International Red Cross

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement that accounts for approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide. The purpose of this movement was to contribute to the protection of human life and for their well-being. This includes alleviating human suffering without discriminating anybody based on their nationality, race, sex, religion, political opinion, or social class. There is no single organization named “International Red Cross”, rather it is a group of independently- run organizations that share a common purpose of humanitarianism. Red Cross disaster relief is one of their most popular functions, providing support and supplies to countries that have been effected by a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief:
The American branch of the Red Cross is the humanitarian movement within the United States that provides similar functions such as Red Cross disaster relief and prevention of human suffering as its international sister organizations. American Red Cross disaster relief is just one of its many functions. The American Red Cross helps the needy, provides communication services for the military, the collection of blood and related products for those that need it, provides educational resources about health and safety, and international Red Cross disaster relief development initiatives.

All of the decisions made by the American Red Cross are done by volunteers and donations from the community help support it. It has 700 chapters and 36 different Blood Service region all across the country. About 30,000 volunteers provide mobilized services for American Red Cross disaster relief duties for people effected by 67,000 disasters annually. It is also the largest supplier of blood and blood-related products, providing them to over 3,000 hospitals across the entire nation.

History of the Red Cross Movement:
The Red Cross disaster relief movement started when Swiss businessman, Henry Dunant, traveled to Italy to meet with Napoleon III. There, he witnessed a bloody battle in the Austro-Sardinian War and was shocked at the lack of basic care for all the soldiers that were wounded. About 40,000 soldiers died, and thousands of others were left dying without any type of medical care. After abandoning the original reason for his visit, he organized groups of locals to treat wounded soldiers, without discrimination. Later, he began promoting the formation of national voluntary relief organizations. Soon, the International Committee of the Red Cross was established. His efforts would eventually evolve into the Red Cross disaster relief movement of today, which became popular for its volunteer work.

Notable Parts in the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Movement:

* The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the private humanitarian institution founded in 1863.
* The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), founded in 1919, handles activities of 186 Red Cross disaster relief organizations across the World.
* National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are societies that exist in nearly every country in the world, handled by the ICRC.