Viet Nam News HCM CITY - Nearly 600 leaders, officials and volunteers from the International Committee of the Red Cross and Việt Nam Red Cross Society took part in the 2017 World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day celebration in HCM City on Saturday. The celebration are annually held around the world on May 8, the day the NGO's founder, Henry Dunant, was born. It is an opportunity to recognise the work of its volunteers and staff, including blood donations, disaster response, first aid training and health and social programmes. Today the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world, with 17 million volunteers in 190 countries, Cherine Pollini, head of office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Việt Nam, said. "It is a neutral and impartial body whose mission is to alleviate, on a daily basis, human suffering, protect life and health, and uphold human dignity, especially during armed conflicts and other catastrophes. "Việt Nam is … [Read more...] about VN marks Red Cross, Red Crescent Day
Red crescent day
Drawbacks of urbanisation to be focus of Red Cross Day
Red Cross volunteers in central Quang Tri Province practise first aid. On the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day this Saturday, 5,000 volunteers are expected to take part in its celebration in southern HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Ho Cau HCM CITY — The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day this year will be greeted with a call for action against the negative impacts of urbanisation. In HCM City, more than 5,000 people are expected to attend a ceremony organised on Saturday by the local Viet Nam Red Cross chapter to mark the day. The association has called for all citizens to co-operate with each other to minimise the adverse impacts of urbanisation. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society estimates more than 3 billion people the world over currently live in urban areas, and expects the number to increase to 4.9 billion in 2030. Among them, 1 billion people live in slums or in unhygienic conditions and environments, with 680 million lacking clean … [Read more...] about Drawbacks of urbanisation to be focus of Red Cross Day
Number of migrant bodies found on Libyan coast rises to 133: Red Crescent
The bodies of 133 migrants have washed up on the shore at the western Libyan city of Zuwara in recent days, the Red Crescent said on Sunday. Spokesman Al-Khamis al-Bosaifi said about three-quarters of the migrants were women and there were at least five children. No documents were found with the bodies, which were partly decomposed, but they were mainly sub-Saharan Africans, he said. A local security official said the migrants were thought to have set off from the nearby city of Sabratha, where a surge in boat departures led to hundreds of migrant deaths last week. Migrants hoping to reach Italy from Libya pay hundreds of dollars to traffickers for a place in a boat. The vessels are often flimsy and ill-equipped for the journey across the Mediterranean. The crossing is far more dangerous than that between Turkey and Greece, which was the busiest sea route until a deal to curb flows between the European Union and Turkey came into force in March. So far this year more than 40,000 … [Read more...] about Number of migrant bodies found on Libyan coast rises to 133: Red Crescent
Vietnam Red Cross Society marks the International Red Cross Day
(VOVworld)-Vietnam Red Cross Society has marked the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on May 8th with its launching of a movement to encourage young people to offer more help to the vulnerable. The organization will promote communications on raising the youth’s awareness in humanitarian activities and natural disaster resilience. Deputy Chairman of Vietnam Red Cross Society, Phung Van Hoan said young people will engage more in activities to minimize consequences of natural disasters and blood donation for community healthcare. He said this is in response to this year’s international theme: Red Cross Red Crescent Youth on the Move: Doing more, doing better, reaching further:“The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society this year appeals global youth to do more in humanitarian activities as part of the Solferino Declaration. They will focus on natural disaster preparedness, further access to healthcare services and building a non-violence … [Read more...] about Vietnam Red Cross Society marks the International Red Cross Day
Syria aid trucks to set off from Damascus: Red Crescent
The Syrian government has approved access to seven besieged areas, the United Nations said after crisis talks in Damascus on February 16, a week ahead of a planned resumption of peace talks between Syria's warring parties. The aid convoys would on Wednesday head for Madaya, Zabadani and Mouadamiya al-Sham near Damascus, and to the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province in the northwest, five of the locations named by the United Nations, a spokesman for the Red Crescent said. Supplies included wheat and high-energy foods. A medical team would enter Kefraya and al-Foua, the spokesman said. The Syrian Red Crescent was co-ordinating with the U.N. on the aid deliveries. The United Nations has demanded unhindered access to all besieged areas of the country, where it says hundreds of thousands of people are trapped by fighting and deliberate blockades by Syria's various warring sides. Dozens in Madaya have starved to death after months of siege by government forces and their … [Read more...] about Syria aid trucks to set off from Damascus: Red Crescent