MRC aims to be inclusive and focused on most vulnerable — Secretary General

The tsunami of December 26 2004 affected many parts of the world, but had greater impact on areas contiguous to the Indian Ocean, especially in Asia. The deadly impact of this natural disaster prompted a review of the disaster response mechanism in most of the affected countries, and in one of them — Maldives — it actually led to the establishment of the Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC).

The Regional Delegation of the ICRC for Bhutan, India, Nepal and Maldives covers the four countries that constitute its area of focus and has been working in partnership with the various Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in these countries to enhance their capacity to respond to humanitarian needs, including the MRC.

Several years after the tsunami, the MRC, building on experience derived from that unfortunate phenomenon, is gradually evolving into a responsive National Society, aiming to be even closer to its own population and positioning itself to be able to offer them a diverse range of humanitarian services across a broad spectrum.

Recently, the MRC inducted a new management and the ICRC Delegation in New Delhi conducted a training programme designed to help governance members, management and experienced volunteers to better communicate during crisis. This was a training programme for which the MRC was used as a pilot National Society. The Secretary General, Ms. Aishath Noora Mohamed who heads the new team, used that opportunity to outline her vision for the MRC as captured in this short video.