World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day

Red Cross Day was celebrated for the first time throughout the world on May 8, 1948, on  the birth anniversary of  Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross. Since 1984 it is observed as ‘World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. Henry Dunant, a businessman was shocked and moved by the terrible aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in 1859. In a single day, about 40,000 soldiers died or were left wounded on the field.  Subsequently Dunant founded a committee with other eminent citizens of Geneva for relief of wounded. In 1964 it adopted the first Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field". In the following years, national societies were founded in nearly every country in Europe. In 1876, the committee adopted the name "International Committee of the Red Cross" (ICRC). Five years later, the American Red Cross was founded. More and more countries signed the Geneva Convention and began to respect it in practice during armed conflicts. In a rather short period of time, the Red Cross gained huge momentum as an internationally respected movement and the national societies became increasingly popular as a venue for volunteer work. In 1990, the UN General Assembly decided to grant the ICRC observer status for its assembly sessions and sub-committee meetings, the first observer status given to a private organization. The resolution was jointly proposed by 138 member states.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution.  Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 186 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are closely linked to the respective national health care system.

In 1919, representatives from the national Red Cross societies of Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the US came together in Paris to found the "League of Red Cross Societies" which is now renamed as "International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies" (IFRC). This move, led by the American Red Cross, expanded the international activities of the Red Cross movement to include relief assistance in response to emergency situations such as man-made or natural disasters. The first relief assistance mission organized by the League was an aid mission for the victims of a famine and subsequent typhus epidemic in Poland.  One important new field initiated by the federation was the creation of youth Red Cross organizations within the national societies. After the tsunami disaster in South Asia In 2004, the Federation accomplished its largest mission to date. More than 40 national societies have worked with more than 22,000 volunteers to bring relief to the countless victims left without food and shelter and endangered by the risk of epidemics.

 Henry Dunant jointly shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, the ICRC  has been awarded this honour - in 1917 and 1944. ICRC and IFRC jointly shared the Nobel peace prize in 1963.

The Indian Red Cross is a voluntary humanitarian organization having a network of over 700 branches throughout the country, providing relief in times of disasters/emergencies and promotes health & care of the vulnerable people and communities. It is a leading member of the largest independent humanitarian organization in the world, the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement. Its major activities includes : hospital services, blood bank, HIV/AIDS programmes, home for disabled servicemen ,vocational training centers, tracing activities, maternity , child and family welfare, nursing, junior red cross activities, preparedness and prevention of communicable & infectious diseases, relief operations in fire, railway and other accidents and events .INDIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY organises training, workshops and short courses for volunteers and trainers on Disaster Management, First AID. The National Headquarters proposes to start short and special courses for Disaster Management programme in its DMC wing and at Central Training Institute, Bahadurgarh. IRCS has also started a one year part time Post Graduate Diploma Course in Disaster Preparedness & Rehabilitation.  The Indian Red Cross is a pioneer in the field of blood services and one of the largest voluntary blood banks in India since 1962. IRCS regularly conducts motivational campaigns to organize Voluntary Blood Donation Camps. It has more than 100 blood banks all over the country under different states and district branches. The Jammu and Kashmir branch of IRCS is also quite active. It has offices in Srinagar and Jammu. It runs blood banks in several districts of the state and regularly organises awareness camps.