Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) spent nearly QR171mn in 2016 as part of its charitable and humanitarian missions in different parts of the world. The QRCS assistance reached nearly 7mn people in and outside the country.
It was announced by QRCS Secretary General Ali Hassan al-Hammadi at the annual general body meeting recently.
The AGM was presided by Dr Mohamed bin Ghanem al-Ali al-Maadheed.
Besides several senior QRCS officials, representatives of Qatar’s Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA) and the external auditing firm Talal Abu-Ghazaleh and Co International were also present.
Al-Hammadi remarked that the figures of assistance were a motivation to work harder and improve the QRCS mechanisms in light of its strategic vision and humanitarian challenges on the ground.
“This year is expected to be more challenging with humanitarian crises affecting neighbouring countries and regions. In response, we are set to make vital major interventions,” he said.
A short documentary shedding light on some successes made locally and abroad, reflecting the diversity of relief, development, empowerment, and rehabilitation projects were shown.
Executive Director (Relief and International Development Division) Rashid Saad al-Mohannadi made a presentation of the achievements of QRCS’s 18 foreign missions during 2016, covering water and sanitation, healthcare, shelter, and other fields. These projects benefited around 6.9mn in 29 countries at a total cost of QR161mn.
“In Syria, for instance, QRCS co-operated with several partners to conduct QR92mn worth of humanitarian projects, serving over 1.6m people there and neighbouring countries,” said
al-Mohannadi.
Dr Daoud al-Bast, executive director, medical affairs, informed about the renewal of contract with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to operate three workers’ health centres in Mesaimeer, Al Hemailah, and Zekreet.
Last year, these health facilities received 625,000 visitors, while the three Medical Commission units (Industrial Area, Ras Laffan, and Mesaimeer) received 4,400 cases per month.
According to Dr al-Bast, QRCS organised 206 training courses and certification in advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS), basic life support (BLS), continuing medical education (CME), first-aid, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and life guard.
These courses were attended by 3,453 people in addition to 102 community health education events.
Noura al-Dosari, executive director of the Volunteering And Local Development, summarised the statistics of volunteering activities in 2016, which indicated 1,240 volunteers, 6,544 volunteering hours, 30 events, and 21 training courses.
Social services reached 53,475 beneficiaries, at a total cost of QR17,168,000. Empowerment/training and local development programmes benefited 52,602 people at a cost of QR646,000 and QR2,400,000, respectively.
The external auditor’s representative presented the findings of auditing QRCS’s 2016 closing financial records. AGM members endorsed the auditing report and discharged the Board of Directors from liability.
After reviewing proposals from various auditing firms in Qatar, the meeting selected PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as external auditor for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017.
A new board has been constituted. Dr Mohamed bin Ghanem al-Ali al-Maadheed, Dr Aisha al-Mannai, Dr Abdul-Salam al-Qahtani, Mohamed al-Yami, Fatima al-Khulaifi, Saleh Ali al-Mohannadi, Abdullah al-Nuaimi, Talal al-Abdullah, Ali Hassan al-Hammadi, Khaled al-Sulaiti, and Omar Hussain al-Fardan are the new board members. Rima al-Muraikhi has been appointed an observer.