus do to Asia or any other continent what it has done in sub-Saharan Africa. That would be unforgivable," Kapila said in the statement.
