The Business Session of the Annual General Meeting of the Indian Red Cross Society and St. John Ambulance (India) was held at DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi today. J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare presided over the session.Speaking at the occasion Shri J P Nadda stated that the government has initiated several social and economic programme directed at the most vulnerable. The prime objective of the voluntary organization should be to bridge the gap between these schemes and the community. Shri Nadda further said that Indian Red Cross branches have been doing creditable work in imparting first aid trainings to the people of this country however there is a need to further enhance the quality of trainings for strengthening service delivery.
The Health Minister informed that the Ministry has launched Mission Indradhanush as a special drive to vaccinate all unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children under Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). “I exhort volunteers of Red Cross and St John and Junior and Youth Red Cross members of all the states specially Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to actively participate in this mission and contribute to making a “Swasth Bharat”, the Health Minister stated. Similarly, Shri J P Nadda said that the India Red Cross can play a very important role in the Deworming initiative of the government that is aimed to protect more than 24 crore children in the ages of 1-19 years from intestinal worms. Shri Nadda appreciated the Indian Red Cross for taking up the initiative to set up a Centre of Excellence in First Aid at the Central Training Institute at Bahadurgarh and said that this will help provide high quality education in First Aid.
The Health Minister further informed that IIT, Mandi is on board with the IRCS to scientifically examine various projects, activities and programmes being implemented. “I would like to invite other institutions also to join us to achieve this important objective,” Shri Nadda said. The Health Minister also welcomed the Netherland Red Cross, University College of Dublin, Irish Red Cross and MDA of Israel as the new partners in India. “I am informed that several corporate houses have supported the Indian Red Cross Society and St John Ambulance in the recent past. I would like to invite other partners from the corporate sector to join us and help us in making the citizens of our great country more resilient”, Shri Nadda said while stressing on the need to collaborate with private sector.
Shri Nadda also congratulated the staff of the blood bank at the national headquarters that has issued more than 50,000 units of blood and blood components in 2015. “This is a very important mission of the IRCS and I also exhort the other blood banks run by the Red Cross across the country to adapt practices to encourage voluntary blood donation and to ensure that the safest blood is issued to the needy,” Shri Nadda elaborated. The Health Minister also presented Indian Red Cross certificates of merit to workers during the business session.Also present at the function were Shri Avinash Rai Khanna, Vice Chairman of Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), Shri. S.C. Goyal, Vice Chairperson of St. John Ambulance (India), Sh. M. P. Gupta, Honorary Treasurer, IRCS and St John Ambulance, Dr. Veer Bhushan, Joint Secretary, Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) and St. John Ambulance (India), and Members of Managing Body of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) and National Council of St John Ambulance (India).