Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) was established in 1962 by an act of the

Parliament of Sierra Leone Parliament of Sierra Leone is the legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone. It is principally responsible for making laws. The Sierra Leone parliament consists of 146 members, of which 132 members are directly elected from across Si ...

and is a national society. It has its headquarters in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

. The SLRCS is to render medical and humanitarian assistance to the Armed Forces and citizens of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

during times of conflict, disasters or humanitarian crisis. Each year on May 8, the SLRCS joins the rest of the world in celebrating the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day.

History

The SLRCS played a major part in containing and managing the Ebola crisis/outbreak and in recovery operations from 2014 to 2016. In 2012, the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) Act was passed. Section 5, Subsection 2 of the Act states, "The government shall provide subvention to the Society.” Issue was raised in 2018 by the Secretary General, Kpawuru Sandy, as subventions had not been paid since the Act's enactment on December 3, 2012. “We are calling on the government of Sierra Leone to pay subventions to the Red Cross as enshrined in our revised act of 2012 to enable us effectively perform our auxiliary role in humanitarian services". In 2019, the SLRCS became a founding member of the

First Responder Coalition of Sierra Leone The First Responder Coalition of Sierra Leone (FRCSL) is a coalition of Sierra Leonean and international organizations dedicated to expanding prehospital emergency care and developing emergency medical services in Sierra Leone. It aims to address ...

(FRCSL), along with LFR International, Agency for Rural Community Transformation (ARCT), the Holy Spirit Hospital (Makeni), and the

University of Makeni University of Makeni (formerly known as the Fatima Institute and often known as UNIMAK) is the first private, Catholic, university located in Makeni, Sierra Leone. History It was founded as the Fatima Institute on October 8, 2005, by the Emer ...

. Established in

Makeni Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of M ...

, the Coalition's first chairing member was the SLRCS. The Coalition's mission is to "facilitate the development of emergency first responder programs to alleviate the burden of traumatic injury in Sierra Leone." The Coalition trained 1,000 community members over two months in Makeni to be first responders and equipped each trainee with a first aid kit.

References

External links

Official website
1962 establishments in Sierra Leone Medical and health organisations based in Sierra Leone Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies Organizations established in 1962 {{SierraLeone-stub