The Vietnam Red Cross Society presents gifts to poor patients suffering kidney failure in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) As a humanitarian and social organisation which gathers all Vietnamese people at home and abroad regardless of their class, ethnicity, religion and gender to carry out humanitarian activities, the VRC is a member of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Throughout the glorious history of the nation, the VRC has contributed to ensuring political stability and implementing humanitarian activities to realise the International Humanitarian Law in Vietnam during the two resistance wars.
In the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) cause, the VRC has been one of the pioneering organisations in supporting people hit by disasters inside and outside the country, contributing to implementing the foreign policy of the Party and State.
After 75 years of development, to date, the VRC has had over 15,000 full-time officials, more than 3.4 million members, 383,000 volunteers and over 3.5 million youngsters and adolescents in 23,900 member organisations.
In the past five years, the VRC has made positive contributions to major humanitarian movements and campaigns of the country. The programme to support the poor and Agent Orange/dioxin victims in the Lunar New Year festival have raised nearly 5.5 trillion VND, while the campaign of “Each organisation, each individual sponsors a humanitarian address” has received 536 billion VND for 415 addresses. The humanitarian blood donation programme has also collected 6.5 million blood units. At the same time, 1.93 trillion VND has been raised for disaster prevention and control activities.
Particularly, in 2018, for the first time, the VRC launched a Humanitarian Month, which has become an annual event in May each year across the country since 2021, aiming to call for joint efforts in supporting the needy. After four years, the Humanitarian Month has assisted nearly 3.7 million people with total assistance of over 1.54 trillion VND. Over the past two years, 915 billion VND has been raised for COVID-19 prevention and control activities.
In the 2020-2021 period, amid difficulties brought by COVID-19, the VRC has initiated many flexible humanitarian models, including the free rice ATM, support packages for people in locked-down areas, and assistance in farm produce sale.
In the first half of 2021, total value of humanitarian aid that the VRC has raised reached over 2.7 trillion VND for 10.3 million needy people.
In recognition of the VRC’s contributions, the Party and State have presented many norble rewards to the organisation, including the Labour Order, first class and second class, Independence Order, first class, and Ho Chi Minh Order (two times in 1998 and 2011).
According to the VRC Central Committee, in the future, the VRC will focus on effectively organising humanitarian models and activities, strengthening communications, developing its volunteer force and speeding up digital transformation to adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution./.
VNA
