As the new Coronavirus is spreading in Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) is elevating its preparedness and response, with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The LRC, as a supplementary to the government, has been transferring people who may have the COVID-19 to Rafik Hariri University Hospital.
To date, LRC has 300 trained emergency medical technicians ready to respond when needed. In addition, they have 520 volunteers trained in COVID-19 awareness and 19 stations equipped to respond.
The Lebanese Red Cross has been also keeping the Lebanese people updated on a daily basis with the total confirmed cases. The latter just reached 99 as 6 new coronavirus cases were confirmed today.
The tremendous work that the Lebanese Red Cross has been doing since the onset of the outbreak has taken a heavy toll on their funds which major percentage comes from donations.
Now, the not-for-profit LRC is running out of funds as every Coronavirus mission costs them a total of 850$, including the expenses of the specialized kits and transportation.
Currently, they don’t have enough funds to respond to the coronavirus emergencies and they need the support of the people.
With 10 to 20 responses every day, the LRC is spending lots of money, especially on the one-time-use uniforms. The trained EMTs wear these uniforms only when the person has symptoms or the virus.
It’s important to stress that the Lebanese Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization. 70% of its budget depends on donations.
To continue this national fight that concerns all Lebanese people with no exception, it’s crucial that the LRC gets supported by the people in its work and efforts at the frontline of the outbreak.
So far, LRC has managed to train more than 15,000 individuals on COVID-19 awareness, with the collaboration of the German Red Cross, the World Health Organization, the Lebanese Health Ministry, and other institutions.
While we sit and isolate ourselves from danger, the LRC volunteers are risking their own health and life all the time to save ours.
The number of affected is expected to continue increasing, and the LRC volunteers are rushing to help all over the country regardless of “who” or “where.”
The inescapable reality today is that we are all in this together, and we should be acting as such, contributing our help to those doing the heavy lifting to save the nation. Let us all join the fight by donating.
It took a minute with me to download and create an account. @RedCrossLebanon NEEDS US! Download the app, Create an account and Donate now! Lets help saving lives https://t.co/djvcNDJk1m pic.twitter.com/AHlG7GTvDt
— Myriam Fares (@myriamfares) March 15, 2020
To note, contributions run as little as 2$ per month and as much as one can during this critical time.
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