Despite the mounting challenges facing humanitarian action at the global level through 2016, the Qatari Red Crescent (QRC) has continued carrying out its mission as well as relief and development functions with devotion and efficiency for the benefit of the oppressed everywhere, taking advantage of its stature as a member of the international humanitarian movement and drawing on an extensive network of overseas offices and local volunteers who lent a helping hand to millions of victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts in 25 African, Asian and European countries, in addition to the implementation of dozens of medical, social and educational projects in Qatar.
Throughout 2016, QRC has continued to carry out its important developmental role within the Qatari society as a leading human voluntary organisation that mainly aims at the human and community advancement, through the implementation of dozens of projects as well as cultural, social, health and educational programmes and events to help the needy.
The total number of beneficiaries of these activities since the beginning of 2016 exceeded 56,000 in various categories through an approximate budget of not less than QR12mn.
In this context, QRC’s economic and social empowerment programmes aimed at providing financial and in-kind assistance to vulnerable individuals and needy families in order to cover their living expenses and face any unforeseen circumstances.
The number of beneficiaries of these programmes during 2016 amounted to more than 2,400 families with a total budget of QR5mn.
In it report for Qatar National Day, QRC said that the empowerment programmes and the health services and activities are among the top of its priorities at the local level, in the light of mission of improving the lives of vulnerable people especially with regard to health and safety, as a fundamental pillar of human development of Qatari society.
These activities and services include patients support fund, which covers some or all of the costs of medical and surgical treatment for patients, based on studying their social status and their official medical reports.
They also include the renal transplant programme in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corp. QRC allocated, during the current year, QR3mn to spend on health empowerment and psychosocial support activities, which so far benefited more than 600 patients suffering from serious medical conditions.
The number of beneficiaries of the QRC’s health education programmes in 2016 reached 28,550 people.
Qatar Red Crescent is also responsible for the running workers’ health centres and medical commission units under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Health.
During 2016, two new centres were inaugurated in Mesaimeer and Al Jumiliya making a total of three workers’ health centres with one in Zekreet.
The three centres received a total of 518,662 patients from January to October.
Regarding the Medical Commission units, the same period received 91,881 visitors, after increasing the number of QRC’s Medical Commission units to three in the Industrial Area, Mesaimeer and Ras Laffan.
QRC said that its activities and events during the current year, also included a seasonal aid as well as financial and in kind support for limited-income individuals and families, especially during the important year-round seasons such as Ramadan and Eid.
In 2016, the number of beneficiaries of seasonal aid reached 7,500 with a total that exceeded QR2mn.
The seasonal activities of QRC’s social development department also included a rehabilitation programme for inmates of penal institutions in co-operation with the Interior Ministry.
The programme was financed by the Qatar Central Bank’s fund to support social and sports activities, and implemented in partnership with the Qatar Scientific Club and Qatar Technical School.
Training workshops and lectures, of the QR1mn programme, benefited 484 inmates and their families.
In terms of academic empowerment, the Qatari Red Crescent (QRC) provided tuition fees and living costs to help 166 students with their education.
QRC attaches great attention to the category of persons with special needs.
During the second semester of the academic year 2015-2016 and the first semester of the academic year 2016-2017 QRC assisted 40 students with hearing, visual and movement impairment as well as other special needs, with around QR80,000.
Among the other social programmes carried out by QRC during 2016, was the programme of vocational, economic and social empowerment of women in the local community.
The programme offered specialised vocational and academic workshops attended by 155 women, at a cost of QR35,000.
In sports activities, QRC’s medical cadres, under agreement with Qatar Olympic Committee, covered 64 local, regional and international sports events, most importantly the world road cycling championship.
On the international level, Qatari Red Crescent has intensified during 2016 its relief efforts to keep pace with the acceleration in the pace of humanitarian crises.
The QRC cadres spread in 25 countries, carrying various relief means in a fashion that preserves the dignity of victims, refugees and displaced people.
In addition, they helped in the implementation of various development projects for communities recovering from the effects of disasters.
The total cost of these relief and development activities since the beginning 2016 has exceeded $36mn, of which $30mn was dedicated to Asia and $6mn for continents in both Africa and Europe.
The repercussions of the Syrian crisis received a large share of aid and humanitarian projects carried out by the QRC this year.
The budget for this assistance and projects has exceeded $17mn to meet the most urgent needs of displaced people within Syria and Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries (Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq). The most prominent achievements in this regard included the establishment and operation of seven health centres and the providing ambulance; and tents; anaesthesia and resuscitation medicines, in addition to mobile drinking water tanks in Aleppo.
They also included the establishment of three new charitable cities within alternative housing project, the emergency response to the siege of Moadhamieh and the cities of Aleppo and Idlib and supporting the besieged areas in addition to receiving displaced people in the north of Aleppo and providing food and medicine aid to them.
Regarding the Syrians refugees in neighbouring countries, QRC mission carried out several projects in Lebanon, including the rehabilitation of the sewerage network, the establishment of a charitable field kitchen, fixing thermal insulation inside the tents and supporting four medical projects for the Syrians residing in the town of Arsal in addition to the emergency response project in Lebanon, food distribution, orthopaedic surgeries, and the breast cancer scanning and treatment project.
In Jordan, Qatar Red Crescent mission continued to implement the programme of the Qatari fund to treat wounded Syrians.
For Syrian refugees in Iraq, the QRC mission, completed the construction of water network and sanitation facilities within the first and second phases of Qashtaba camp, in addition to the distribution of food baskets in collaboration with the World Food Programme.
With regard to relief interventions, the cadres of QRC are usually among the first to respond and reach disaster and armed conflict areas, to help those affected, through providing a means of shelter, food, drinking water, sanitation, emergency healthcare and other pressing needs during the early stages to the crisis.
In 2016, QRC carried out urgent relief interventions in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Myanmar, Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ukraine, Nepal and Haiti.
It also launched several appeals and humanitarian campaigns, to assist people affected with armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Somalia.
“Warm Winter” campaign was one of seasonal projects carried every year by QRC, to help the needy categories to withstand the difficult humanitarian conditions experienced throughout the year, which become harder during the winter.
This year the campaign came on a wider scale to cover many areas.
The campaign included the implementation of projects with the cost of over QR11mn to meet the needs of more than 200,000 beneficiaries in Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan and Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraqi Kurdistan as well as Palestinian refugees and the Lebanese camps.
In its annual Ramadan campaign, Qatari Red Crescent foreign missions carried out the Iftar project, which included the establishment of charity Iftar and the distribution of Iftar baskets for over 126,000 families in 14 countries, at a cost of about QR8mn.
Regarding sustainable development, QRC has important development activities for the benefit of local communities in the beneficiary countries.
In Palestine, QRC supports the sectors of sanitation, education and healthcare in Gaza.
It also supports the second phase of the “Million Trees” project.
In Yemen, several multi-sectoral projects have been implemented including the support and rehabilitation of ‘May 22’ Health Center in Taiz.