World Red Cross Day 2020: Know facts about Red Crescent Day

World Red Cross Day, otherwise called the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day which is celebrated every year on May 8 to celebrate the great work that the Red Cross Movement does every day around the globe. It is additionally a delicate nod to all the volunteers who have made unparalleled contributions to individuals in duress or need. By chance, the day is likewise the birthday of Swiss businessman Henry Dunant, who had created the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863 in Switzerland, Geneva. He was born on May 8, 1828, and was likewise the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Henri Dunant began this movement in the wake of seeing the horrors on the battlefield during the Battle of Solferino in 1859 in Italy between the Austrian army and the Franco-Sardinian alliance. The Red Cross Flag, which seems as though an inverted Swiss Flag, was designed by Henri Dunant to honor his country.

The day is celebrated every year to honor the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Post World War I, Red Cross was acquainted all together with a call for peace as part of the international commission of the 14th International Conference of the Red Cross.

The day is praised annually to diminish the suffering of individuals and empowering them to lead a dignified life. It is recommended by Red Cross Organizations over the world by helping individuals with independence, humanity, impartiality, universality, unity, and neutrality – the major principles of the association.

Facts about World Red Cross Day

1. The Red Cross was officially settled in the year 1863 when Jean Henri Dunant, alongside Gustave Moynier, Louis Appia, Theodore Maunoir, and Guillaume-Henri Dufour, set up the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became the International Committee of the Red Cross.

2. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was established in 1919 in Paris in the aftermath of World War I.

3. Red Cross incorporates the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which has societies in 186 member nations.

4. There are presently 189 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the globe with over 97 million staff and volunteers.

5. While the Red Cross, the reverse of the Swiss flag was perceived as the association’s symbol in many nations, the Red Cresent was widely perceived as the symbol in Islamic nations. To neutralize this, the Red Crystal was declared as a neutral and extra symbol in 2005.

6. Red Cross is an active participant in a wide number of programs and services, including crisis reaction, disaster preparedness, community-based health and care, first aid training and activities, reestablishing family contact for disaster victims, and youth and volunteer activities.

7. The Red Cross has won the Nobel Peace Prize three times – in the year 1917, 1944, and 1963, while Henry Durant got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.

8. The main aim of the Red Cross Society is essential to inspire, start, and encourage a wide range of humanitarian activities under all times and conditions.

9. Programs directed by the Red Cross Society can be extensively classified into four sections including the promotion of humanitarian standards and values; disaster response; disaster preparedness; and health and care.

10. The Red Cross Society depends on 7 principles in particular; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary, unity, and universality.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on microblogging webpage Twitter stated, “It’s already World Red Cross Red Crescent Day in some countries around the (globe)!! Today and every day let’s #KeepClapping for all volunteers and staff worldwide responding to COVID-19”.