The Saudi Red Crescent marked World Red Crescent Day on Wednesday across all the cities and governorates in the Makkah region as per the directives of Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, president of the Saudi Red Crescent Commission, highlighting the group’s humanitarian role and services.

In Jeddah, the occasion was marked in collaboration with the Red Crescent Friends Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and witnessed calls by Ahmad Mohad Shiekha, head of the Red Crescent Society at the JCCI, for the establishment of special centers with a unified telephone number for emergency calls.

According to Shiekha, these centers would serve as call operators and transfer the call to other departments and offer support to the caller until the support teams reach the scene of the accident. These centers would also be able to automatically locate the area of the caller through an integrated GPS system. Shiekha explained that these modern centers should be designed in accordance with international emergency centers with enhance procedures for dealing with accident victims. He said the centers will organize and coordinate the ambulance operations of the Red Crescent and the Civil Defense to ensure efficiency and effective time management.

Sami Badawood, director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, explained that the air and land services of the Red Crescent are linked by wireless to the Ministry of Health to enable swifter coordination between the two.

He also said that they still face obstacles, especially on the road, as some motorists are not considerate during emergency situations and create more congestion by obstructing the passage of ambulances. “Many vehicle drivers do not provide space for ambulances, which makes our job more difficult.”

The director pointed out that due to the size of Kingdom, it is difficult for the Red Crescent to provide its services to all citizens, especially in areas where infrastructure is underdeveloped.

The day was marked in Jeddah with a massive march that included Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. There were also rapid intervention vehicles and mobile surgery rooms, as well as a Red Crescent airlift helicopter flying above.

Relevant government departments including traffic, road security, police, civil defense and health affairs, also marked the day.

The Red Crescent held an exhibition at Red Sea Mall, which entailed various activities such as painting workshops for children that aimed to raise awareness about first aid and sessions on how to deal with daily accidents, as well as raising awareness about the Red Crescent and its mission.

Sheikha said the Red Crescent has included first aid within its working system since 2010 and it is now operational in five regions, namely Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Qassim and Hail. The Saudi Red Crescent also has a fleet of 15 helicopters, which extend their services to these regions.

According to statistics, the first aid services offered by the Red Crescent are on the increase, with it helping more than 1.5 million people in a single year.