Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has said it will celebrate World Humanitarian Day on Wednesday, an occasion when the world appreciates the heroic sacrifices of humanitarian workers, commemorates those killed while performing their professional and humanitarian duty, and reiterates a call for the protection of relief and health workers as they continue, despite the odds, to help people most in need.
Under the theme of ‘Providing Life-Saving Support during the Pandemic’, World Humanitarian Day comes as global efforts are being exerted to fight the Covid-19 pandemic over the past months.
Relief workers are dealing with unprecedented challenges and hurdles to deliver humanitarian aid and services to the vulnerable around the world. Besides the risks to their safety and the safety of the beneficiaries, many vulnerable communities are economically affected by the lockdown.
As an active member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, QRCS stressed that it serves a central mission of mobilising the power of humanity for the best interest of the vulnerable everywhere.
It capitalises on fruitful partnerships with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and a network of national societies in 192 countries, QRCS said in a press statement.
"In the face of the Covid-19 outbreak, QRCS has played a significant role by supporting the efforts of the government and sectors of Qatar to contain the health and economic consequences, as well as helping many fellow national societies minimise its impact on the vulnerable segments of society," the statement noted.
Early in the crisis, QRCS launched the 'Volunteer for Qatar' campaign, which recruited 13,800 young women and men to carry out many activities. These included guidance of consumers at shopping centres, management quarantine facilities, medical and logistic services, health education, psychological support, restoring family links, street disinfection, public hygiene inspection, distribution of masks and gloves to the public and delivery of food baskets to families affected by the lockdown.
Workers’ Health Centres continued to work as normal, and the fleet of ambulances was deployed to transport the infected cases. Two units were opened to do swabbing in co-operation with Hamad Medical Corporation.
Medical professionals were stationed at the Mekaines quarantine camp 24/7 to provide a wide range of medical services for the inmates. At the QRCS Training and Development Centre, dozens of courses and lectures were held for the medical workers and volunteers engaged in the operation, in addition to health education events for the public.
Internationally, QRCS’s 19 foreign representation missions and offices were aligned to keep an eye on the situation, co-ordinate with the host national societies and government authorities, provide various possible forms of logistic and specialised support, and take all the preventive measures within the ongoing humanitarian operations.
Over the past few months, there have been Covid-19 control efforts for some 300,000 beneficiaries in Bangladesh, Turkey, Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. These contributions included healthcare, food aid, health education, protective supplies for medical professionals, coronavirus testing equipment and quarantine/isolation facilities.
"Realising its invaluable humanitarian role, QRCS secures all protections for relief, medical and voluntary workers on the field. Those engaged in the Covid-19 response are given training and advice on how to avoid infection and deal with confirmed and suspected cases," the statement continues. "All the protective tools are supplied, such as masks, gloves, shoe covers, face shields and personal protective equipment (PPE). Social distancing and personal sanitisation are ensured at all times."
While working on the ground, some QRCS personnel got infected with the virus. Immediately, the organisation provided them with full care and treatment until their recovery. They withstood the calamity by virtue of their high spirits and the support from QRCS leaders, the statement adds.
On World Humanitarian Day, QRCS "would like to send a 'Thank You' message to those heroes, in the name of everyone in society who were protected against, or treated from, such a serious disease".
