MINSK, 30 March (BelTA) – Director of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) Markus Mader and Head of the SRC International Cooperation Department Beat von Daniken will pay a visit to Belarus for the first time from 3 to 5 April, BelTA learned from Paulina Ivanko, a communication specialist of the Swiss Red Cross in Belarus.
The guests are set to learn more about the progress in the implementation of the SRC program in Belarus and discuss further cooperation in strengthening the potential of the Belarusian Red Cross Society (BRCS), raising the quality of support and care at home, improving the system to attract resources for sustainable work, and promoting healthy and active ageing.
The Swiss Red Cross representatives are scheduled to meet with BRCS top management, workers and volunteers who have taken an active part in joint projects. Apart from the Belarusian capital, Markus Mader and = Beat von Daniken plan to visit Vitebsk, Novopolotsk, and the town of Bogushevsk, Vitebsk Oblast.
“We plan to sign an agreement to join a platform for partnership, cooperation, and coordination. The platform is designed to unite the efforts of national Red Cross societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to turn into practice the BRCS' strategic priorities,” BRSC Secretary General Olga Mychko added.
The Swiss Red Cross has been providing expert and financial support to Belarus since 1994. In the early years, the assistance was aimed at financing the BRCS Sisters of Mercy service and the Chernobyl Humanitarian Assistance and Rehabilitation Program. Afterwards, the SRC's support was extended to such fields as support and care at home, community outreach, prevention of non-infectious diseases, and healthy ageing. Thanks to the Swiss partners, each of these fields has seen Belarus introduce a model based on the active participation of beneficiaries themselves.
