Red Cross / EU Office

Hellenic Red Cross

Address:

Rue Lycavittou 1
106 72 - Athens
Tel: +30 1 362 1681
Fax: +30 1 361 5606
Email: hrc@netmode.ntua.gr
Website: www.redcross.gr

Legal Basis:
Mission:

According to its statutes, the Hellenic Red Cross is an auxiliary to the government in times of war and of major disasters in the fields of public health, nursing, first aid and of international activities. A new form of co-operation between Hellenic RC and the Greek government was established in 1999 for the dissemination of international humanitarian law.

Constituency:

Branches: the Hellenic RC has 75 branches in big cities, whose members are all volunteers. The branches are run by boards appointed by the society’s Central Administrative Board. The administrative boards of the branches consist of 7-11 members.
Committees: the Hellenic RC has 42 committees in smaller towns in all regions of the country. The branches and the committees have volunteer nurses, social welfare volunteers and Samaritans (first-aiders). The administrative boards of the committees consist of 3-5 members.

Organisation/planning:

Development plan: Although there is no formal development plan, Hellenic RC’s departments and services closely follow the needs and trends of the population and introduce proposals for new programmes and activities to the Central Administration Board.
The last overall evaluation was carried out in 1987, with the support of the International Federation, which concluded that the Hellenic RC should update some of its structures (including its statutes) and functions.
Co-operation schemes: The main fields of co-operation are: disaster response, refugees, health and social issues and dissemination of IHL, international aid and youth. In the region, the Hellenic RC co-operates closely with the national societies of Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean.

Leadership:

General Assembly (2,500 members) is the governing body of the Hellenic RC; it meets every two years and elects the 25 members of the Central Administrative Board.

The branches / committees department, based at national HQ, is the link between the branches/committees and the HQ. It receives their proposals or requests and presents them to the Central Administrative Board, which has the decision-making power.

The Central Administrative Board, which is elected by the General Assembly and meets once a month, and the Executive Committee, comprising members of the Central Administrative Board, form the leadership of the Hellenic RC.
 
Challenge:

The number of migrants has been increasing since the beginning of the 1990s, reaching 800,000. Greece must now face the question of integration and inclusion of these immigrants within society.

Paid staff:

593 at national HQ, 95 at provincial level (the majority are women)

Volunteers:

3,000 at national HQ, 5,059 in the branches and committees (the majority are women). The volunteers are mainly involved in the fields of health, social welfare and disaster response activities. Their role is to support programmes run either by the headquarters or by the regional branches.

Domestic Activities
Centre for social support and integration of refugees

This centre promotes the integration and participation of refugees in Greek society, through language courses, support classes for children, a child day care centre, tracing services, etc. Staff: 10 paid employees and 7 volunteers.
Disaster relief and rescue sevices
First aid training courses
Health education programme

The health education programme has trained 380,000 people since 1952. It aims to promote health awareness and to train people to face emergencies (accidents, natural disasters) through courses such as first aid, mother-and-child care, homecare for the sick, nutrition, disease prevention, trauma care for accident victims. Staff: 50 paid employees and 12 volunteers.

Health care programme

This programme is delivered through health centres, the gerontology service and the Hellenic RC home nursing service. An estimated 100,000 people benefit every year from this programme which provides home nursing for the chronically sick, the elderly, patients returning home from hospital but still in need of care, and public hygiene. Staff: 58 paid employees and 25 volunteers.

Nurse trainig programmes

Medical loans
Telephone help-line

This programme offers direct help in case of emergency 24 hours a day to lonely, elderly and disabled people. Depending on the gravity of the situation, the service contacts family or neighbours, the police or paramedics. The staff of 14 is based in Athens and Thessalonica.

Home assistance

The aim of the programme is to enable elderly and disabled people to maintain their autonomy and to encourage them to be active in the community. To this end, it offers transport and escort services. 16 paid employees and 15 volunteers are involved. They are based in Exarchia and Kolonos and they cover the areas of Athens.

Psychological support activities
The main activities of this section are: promotion of the Fundamental Principles in schools, provision of support to needy families, and environmental programmes such as reforestation and beach cleaning. The Hellenic RC has an estimated 3,000 youth volunteers and 200 youth leaders involved in these activities.

International Activites: Humanitarian Aid

Water and sanitation

Personnel:

9 permanent staff (2003)

Amount spent on international work:

783,800.44 Euro spent on international work (2001)

Delegates:

7 delegates in the field (2002)

Membership in RCRC networks:
Country Information

Red Cross/EU Office