The American Red Cross is a part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement which symbolizes the unity of all work carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 178 Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies and other societies in formation around the world. The mission of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is to: relieve human suffering wherever it may be found; protect life and health; ensure respect for the human being, particularly in times of armed conflict and natural disaster; help prevent disease; promote health and social welfare; and encourage voluntary service. The Fundamental Principles of the Movement are humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. American Red Cross International Services works as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to restore hope and dignity to the world's vulnerable people bringing emergency relief to disaster victims, and improving the basic living conditions of those in chronically deprived areas of the world.
International Services focuses its activities into six priority program areas:
Primary Health Care
The American Red Cross promotes cost-effective, community-based health interventions. The focus is on preventive rather than curative care with particular attention to improving access to care, ensuring equity, encouraging community participation and integrating care with other interventions. Primary health care focus areas include: maternal and child health (including the Integrated Management of Child hood Illnesses, women's health and a global measles initiative), prevention and control of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, measles and TB), women's health, water and sanitation interventions and psychosocial support.
Food Programming
The American Red Cross food programming focuses on increasing availability, expanding access, and promoting better utilization of food, while strengthening the capacity of our partner national societies to sustain and effectively manage food programs and help communities restore food production. As part of this integrated approach, American Red Cross food aid and food security interventions are linked to other sectors like health care and water and sanitation to promote improved household practices regarding child feeding, nutrition and hygiene. American Red Cross programs entail a range of interventions from bulk food distributions and targeted feeding in emergency situations to development interventions such as food-assisted child survival, supplemental feeding focusing on micronutrient deficiencies, or other programs focusing on maternal and child health
Organizational Development
As part of the International Red Cross Movement, the American Red Cross works directly with other national societies to help them build their institutional and technical capacity to better serve the populations within their own countries. Organizational Development is a crosscutting component of all American Red Cross international programs and aims to strengthen the internal capacities and organizational infrastructure of our partner national societies through direct technical assistance in such areas as organizational assessment, strategic planning, governance and management development, volunteer management, stakeholder participation and resource development.
International Tracing and Red Cross Message Services
Part of the worldwide Red Cross and Red Crescent network, the American Red Cross connects families separated due to conflict, catastrophic events and disasters. Activities include location of missing family, exchange of Red Cross Messages and other services that reunite families.
Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law and the Fundamental Principles
The American Red Cross is mandated to educate the American public about the Fundamental Principles and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as set forth in the Geneva Conventions. The goal of American Red Cross IHL program is to increase respect for and enhance the application of the rules of armed conflict by raising public awareness, increasing knowledge, influencing Red Cross policy and building implementation skills and expertise.