Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) was founded in 1937 and it was earlier called Burma Red Cross. It has its headquarters in

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

History

In 1920, the Society came into existence as a branch of

Indian Red Cross Society The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) is a voluntary humanitarian organization to protect human life and health based in India. It is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and shares the Fundamental Principles of the Inter ...

. When Burma was politically separated from India in 1937, it attained national status and was recognised as Burma Red Cross Society. The

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

(ICRC) recognised it as a National Society in 1939. The Society was admitted to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in 1946. The Burma Red Cross Act was enacted in 1959 and amended subsequently in 1964, 1971 and 1988. The 1959 (MRCS) Act confers responsibility to the National Society in implementing humanitarian activities and alleviating human suffering. The

St. John Ambulance Brigade St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by Volunteering, volunteers. The associations are overseen b ...

Overseas was taken over by the Society as Burma Ambulance Brigade under the 1959 Act. The Society was renamed Myanmar Red Cross Society in accordance with legislative change of the name from

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

in 1989.

Governance and management

The General Assembly is the highest governing body of the Society and is convened every three years. The Central Council is the governing body of the MRCS between the sessions of the General Assembly. The Central Council comprises 40 members, out of which 17 members represent States and Divisions level branches. The governance of the Society is formed by 10 Executive Committee members. 5 out of 10 members are retired professionals and who work full-time on voluntary basis, are responsible for providing guidance for making policy, giving directions and guidance in the implementation of the activities of the Society. The structure of National Headquarters (NHQ) consists of six Divisions and two Units. They are Administrative Division, Disaster Management Division, Finance Division, Health Division, Training Division and Communication Division, Development and Coordination Unit and Protocol Unit. The management is headed by the Executive Director, who is the full-time Executive Committee member of the National Society. The Executive Director carries out his functions under the authority of the Central Council and the Executive Committee. The Society is the largest humanitarian organization in Myanmar with its nationwide network of 330 branches (townships) with over 250000 volunteers throughout the country.

Awards

A member of Myanmar Red Cross Society won Henry Dunant Medal in 1977 for saving a soldier whose car fell into the

Ayeyarwady River The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Orig ...

which was icy cold at that time . His name was Sai Aung Hlaing Myint. He was from Kachin State. {{Authority control Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies 1937 establishments in Burma Organizations established in 1937 Medical and health organisations based in Myanmar