IRCS Slams Meager Budget Increase

The Iranian Red Crescent Society considers the increase in budget allocated to the organization for the upcoming fiscal year (2017-18) as meager and insufficient.

The government has increased IRCS budget for renovation and procurement of relief supplies by 1,000 billion rials ($25.64 million at market exchange rate) to 5,000 billion rials ($128.2 million).

IRCS’s budget for relief supplies saw a steep cut of 3,000 billion rials ($76.92 million) last year to stand at 7,000 billion rials ($179.48 million). It was again reduced to 4,000 billion rials ($102.56 million) in the current Iranian year’s budget, the Persian daily Shahrvand reported. The total budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year as per the bill submitted by the government is 3,711 trillion rials, which puts it 10.6% over the 3,354 trillion rial budget passed into law for the current year. The parliament is yet to ratify the bill and come up with its own amendments.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society is Iran’s largest relief organization. Founded in 1922, it became part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in 1923.