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URCS Vision Posted, 01 May 2023 | Charity
A partner of Choice in Uganda in Saving Lives, Building Resilient Communities, and Promoting Human Dignity.
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URCS Mission Posted, 01 May 2023 | Charity
To fulfill the URCS mandate and obligation in delivering quality and sustainable humanitarian assistance.
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Our Core Values Posted, 01 May 2023 | Charity
These are based on the seven Principles of the Movement. The core values are:
Professionalism, Integrity, Value for people, Accountability and Equity ...read more
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URCS Marks International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction through planting trees in disaster prone areas.
The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) celebrated the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) by resuming their tree-planting initiatives in Eastern Uganda. The theme for this celebration was "Fighting inequality for a resilient future. Let’s Break the Cycle!" URCS focused on regreening the environment and distributed over 1500 tree seedlings to families in the Mt. Elgon region as part of the Strengthening Community-led Preparedness and Response project. The communities that received the Grevillea Robusta seedlings were those at high risk of floods and landslides in the districts of Mbale and Sironko. Fifty families at high risk of flooding received 20 Grevillea Robusta tree seedlings each. Additionally, fifty seedlings were given to Bukinyale primary school, and 200 seedlings were planted along the Sironko and Disi river banks in Sironko district. The remaining 300 seedlings were distributed and planted in Nashikhaso village, Bushikori Parish, Bungokho sub-county, located in the coffee city of Mbale District. Brenda Atero, the project's Emergency Preparedness and Response officer, and Sarah Orima Akello, the Climate Action and Environment Officer, led the URCS team during this initiative. They mentioned that the tree planting is part of the area's Disaster Risk Reduction Village Action Plans, identified during the Enhancement of Vulnerability Capacity Assessment training that the community-based disaster risk reduction groups participated in.
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Tackling Period Poverty For 50,000 Ugandan Girls And Women. Pads Manufacturing Plant Launched to Keep Girls in School
Uganda Red Cross Society in partnership with Randal Charitable Foundation on 11th August 2023 commissioned a re-usable sanitary pads manufacturing plant in Namakwa – Mukono district aimed at significantly improving the lives of up to 50,000 Ugandan girls and women, as part of the Keep A Girl in School initiative. The manufacturing plant purposes to manufacture 200,000 re-usable pads this year, which is an equivalent of 50,000 four-pad packs. Approximately 20 percent of the pads will be given to 10,000 vulnerable girls in-school free of charge while the remaining 80 percent will be commercialised to 40,000 girls and women in the wider community at a subsidised price, which will ensure the long-term sustainability of the manufacturing facility. Significant grant funding from the Randal Charitable Foundation enabled this landmark social enterprise project in Namakwa, Mukono district of Uganda, working in partnership with the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS). The Keep A Girl In School (KAGIS) Manufacturing Plant was officially opened by the URCS Secretary General, Robert Kwesiga, and the Founder and Chairman of the Randal Charitable Foundation, Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, together with the Director, Basic and Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda, Ismael Mulindwa. Speaking during the launch ceremony, URCS Secretary General Robert Kwesiga said, “Keep A Girl in School is a Menstrual Health Management (MHM) initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) and launched in 2019, which highlights that girls are missing school because of lack of sanitary pads to use during their monthly cycle. We would like to thank the Randal Charitable Foundation for their significant support towards the setting up of a manufacturing plant in Uganda which is aimed at keeping more girls in school through manufacturing and provision of re-usable pads. Over the next 3 years, URCS is scaling up production of re-usable pads to reach up to 100,000 – 150,000 women and girls in Uganda.” In order to help the vulnerable girls stay in school, Kwesiga moved on to encourage more partners-both public and private-to sponsor the Keep A Girl in School program by purchasing reusable pads for donation from the recently established manufacturing plant.
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Uganda Red Cross Partners with Bunyoro Kitara kingdom to address blood shortages in the Oil region.
In an effort to combat the persistent blood shortage in Uganda's oil-rich region, the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has embarked on a blood donor recruitment campaign in collaboration with the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom. Uganda Red Cross Society, through a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Health, works closely with the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS) to mobilize voluntary blood donors across the country. According to the WHO, Uganda has an annual blood target of 1% of the country’s total population. Uganda has 40 Million people and therefore aims at mobilizing 400,000 units of blood annually. However, the population that donates in the country is way below the total target. Uganda Red Cross Society has since come up with innovative ways of bringing on board new voluntary blood donors. in 2020, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the country was affected by a huge blood shortage that has since left many lives at risk. Uganda Red Cross Society in 2021 joined hands with the Buganda Kingdom and took the blood drives to the community level. The Buganda Kingdom counties have been a source of blood that has been distributed to all regions in the country over the last 2 years. In a bid to grow the bloodstreams, Uganda Red Cross embarked on a drive to engage other Kingdoms and chiefdoms (Cultural institutions) to mobilize blood donors. Through a high-level strategic meeting held between the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom leadership led by the Prime Minister, Mr. Andrew Byakutaga, Uganda Red Cross senior leadership tabled the blood scarcity challenge that posed a great threat to the Kingdom and the entire Bunyoro region. The Kingdom expressed positive feedback and organized for a high-level stakeholders meeting on 13. October, 2023. This pivotal stakeholder engagement took place at the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom (BKK) Plaza, in Hoima City and it was graced by the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom's leadership, led by Minister of Production, Wilson Wairindi, representing the Kingdom's prime, Mr. Andrew Byakutaga.
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Uganda Red Cross Society leads Community-Based Surveillance training
The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) has initiated a comprehensive training program aimed at bolstering community-based surveillance (CBS) in Uganda. The endeavor was made possible by a grant from the African Development Bank and the Government of Ireland, channeled through the World Health Organization (WHO). This essential training effort aims to strengthen CBS at both the national and sub-national levels, especially in areas affected by recent health emergencies The training program kicked off with a week-long session for 45 national CBS trainers at the Civil Service College in Jinja, Uganda. The MOH's Commissioner for Integrated Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Public Health Emergencies (IES&PHEs), Dr. Allan Muruta, officially opened the training. URCS Director Health and Social Services, Dr. Josephine Okwera highlighted the importance of expanding CBS to the village level, stating, "With lessons from the recent Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) response, we saw the need to expand the scope of CBS at the sub-national level up to the village level." The plan is to train National Trainers who will subsequently pass on this knowledge to district level trainers initially in Nakaseke, Mityana, Luwero, and Nakasongola as well as any other district once funds are realized. These district trainers will then, in turn, train Village Health Teams (VHTs) in their respective districts.
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