The Andorran Red Cross anticipates a more difficult future

The Andorran Red Cross General Assembly met on Monday. The event was attended by the entity's top executives, and it served to evaluate last year's actions and present this year's projects. Similarly, it has been agreed that as a result of current social realities, we must be prepared for a more changing future. The aftermath of the pandemic, as well as the armed conflict in Ukraine, has taken up much of the assembly's time.

"Covid taught us to be ready for anything, which helped us respond quickly to the armed conflict in Ukraine and the need to assist refugees. I regret having to learn this lesson, but in the end, the Red Cross and Andorran society as a whole have taken decisive action to ensure that our assistance is delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible ".... The entity's general director, Jordi Fernàndez, stated this during the Monday assembly.

In 2021, the coronavirus lost intensity as quickly as it spread – but Fernández warns that an outbreak is always possible – but, with no time to rest, new challenges arrived, putting to the test an organization with 42 years of history – the Andorran chapter of the entity founded by Henri Dunant in 1864.

The Solidarity Shop, which opened in the summer of 2020 to serve people and families who had lost their income due to the pandemic and confinement, served 770 people last year and now serves 340, 188 of whom are displaced people who have arrived in the country since the outbreak of the conflict.

In fact, stop labs and school screenings performed 302,358 Covid tests in 2021, up from 302,358 in 2020.

The Andorran Red Cross Directive presented some of the key figures for 2021 at the entity's general assembly on Monday. However, there has been new data this year. Volunteers, for example, increased by 5%, from 542 to 570, while total volunteering hours fell by 87%.

The number of employees has also increased significantly. It has increased by 64%, going from 56 to 92. It should be noted that men outnumber women (42) and that management positions are completely balanced (there are 3 of each). David Fraissinet, the entity's vice-president, explained the evolution of long-term projects. Despite the day-to-day emergencies, progress has been made toward transforming Andorra into a cardio-protected environment. The National Training Centre worked harder than ever before in 2021. There were 284 trainings, with a total of 3,508 students (the previous year there were 128 trainings and 2,126 students).

In turn, the Andorran Red Cross president, Josep Pol, has been tasked with introducing the organization's new initiatives. First and foremost, he described the "Go ahead together" project, which entails reorganizing the organization to face new internal and external challenges with confidence and respond to worker and societal demands with agility and security.

Cross-functional decision making will be emphasized as a key feature in the new organizational chart. The Red Cross-managed day centres, on the other hand, will be strengthened with more places and services, as well as the opening of new local day centres where possible.

Finally, one of the Red Cross team's favorite projects is the provision of flats with services to parishes and the country as a vital resource.