One of the key activities of the Russian Red Cross (RRC) in the coming years will become the development of a unified range of services in the humanitarian sphere. The range of services will be available not only in big cities, but also in small towns and settlements of Russia, informed the President of the Russian Red Cross, Pavel Savchuk, at the National Forum of the organization.
The key areas of activities presented at the forum will be included in the RRC Strategy. The new Strategy is to become available by the end of this year. The forum took place at the Skolkovo business school campus, Moscow, held on September 28 through 30. The forum brought together over 200 people – the Headquarter and regional branches’ staff, representatives from state authorities, academia and partners of the RRC, as well as representatives from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The purpose of the event consisted in improving the activities of the RRC and its regional branches, as well as in determining the development thrust until 2026.
“The draft strategy we have presented today is the outcome of a long team effort and a logical continuation of the transformations we began last year. The development of a unified range of services meets the RRC’s objective, namely becoming the country’s leading humanitarian agency. In the next 4 years we will significantly expand our presence in the regions of the country, including not only the administrative centers but also small municipalities. We will also expand the reach of our programs and projects”, – explained the President of the Russian Red Cross, Pavel Savchuk.
Pavel Savchuk added that the development of such a range, updating and expansion of programs will allow “to improve the quality of assistance, and therefore improve the quality of life of Russians”.
John Entwistle, the Head of Delegation, Country Cluster Delegation of the IFRC for the Russian Federation and Belarus, emphasized: “The present forum is a great opportunity for participants from all over the country to come together, discuss relevant concerns and share experiences in solving them. Meeting colleagues from different regions and discussing with experts will allow all of us to broaden our horizons, help connect specialists within the National Society itself, as well as strengthen the cooperation of the RRC with partners in the Red Cross Movement and beyond that. This is the way to prepare ourselves better for the challenges to come”.
The Russian Red Cross will maintain and scale up all existing programs throughout the entire country. For instance, the Russian Red Cross plans to increase the number of plasma donations to 1 million, as well as to increase the proportion of regular voluntary non-remunerated blood donors so that there would be at least 3 blood donations or its components per year per one donor.
The RRC also aims to popularize bone marrow donation among Russians. It is planned that 500,000 people will be included in the Federal register of bone marrow donors by 2026. In addition, there will be continued the work to train the population in first aid skills, prevention of socially significant diseases and support for those who suffer from such diseases.
For today the RRC is the only organization in Russia with a unified educational structure to train first aid skills among the population. The RRC has the widest network of regional branches that implement this program. There are currently 66 regions involved in this activity. It is planned that all regions of the country shall join this program. At least 30% of Russians will be trained in first aid skills during the next 4 years.
The Russian Red Cross has 84 regional and 684 local branches, as well as 100,000 supporters. The Russian Red Cross aims to cover all Russian regions and significantly increase the number of its local branches. The creation of a wide network of representative offices will make it possible to help people in need, even in the most remote corners of the country in a prompt and timely manner.
“We realize that we cannot reach all potential beneficiaries, but our goal is to become a kind of unified resource center for the country, and we are ready and willing to help those who help themselves. We will concentrate our attention on local initiative groups, volunteers, and organizations that share our principles and are ready to make their own contribution to preventing and alleviating human suffering”, – said Pavel Savchuk.
The Strategy also involves not just increasing the number of supporters of the organization, but the formation of a sustainable community of the Russian Red Cross and the development of the Ambassador movement.
The project also includes an issue devoted to assistance to victims of emergencies. Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, more than 189,000 refugees and displaced persons from Ukraine and Donbass have received support from the Russian Red Cross. Another 1,000 people affected by fires and floods in different regions of the country received humanitarian aid from the National Society.
However, the crisis pointed out the need for a more systematic approach in this direction, pre-emergency preparation. This involves stipulation of common standards and procedures for emergency humanitarian assistance, as well as long-term support programs, such as psychosocial support or health resort treatment, and etc.