The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) Partnership Meeting 2018 has commenced here from Monday with an objective to discuss ways and means to operate humanitarian assistance endeavors in further effective manner in the changing times.
The two-day event is attended by the high-ranking officials of the government of Nepal and NRCS and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as well as the representatives from Red Cross Societies from 20 countries.
The meeting will review on the seventh plan (2016-2020) by the NRCS and deliberate on the wide range of issues such as how to address disasters of all kinds, how to enhance capacity of the Red Cross volunteers and participation from communities, governments and non-governmental organizations among others.
NRCS has been holding such partnership meeting biannually.
The meeting will also evaluate the contributions made by NRCS in the earthquake recovery programs and development process in Nepal, especially its role in the search and rescue operation launched in the tarai areas during the flood last year and in various 14 quake worst-hit districts in the country in 2015, shared NRCS Executive Director Umesh Dhakal.
NRCS President Sanjeev Thapa, addressing the meeting, said that NRCS had been contributing in the humanitarian assistance areas in Nepal for 54 years and counting.
"NRCS has been operating more than 90 projects in Nepal in financial and technical assistance of ICRC and other International Red Cross Societies," shared President Thapa reaffirming that NRCS was further committed to launch humanitarian assistance operations in the local level in coordination with the local units in the country.
Also, speaking at the event, Joint-Secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration Suresh Adhikari commented that NRCS has been significantly playing its role to forward humanitarian assistance operations and disaster management in Nepal.
He underscored the effective implementation of Disaster Management Act.
Secretary-General of NRCS Dev Ratna Dhakwa informed that NRCS was expanding its capacity and launching prior-preparedness programs in the local level to address the disasters in Nepal.
Likewise, Deputy Director of Asia Pacific Regional Director (APRO), IFRC and ICRC's Nepal Chief Andre Paquet held the view that the humanitarian assistance activities could be launched more effectively in mutual coordination.
