Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) today, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) to collaborate on programmes and share resources.
The IRCS was founded in 1932 and joined the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent two years later. It is an independent national humanitarian society that works to reduce the suffering and pain of people without discrimination during peace and conflict. They have offices in every one of Iraq’s 18 provinces and chairs the Ministry of the Interior’s Disaster Response Group.
IRW CEO Naser Haghamed met with, Dr Ali Al-Attar and Dr Yasin Almamori, respectively Vice President Director of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society at our Birmingham offices.
The agreement stands for three years which commits us to, increase learning across organisational boundaries, and develop mutually beneficial initiatives based on shared values that includes but is not limited to sharing resources and joint programming. This could also include joint assessments, programme design and advocacy initiatives.
Dr Yasin Almamori commented,
“Islamic Relief has set trends in humanitarian action for the whole world. It supports not only Muslims but all people in need. This partnership with such a strong international relief organisation means better access to support for the Iraqi people, who need our help.”
Naser Haghamed added,
“The Iraqi Red Crescent Society is a unique organisation in Iraq and a very strong one, with huge knowledge of the country and its political landscape. It’s accepted by the people, and in the past three years it has developed extremely effective ways to manage emergency response in a complex conflict. This is a great opportunity for Islamic Relief to join forces with a respected local organisation in order to better alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people.”
Over the summer, Islamic Relief worked on supporting returnees to Mosul, clearing destruction after operations to retake the city, with over 800,000 returning home as well as distributing food and essential household items.