Somali Red Crescent Society

Last updated
Somali Red Crescent Society
Ururka Bisha Cas
AbbreviationSRCS
Formation1963
Type Humanitarian organization
Purpose Humanitarian aid
Location
Region served
Somalia
President
Ahmed M. Hassan
Affiliations IFRC
Website www.bishacas-srcs.org

The Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) is a non-political, independent humanitarian organization in Somalia and is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Contents

History

The society was established in April 1963 through the Presidential Decree No. 187 in 1965. [1] In 1969, it was formally recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and became a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Main programs and activities

Healthcare

Outpatient and mobile clinics

Since 1991, SRCS has been providing health services to the people of Somalia through a system of 62 Maternal and Child Health Outpatient (MCH/OPD) clinics and 4 mobile clinics, [2] targeting vulnerable groups in the community such as mothers, children and wounded individuals. These permanent and mobile clinics are designed to serve the immediate neighborhood communities and remote villages respectively, with a focus on reducing mortality and morbidity. In 2009, 623,342 patients benefitted from the treatments offered in total. [2]

Rehabilitation programmes

The SRCS rehabilitation programmes provide health care services to physically disabled people in Somalia through its three rehabilitation centers, which are located in Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Galkayo. [3] Prosthesis and orthosis appliances are produced in the workshops of these centers, with physiotherapy departments that offer physiotherapy treatment. In 2009, 429 orthoses and 534 prostheses were produced while 1924 persons received physiotherapy treatment. [2]

Keysaney Teaching Hospital

Keysaney is one of the largest surgical hospitals in Somalia which focuses on trauma, surgery including electives and referrals from Mogadishu and the other cities of the country. Keysaney functions as the main teaching hospital in surgery and trauma for residents, interns and students in Somalia.

The hospital is Located in Mogadishu, the capital city and was established in 1992, the hospital assisted thousands of weapon and non weapon wounded patients since the outbreak of the civil war. Support is rendered by the ICRC in the form of payment of salaries and providing medicines and medical equipment through the SRCS. During 2009, 3856 were admitted in the hospital, of which 2361 weapon were wounded patients. [2]

HIV and AIDS program

As of 2006, 44,000 Somalis were estimated to be infected with HIV, which is around 0.9% of the population. [4] The HIV and AIDS program initiated by the SRCS focuses on prevention, treatment, care and support throughout the country. There was great emphasis on changing the behavior of the sexually active cohort by promoting safe sex practices, voluntary testing and counselling. In 2009, awareness sessions were conducted by the SRCS HIV staff and volunteers to educate the communities on the risk of HIV infections. 127,000 people benefited from the sessions in total. [2]

WatSan programme

The water and sanitation project is a collaboration between the SRCS and German Red Cross which targets the rural population in Somalia. The aim of the project is to increase the availability of safe water for human consumption, livestock and agriculture so as to meet the basic needs of the target population. Shallow wells and piped water systems were constructed to manage water supply while family latrines were built for improved sanitation. Water filters were given to communities using unsafe surface waters to ensure safe consumption. The total number direct and indirect beneficiaries was 3825 and 22,950 respectively. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement</span> International humanitarian movement

The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 16 million volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Within it there are three distinct organisations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes, and governing organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Médecins Sans Frontières</span> International humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation

Médecins Sans Frontières, named Doctors Without Borders in English, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. The organisation provides care for diabetes, drug-resistant infections, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tropical and neglected diseases, tuberculosis, vaccines and COVID-19. In 2019, the charity was active in 70 countries with over 35,000 personnel; mostly local doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators. Private donors provide about 90% of the organisation's funding, while corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US$1.63 billion.

Humanitarian aid workers belonging to United Nations organisations, PVOs / NGOs or the Red Cross / Red Crescent are among the list of protected persons under international humanitarian law that grant them immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However, attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally occurred, and become more frequent since the 1990s and 2000s. In 2017, the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) documented 139 humanitarian workers killed in intentional attacks out of the estimated global population of 569,700 workers. In every year since 2013, more than 100 humanitarian workers were killed. This is attributed to a number of factors, including the increasing number of humanitarian workers deployed, the increasingly unstable environments in which they work, and the erosion of the perception of neutrality and independence. In 2012 road travel was seen to be the most dangerous context, with kidnappings of aid workers quadrupling in the last decade, reaching more aid workers victims than any other form of attack.

The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more than 17,200 volunteers and 3,400 staff. At the heart of their work is providing help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas. The Red Cross is committed to helping people without discrimination, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, political beliefs or religion. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of the society until her death on 8 September 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combat medic</span> Military personnel who provide first aid and frontline trauma care

A combat medic is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury or illness. Additionally, medics may also be responsible for the creation, oversight, and execution of long-term patient care plans in consultation with or in the absence of a readily available doctor or advanced practice provider. Combat medics may be used in hospitals and clinics, where they have the opportunity to work in additional roles, such as operating medical and laboratory equipment and performing and assisting with procedures.

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, formerly called St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, is based in Tooting in the London Borough of Wandsworth, and serves a population of 1.3 million across southwest London. A large number of services, such as cardiothoracic medicine and surgery, neurosciences and renal transplantation, also cover significant populations from Surrey and Sussex, totalling about 3.5 million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish Red Crescent</span> Turkish equivalent of the Red Crescent

The Turkish Red Crescent is the Turkish affiliate of the International Red Crescent and the first worldwide adopter of the crescent symbol for humanitarian aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Committee of the Red Cross</span> Humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland

The International Committee of the Red Cross is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signatories) to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and its Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded persons, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants.

Various international and local diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in the Somali Civil War have been in effect since the conflict first began in the early 1990s. The latter include diplomatic initiatives put together by the African Union, the Arab League and the European Union, as well as humanitarian efforts led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS).

The Sudanese Red Crescent (SRC) is the biggest and most decentralized and widespread humanitarian organization operating in Sudan. The society developed out of the Sudan branch of the British Red Cross Society and was established in 1956. Upon Sudan's independence in March 1956 received official recognition as an independent National Society following the Sudanese Council of Ministers decree No. 869. The National Society covers nearly the entire country with 15 State branches and several sub-branches/units in the provinces/localities and administrative units, with a nationwide community-based network of 35,000 active volunteers and another 300,000 who can be deployed as need arises. It has well-established working relations with public authorities at federal, state and local levels, and good partnership and collaboration with Movement partners and UN specialized agencies and national and international NGOs working in Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongolian Red Cross Society</span> Mongolian humanitarian organization

The Mongolian Red Cross Society is the largest humanitarian organization in Mongolia. It was established in 1939 as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and is an auxiliary to the Mongolian Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai Red Cross Society</span>

The Thai Red Cross Society is a major humanitarian organisation in Thailand, providing services as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.


Calcutta Rescue is a charity based in Kolkata, India, founded by Jack Preger and registered under the West Bengal societies act. It runs medical, educational and support services to disadvantaged people in West Bengal. It also imparts vocational training to ex-patients and underprivileged people.

The Swiss Red Cross, or SRC, is the national Red Cross society for Switzerland.

The Saudi Red Crescent Authority is a humanitarian society that provides emergency medical services in five administrative regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1934 under the name Saudi Red Crescent Association, which was later amended to Saudi Red Crescent Authority in 2008. By 2009, the Society had 447 First Aid Centers, run by 5,507 staff, with 1300 ambulances which are distributed in all hospitals and centres around the country. The Red Crescent has a particular role to play during Hajj, providing on-the-spot first aid and using its fleet of vehicles to take emergency cases to the nearest medical facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donka Hospital</span> Hospital in Conakry, Guinea

The Donka Hospital is a publicly owned hospital in Conakry, Guinea. It has inadequate facilities to handle demand, and many Guineans cannot afford its services. More than once in recent years the hospital has had to deal with a major influx of patients wounded in civil disturbances.

Medical neutrality refers to a principle of noninterference with medical services in times of armed conflict and civil unrest: physicians must be allowed to care for the sick and wounded, and soldiers must receive care regardless of their political affiliations; all parties must refrain from attacking and misusing medical facilities, transport, and personnel. Concepts comprising the principles of medical neutrality derive from international human rights law, medical ethics and humanitarian law. Medical neutrality may be thought of as a kind of social contract that obligates societies to protect medical personnel in both times of war and peace, and obligates medical personnel to treat all individuals regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or political affiliation. Violations of medical neutrality constitute crimes outlined in the Geneva Conventions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Somalia</span>

Healthcare in Somalia is largely in the private sector. It is regulated by the Ministry of Health of the Federal Government of Somalia. In March 2013, the central authorities launched the Health Sector Strategic Plans (HSSPs), a new national health system that aims to provide universal basic healthcare to all citizens by 2016. Somalia has the highest prevalence of mental illness in the world, according to the World Health organization. Some polls have ranked Somalis as the happiest people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Madina Hospital is one of the two major hospitals in Mogadishu, Somalia.

References

  1. The Somali Red Crescent Society, Retrieved 24 February 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Somali Red Crescent Society Strategic Plan 2010 - 2014, Retrieved 24 February 2012
  3. REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR THE PHYSICALLY DISABLED, Retrieved 24 February 2012
  4. INTEGRATED HIV AND AIDS PROGRAMME 2008-2010, Retrieved 24 February 2012
  5. WATER AND SANITATION, Retrieved 24 February 2012