Bangladesh Red Crescent Society has celebrated ‘World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day’ in various colorful arrangements. This year, the theme of the day is ‘Save Humanity’, with the highest importance to the 7 principles and humanitarian activities of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement worldwide in establishing a war-free humanitarian world.

On May 8, 1828, the founder of the Red Cross, Jean-Henri Dunant, was born in Geneva, Switzerland. To remember this great man with reverence, his birthday is celebrated worldwide as World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day every year. In that sequence, like 191 countries of the world, the day is celebrated with due dignity and importance in Bangladesh.

The program of the day started with the hoisting of the national flag and the Red Crescent flag at the national headquarters of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society on Wednesday morning.

The newly appointed chairman of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, Professor Dr. was present as the chief guest. Md. Ubaidul Kabir Chowdhury.

In a short speech on the occasion of the day, he said, ‘In every disaster, our workers and volunteers set a shining example in the service of humanity, which is making the society more dynamic. I believe that this organization founded by Jean-Henri Dunant will play a more leading role to save humanity.

At this time, the honorable vice chairman of the society Lutfur Rahman Chowdhury Helal, board member Munsi Kamruzzaman Kajal, Adv. Sohana Tahmina, Razia Sultana Luna, Secretary General Kazi Shafiqul Azam, Deputy Secretary General Sultan Ahmed, directors of various departments and all levels of society’s officers and employees, youth volunteers, representatives of IFRC, ICRC and partner national societies were present.

On this special day, a colorful procession takes place from the national headquarters of the society, flying doves and balloons as symbols of peace. The procession ends at the Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College premises. Youth volunteers and all levels of officers and employees of the society participated in it. Voluntary blood donation programs and discussion meetings were organized at the society’s blood centers on the occasion of the day. Flowers and food were distributed among the patients of Holy Family Red Crescent Hospital in the capital. Along with the national headquarters, 68 Red Crescent units across the country celebrated the day in their respective arrangements.

Note that on March 31, 1973, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman issued the Bangladesh Red Cross Society Order (PO-26). According to this order, Bangladesh Red Cross Society was recognized from 16 December 1971. Then, Bangladesh Red Cross Society got full international recognition at the 22nd International Conference of Red Cross in Tehran on September 20, 1973. In 1988, the name of the organization was changed to Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.