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Philippines

Philippines: 2024 IFRC network country plan (MAAPH001)

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The Philippine Red Cross was established in 1947 and was admitted to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in 1948. It operates within the Philippine Red Cross Act of 2009, which affirms the National Society’s position as a voluntary, independent, and autonomous non-governmental body that is auxiliary to the authorities of the Republic of the Philippines in the humanitarian field.
The National Society provides relief, health care and welfare assistance to the most vulnerable people. The National Society adopts a holistic approach to its humanitarian work and offers a wide array of services including preventive medicine, blood collection and distribution, therapeutic counselling and youth leadership.
The Philippine Red Cross is the nation’s largest humanitarian organization, and it operates through its 102 chapters covering all administrative districts and major cities in the country. The National Society has 2,221 staff at national headquarters and chapter levels, and approximately 300,888 volunteers and supporters. The Red Cross 143, a volunteer programme of the Philippine Red Cross launched in 2009 at the chapter level, oversees the training and placing of volunteers at the community (barangay) level - enhancing the overall capacity of the National Society to prepare for and respond to disaster situations.
The National Society focuses on its core programmes and services which includes blood services, disaster management and relief services, dissemination of international humanitarian law, health services, safety services, social services and volunteer and youth initiatives. In 2022, the Philippines Red Cross reached more than 755,000 people through its long term services and development programmes and more than 2.9 million people through its disaster response and early recovery programmes.
The Philippine Red Cross Strategy 2021-2025 acknowledges three significant and intersecting concerns: climate and environmental crisis, health and well-being including COVID-19, and conflict and migration. The strategies are as follows:

• Empower the most vulnerable marginalized community members through sustainable, innovative, need-based services that sustain resilience and promote human dignity and well-being

• Strengthen the National Society’s financial sustainability through intensified resource mobilization, strategic partnerships, and well-placed systems that enhance trust, accountability, transparency, efficiency, and standards compliance

• Enhance our organizational capacity for the welfare of our staff and volunteers through a human-centered approach, supported by strengthened administrative systems and procedures