Abbas is Secretary-General of the Kenya Red Cross. Under Abbas, the timely interventions of the Kenya Red Cross have earned it recognition as one of the best performing National Red Cross Societies globally. Abbas was the first African Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), but he chose to return to lead the Kenya Red Cross. His personal leadership in emergencies and humanitarian situations has made him one of Kenya’s most recognizable faces. In 2007 he was named “UN in Kenya Person of the Year”.