The Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) (, ''al-Ṣalīb al-aḥmar al-lubnānī'') is a humanitarian organization and an auxiliary team to the medical service of the

Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...

. Its headquarters is in the Lebanese capital city of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. Founded in 1945, the organization comprises approximately 7,000 members/volunteers and 200 staff personnel. The society works with the

International Federation This is a list of international sports federations, each of which serves as a non-governmental governing body for a given sport and administers its sport at a world level, most often crafting rules, promoting the sport to prospective spectator ...

and the

ICRC The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

, and on a bilateral basis with the Norwegian and the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public utility since 1945, the Frenc ...

. As of 2008, the LRC also worked with the relevant components of the Lebanese authorities, with UN agencies and

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s.Lebanese Red Cross
. (pdf) ''International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies''. Retrieved on December 6, 2008. On account of its Christian majority until an indeterminate point in the third quarter of the 20th century, and its lack of any state religion,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

is the only

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

member state A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

to use the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

as its symbol; the remainder use the

Red Crescent The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human ...

. The Lebanese Red Cross was led as of 2021 by Secretary General Georges Kettaneh.

History

The LRC was established on July 9, 1945 as an independent national society. A year later, it was recognized by the State as a public

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

and as an auxiliary team to the medical service of the

. In 1947, it became a member of the

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 191 member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...

and joined the

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. In addition, the LRC is a founding member of the Secretariat General of the Organization of the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies. After the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, the LRC had to reposition its services towards postwar requirements. In 1993, the society established a long-term development plan leading up to 2000, and an extension plan in 2002 (to cover the period up until 2005).History of LRC
" ''Lebanese Red Cross''. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.

Mission

The mission of the LRC is to spread and promote peace, serve the society, alleviate human pain without any discrimination as to nationality, political commitments or social class. The National Society has a leading national role in first aid and ambulance services, as well as providing blood, primary health, and social services.Plan of Action & Appeals - Strategy
". ''Lebanese Red Cross''. Retrieved on December 7, 2008. The Lebanese Red Cross Society is led by volunteers, whose mission is to provide relief to victims of natural and human made disasters, and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies, and to mitigate the suffering of the most vulnerable. The LRC's mission includes the following programs and units: * 50 Medical - Social Center * 46 First Aid centers * 30 Chapters or local committee * 33 Youth Clubs * 13 Mobile Clinics * 13 Blood Transfusion centers * 6 Nursing Institutes * 2 Health Assistant schools * 1 Safety & Security Unit * 1 Orthopedic workshop

Organizational structure

The LRC as of 2008 consisted of the president, the General Assembly, where the ultimate authority rests, the central committee composed of 42 volunteers members, the Executive Committee composed of 9 member heads of the active departments at the LRC (in addition to the President, the Vice-president and the treasurer).Structure
" ''Lebanese Red Cross''. Retrieved on December 6, 2008. The LRC also includes the following departments: * Safety & Security * Planning & Development * Internal Affairs * Finance & Management * Treasury * Supply & Logistics * Public Relations & Communications * Medical & Social Services * Blood Transfusion Banks * First Aid * Teaching * Youth * Volunteers

Activities

Concerning disaster preparedness and response, the LRC first-aid and ambulance teams are the only national ambulance service covering the whole of the Lebanese territory. The service operates over 250 ambulances, with 16 permanent staff and 2,000 volunteers on a continuous basis in 46 first-aid centres. Services are managed through a radio communication system from four central operation rooms, one in the capital city of

, one in

Tibnin Tibnin ( ''Tibnīn'', also Romanized ''Tibnîn'', ''Tebnine'' etc.) is a municipality spread across several hills (ranging in altitude from 700m to 800m (2,275 ft to 2,600 ft) above sea level) located about east of Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre ...

in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, one in Tripoli, and the last in the Bekaa. The first-aid and ambulance organization represents the backbone of emergency medical disaster preparedness in the country. Young volunteers from all religions and social groups are united in their work under the Red Cross emblem.

Future

As of 2008, the Lebanese Red Cross planned to strengthen its position and cover other areas, such as road safety, disaster preparedness, preventive health-care services, and youth and volunteer activities. Thus, in accordance with the International Federation Strategy 2010, the LRC established development plan with annual plans of action in order to reach the objectives. Its major priorities included continuing the implementation of institutional changes based on the organizational development program, focusing on the governance structure by reviewing the organization and establishing a long-term development plan, develop resource management strategies in order to become economically self-sufficient, and to support and further develop the activities and recruitment of volunteers in the National Society through various Red Cross activities and services.

References

Bibliography

*El Sayed, M. J., & Bayram, J. D. (2013). «Prehospital emergency medical services in Lebanon: overview and prospects». ''Prehospital and disaster medicine,'' 28(02), 163-165. *Badr N. (2016), «Could ICT Be Harnessed for Prehospital Emergency Medical Services? - The Case of the Lebanese Red Cross». In ''Proceedings of the 9th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies'' - Volume 5: HEALTHINF, (BIOSTEC 2016) , pages 269-276. DOI: 10.5220/0005671902690276 *Annie Tohme-Tabet, "The War Remembered: A Look at the Voluntary and Humanitarian Work of Young People with the Lebanese Red Cross in the Outskir", ''Omran'', volume 3, numéro 12, pages 7–30, 2015, https://omran.dohainstitute.org/en/issue012/pages/art01.aspx.

External links

Lebanese Red Cross
{{Authority control Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies 1945 establishments in Lebanon Medical and health organisations based in Lebanon Organisations based in Beirut Organizations established in 1945