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Saudi Red Crescent Authority (Saudi Arabia)

Last modified: 2021-08-25 by ian macdonald
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[Saudi Red Crescent Authority] image by Tomislav Šipek, 30 October 2018


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Description

The flag of Saudi Red Crescent Authority is white with logo. Several variants are seen.
Tomislav Šipek, 30 October 2018

"The هيئة الهلال الاحمر السعودي (English: Saudi Red Crescent Authority, SRCA) is a humanitarian society that provides emergency medical services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The SRCA constitutes the beginning of pre-hospital care being provided by the Saudi government for the general public from the early decades of the development of healthcare in the country. According to the SRCA official site, the "جمعية الإسعاف الطبِّي الوطني" (English: National Medical Ambulance Association) was official institutionalized as an independent provider after the formation of the (National Ambulance Health Association, NAHA) in 1353 Hijri (Islamic Calendar) equivalent to 1934.

The role of the ambulance service was initially part of the "مديرية الصحة العامة" (English: Public Health Authority, PHA) established in 1925, (later renamed "مديرية الصحة العامة والإسعاف" (English: Directorate of Public Health and Ambulance Authority, PHAA) (the forerunner of the "(وزارة الصحة (السعودية" (English: (Saudi Arabia) Ministry of Health), which was the governmental provider of pre-hospital care as well as health and ambulance assistance for the general public and especially to the pilgrims visiting Mecca and Medina and was a charitable and private initiative under the name Saudi Red Crescent Association, locally referred to as Charitable Relief Society, CRS.

The development of the NAHA came about by the response to the Saudi-Yemeni War in 1934 by providing medical care for the military wounded. Following the Saudi-Yemeni War, by "الأمر السامي رقم 3306" (English: Supreme Order (equivalent to Royal Decree) of 2/3/1354 (equivalent to May 7, 1935) NAHA was renamed "جمعية الإسعاف الخيري الوطني بالمملكة العربية" (English: National Charity Ambulance Association) (other sources translate it as National Medical Health Association) and the National Medical Ambulance Association was renamed to "جمعية الإسعاف الطبِّي" (English: Medical Ambulance Association, locally referred to as Emergency Medical Services, EMS).

However, after World War II, the income of these private institutions was greatly diminished, leading to dependence on the government rather than charity. Eventually, through "1 الأمر السامي رقم" (English: Supreme Order (equivalent to Royal Decree) No. 1 of 9/2/1383 (equivalent to January 17, 1964) (other sources mention 1963) the decision was to convert the CRS from a private into a public institution under the name "جمعية الهلال الأحمر السعودي" (English: Saudi Red Crescent Association). Through "الوزراء رقم 371" (English: Resolution of the Council of Ministers) on 14/12/1429 (equivalent to December 23, 2008) the name was changed from Saudi Red Crescent Association to its current name, "هيئة الهلال الاحمر السعودي" (English: Saudi Red Crescent Authority).
Sources: http://www.srca.org.sa/ar/About/History
http://www.srca.org.sa/ar/About/History#tab1
http://www.srca.org.sa/ar/About/History#tab2
http://www.srca.org.sa/ar/About/History#tab3
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317110942_Evolution_of_emergency_medical_services_in_Saudi_Arabia
https://ar.wikipedia.org/ and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Red_Crescent_Authority

There seem to be two flags (or perhaps the obverse and reverse, I can't really tell). Some images on the web show a simple red crescent in the middle of a white background, without the palm trees. Other images show the logo used  from https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki, featuring the palm trees inside the red crescent and the name of the organization in Arabic (above) and in English (below), as seen here: https://www.ifrc.org/Global/Documents/MENA/201410/20141002-SRCA-IFRC-MoU-main1.jpg (source: https://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/reinforcing-stronger-cooperation-saudi-red-crescent-authority-and-ifrc-sign-landmark-mou-67287/).

For additional information go to Saudi Red Crescent Authority (official website): https://www.srca.org.sa/
Esteban Rivera, 19 February 2019


Variants of the flag

[Saudi Red Crescent Authority] image by Tomislav Šipek, 30 October 2018

[Saudi Red Crescent Authority] image by Tomislav Šipek, 30 October 2018