Heading

Head of Emergency Operations, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Gwendolen Eamer is a Swiss-based Canadian public health and emergency response professional. Over the past 20 years she has worked on public communication during crises, technical public health interventions for epidemics, and early response leadership for large-scale emergencies ranging from epidemics to natural disasters to conflicts. Gwen has worked in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement for more than 15 years, responding to crises in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. Her focus when not responding to active crises is on improving global standards and networks to implement effective epidemic and disaster response, with a particular focus on participatory approaches, community-led action, and equitable access to response measures for humanitarian and excluded populations. This includes membership in the GOARN Steering Committee, the WHO’s interim Medical Countermeasures Network, and the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision for Ebola vaccines. Gwen has co-authored a number of technical guidelines with a focus on real-world applicability, including for community-led, culturally appropriate management of the dead in epidemics and after disasters; cholera treatment centres; and disease surveillance in humanitarian settings.

Publications

• Sun, L., Selbie, D., Khan, A. S., Karim, S. S. A., Legido-Quigley, H., Ogunsola, F. T., Eamer, G., Matsoso, M. P., Bausch, D. G., & Fisher, D. (2025). Mobilising national and regional assets and non-state actors for pandemic preparedness. Lancet, 405(10487), 1320–1324. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00630-0
• Phua, S., & Eamer, G. (2025). Working with communities and volunteers. In D. Fisher (Ed.), Infectious Disease Emergencies: Preparedness and Response (Chapter 35). NUS Press. https://emergencies.pubpub.org/pub/communities-and-volunteers
• World Health Organization. (2023, August). Infection prevention and control guideline for Ebola and Marburg disease. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240060223
• Warsame, A., Eamer, G., Kai, A., Dios, L. R., Rohan, H., Keating, P., Katshishi, J., & Checchi, F. (2023). Performance of a safe and dignified burial intervention during an Ebola epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2018–2019. BMC Medicine, 21(1), 484. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-03194-x
• World Health Organization. (2020, September 4). Infection prevention and control for the safe management of a dead body in the context of COVID-19: Interim guidance. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-IPC-DeadBodies-2020.1
• Wilkinson, A., Ali, H., Bedford, J., Boonyabancha, S., Connolly, C., Conteh, A., Dean, L., Decorte, F., Dercon, B., Dias, S., Dodman, D., Duijsens, R., D’Urzo, S., Eamer, G., Earle, L., Gupte, J., Frediani, A. A., Hasan, A., Hawkins, K., … Whittaker, L. (2020). Local response in health emergencies: key considerations for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in informal urban settlements. Environment & Urbanization, 32(2), 503–522. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247820922843
• IFRC, & ICRC. (2020). Safe body handling and mourning ceremonies for COVID-19 affected communities: Implementation guidance for National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. https://www.ifrc.org/document/safe-body-handling-and-mourning-ceremonies-covid-19-affected-communities
• IFRC. (2019). Safe and dignified burials – An implementation guide. https://www.ifrc.org/document/safe-and-dignified-burials-implementation-guide
• WHO Patient Safety Department. (2015). WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist: Implementation guidelines. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241507409
• Eamer, G. G., & Randall, G. E. (2012). Barriers to implementing WHO’s exclusive breastfeeding policy for women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: An exploration of ideas, interests and institutions. Health Policy and Planning, 27(6), 509–519. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2139
• World Health Organization. (2012). WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist: Program implementation manual. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241503715
• Randall, G. E., & Eamer, G. G. (2009). Canada’s withering fight for human rights: Reassessing policies on international corporate social responsibility in the resource sector. Journal of Political Studies.
• Randall, G. E., & Eamer, G. G. (2008). Blue condoms: DPKO’s failure to address HIV in conflict. Journal of International Affairs.