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World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day Highlights Global Humanitarianism
Written by
Bonnie Gillespie
, Staff Writer and Photographer, RedCross.org
Friday, May 07, 2004 — On May 8th, the American Red Cross will join its sister societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in celebrating World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, remembering the enduring efforts of the International Movement to alleviate human suffering worldwide, whether from disease, famine, disaster or war.
Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross Movement |
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is commemorated each year on the birthday of Henry Dunant, the Swiss citizen who founded the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in 1863 to help ease the suffering of war victims. In 1859, Dunant witnessed firsthand the painful plight of wounded soldiers during the Battle of Solferino and a became a tireless advocate for humane treatment of the sick and wounded during wartime.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Dunant founded has since become the largest humanitarian aid network in the world, along with the Magen David Adom society in Israel. Red Cross and Red Crescent societies are active in 181 nations. With almost 100 million volunteers, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement brings assistance and relief to some 233 million beneficiaries each year.
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day began in 1922, just after World War I, when the Red Cross National Society in the Czech Republic proclaimed a three-day truce at Easter to promote peace. The idea soon evolved into recognizing one day each year to promote a call for the worldwide relief of human suffering due to disease and the tragedies of war.
Consistent with the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the theme for World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day 2004 is “Stop Discrimination.” Dunant campaigned tirelessly for the right of every wounded soldier to receive medical care, promoting a cause still relevant today. Underscored by a lasting commitment to impartiality, neutrality and the other Fundamental Principles of the Movement and international humanitarian law, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies worldwide persist in their mission to protect human dignity.
A young African boy prepares to receive his vaccination shot during Measles Initiative campaign in Guinea. |
As a partner in both international relief efforts and health campaigns, the American Red Cross endeavors to make a global impact through life-saving programs like the Measles Initiative. The Measles Initiative began with the same ideals of the 1922 truce advocating for relief of human suffering and is a long-term program resulting from the cooperative efforts of the American Red Cross, its sister Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other international health leaders including the UN Foundation (UNF), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
The program aspires to control measles deaths in Africa by vaccinating 200 million children by 2006, thus preventing 1.2 million deaths from the disease.
Additionally, the American Red Cross is working with other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies worldwide in a variety of efforts to help meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable people. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day serves as annual reminder of that lasting work and commitment.
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