The administration of the South Sudan Red Cross (SSRC) on Wednesday commissioned its new headquarters building in the capital Juba.

The event was part of this year’s World Red Cross Red Crescent Day commemoration.

The day is annually celebrated on 8 May every year to honour the formation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent founder Henry Dunant, who was born on 8 May 1828. However, South Sudan Red Cross pushed its celebration to 7 June following the demise of its staff, Lucia Ajonye, who died in a car accident last month.

Speaking during the opening of the headquarters building, John Lobor, Secretary General of the South Sudan Red Cross (SSRS), said the construction of the headquarters building had taken exactly two years, costing a total of 961,737.04 USD.

“For us today, we are not only celebrating World Red Cross Day, but we are also celebrating the commissioning of the new building,” he said.

“The construction of the building has taken exactly two years. Construction started in June 2021 and was handed over in May 2023. The building was designed by Architect Mawa Moses and his team at the University of Juba,” he revealed.

Speaking about the international day, John Lobor said it is very important because it celebrates the uniqueness, unity and principles of the International Red Cross Red Crescent movement.

“The Red Cross Movement finds opportunities on World Red Cross to communicate to the public about its mandate, principles, and humanitarian initiatives to assist victims of armed conflict and natural disasters wherever they are in the world,” Labor said.

According to Labor, this year’s theme, “From the Heart,” is to highlight the universal, human, and diverse aspects of the Red Cross movement by focusing on the volunteers and their involvement within the communities.  

He revealed that SSRC is the largest national humanitarian actor with 21 branch offices nationwide, 102 local units and a network of 19,000 volunteers and 220 employees implementing programs in community health, protection, disaster, water and sanitation.

Meanwhile, Pierre Dorbs, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation, said: “Initially, we intended to conduct this day on the 8th of May, which, if I am not mistaken, should coincide with the birthday of Henry Dunant. Unfortunately, many circumstances prevented us from doing this event on 8th May.”

 “One of the reasons is that we have prioritized our humanitarian response in the field. You know, since mid-April, we have a conflict situation in Sudan. We have a significant influx of refugees from Sudan, and we are urgently putting a humanitarian response for this population coming to South Sudan,” he added.