A bloody battle in northern Italy and Henry Dunant, a traveling Swiss businessman with great vision, were the diverse elements that led to the formation of the Red Cross and, ultimately, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in 1859.

"Would it not be possible, in time of peace and quiet, to form relief societies for the purpose of having care given to the wounded in wartime by zealous, devoted, and thoroughly qualified volunteers?"

This is the question Henry Dunant, the Swiss founder of the Red Cross, asked after he witnessed suffering on an Italian battlefield in1859.

Henry Dunant, a 31 year-old businessman from Geneva, was traveling to meet the French Emperor Napoleon III, while the latter's armed forces were fighting the Austrian troops. He was overwhelmed by a carnage of 40,000 soldiers dead or wounded and abandoned to their fate. Dunant improvised first aid with the women of neighboring villages.

He returned to Geneva a few days later but remained haunted by what he saw on the battlefield. In 1862, he published A Memory of Solferino, in which he launched two proposals:

• that an international treaty be adopted to recognize the immunity and neutrality of the medical personnel bringing aid to the wounded soldiers.
• that in all countries relief societies be formed to assist the wounded soldiers in wartime.

The book proved an immense success and Dunant traveled throughout Europe to gain further support for his proposals.

On 17 February 1863, with the support of four prominent citizens of Geneva (a soldier, General Dufour; a lawyer, Gustave Moynier and two medical doctors, Louis Appia and Théodore Maunoir), he founded the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which was to become the ICRC in 1875. the comitee chose as their emblem a perfectly formed red cross on a white background the simple inverse of the Swiss flag.

Today it remains a universal symbol of hope and assistance.

Following Henry Dunant's vision, the Red Cross works to alleviate suffering caused by fighting. But we also help people in times of peace to strengthen their capacities to live healthier lives and avoid conflicts and disasters.

With the urging of the Committee, the Swiss Government invited other Governments to attend an international diplomatic conference in 1864. It was at this landmark meeting of representatives from 15 European countries and the United States of America that 12 governments became signatories to the first Geneva Convention.

When the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Federation) was first founded in Paris in 1919 its purpose was to further develop the relationships between National Societies that had emerged during World War I.

The war had shown a need for close cooperation between Red Cross Societies, which, through their humanitarian activities on behalf of prisoners of war and combatants, had attracted millions of volunteers and built a large body of expertise. A devastated Europe could not afford to lose such a resource.

It was Henry Davison, President of the American Red Cross War Committee, who first proposed forming a federation. An international medical conference initiated by Davison resulted in the birth of the League of Red Cross Societies, renamed in October 1983 as the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and finally in November 1991 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Federation was formed by five National Societies from Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the United States. Today there are 183 one in almost every country in the world who conduct more than 80 relief operations a year.