The Red Cross Society of Da Nang City held a ceremony to respond to Voluntary Blood Donor Day on April 7 with the message "Safe blood donation - COVID-19 Prevention and Control. (File photo: Tran Le Lam/VNA)

They will also continue to promote the role of humanitarian organizations and activities to help the most vulnerable people through a worldwide network of staff and volunteers.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society was established on November 23, 1946 by President Ho Chi Minh, who was the first honorary President of the Society. It became an official member of the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement on November 4, 1957. Over the last 76 years, the Vietnam Red Cross Society has made active contributions to the global movement and effectively involved in healthcare, social relief, and natural disaster prevention and response.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society has chosen May as Humanitarian Month to mobilize the public to engage in humanitarian activities. This year, teh Society has two key programs: "Safety for fishermen" and "Nutrition for children".

The "Safety for Fishermen" program will provide multipurpose life jackets for 50,000 fishermen in difficult circumstances, give first aid bags and national flags to more than 90,600 fishing boats, and support the development of sustainable livelihoods for fishermen.

The "Nutrition for children" program aims to provide nutritional health check-ups and improved meals for 1 million malnourished, stunted children in the mountainous areas of the northern mountain, the Central Highlands, the southwestern region, rural areas, and islands, support the model of "Clean kitchen – Delicious meals" at semi-boarding and boarding schools in 250 extremely disadvantaged communes in mountainous and border areas, build and operate a chain of 100 food banks to provide sate food and nutritional information for children at communes which have many children of poor households.

Bui Thi Hoa, President of the Vietnam Red Cross Society, said the support for the two groups relates to Vietnam's commitments at the United Nations 26th Climate Change Summit (COP 26).