Red Cross celebrates 150 years

The Dominica Red Cross joins with 187 Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies globally to celebrate World Red Cross/Red Crescent Day on May 8, the birth date of the founder of the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, Henry Dunant.

Motivated by his experiences during the Battle of Solferino in 1859, Dunant advocated for the humane treatment of the sick and wounded during wartime. He recorded his memories and experiences in the book `A Memory of Solferino’ which inspired the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863.

In the 150 years since our founding, the global Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is now comprised of more than 13 million volunteers and assists more than 300 million people worldwide each year.  Amongst the challenges facing humanitarian action today is an increase in natural disasters and health emergencies and declining resources to deal with this.  The number of natural disasters reported over the last 40 years has increased by nearly 400 percent.

This May 8th under the theme “150 Years of Humanitarian Action” we commemorate the continued relevance of our work, both locally and globally, in a constantly evolving world.  By using new technologies to improve our responses, seeking the leadership of young people to extend our services and adapting to climate change in the way we carry out our work, we always look for innovative approaches and partnerships.  At a time when international donor resources are declining it becomes all the more imperative for local private and public sector entities to support the work of our National Society to enable us to do more, do better and reach further.

150 years after the birth of the Red Cross Red Crescent, we continue to provide relevant and timely humanitarian service to vulnerable communities and are committed to do doing so now and into the future.  We extend congratulations to our members, staff, volunteers and humanitarian partners in helping to achieve this 150 year milestone.