site.btaBulgarian Red Cross Helps Nearly 500,000 People in 2025, Volunteers Up by 0.57% Y/Y

The Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC) opened the two-day regular session of its 68th General Assembly here on Friday. Among the participants were BRC Chairman Hristo Grigorov, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Nataliya Efremova, Deputy Health Minister Petko Salchev, State Agency for Refugees Chairman Ivan Ivanov, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Dancho Penchev, Director of the Sofia Regional Health Inspectorate, and UNICEF Representative for Bulgaria Christina de Bruin.

According to the BRC National Council’s 2025 report, the total number of BRC members last year was 146,989, compared to 144,467 in 2024. There were 17,118 volunteers with the BRC in 2025, up by 0.57% from a year earlier. Of these, 6,935 were volunteers from the youth organization. Women accounted for 66.8% of the total number of volunteers. The proportion of long-term volunteers in the BRC was 70.2% in 2025.

The BRC provided social services, humanitarian aid, financial assistance, work with homeless people and the elderly, first aid training, the Water Rescue Service, the Mountain Rescue Service, paramedic training, promotion of voluntary blood donation, and other activities in 2025.

According to the BRC's financial report, as at December 31, 2025 revenue stood at BGN 43,121,000 BGN and expenditure at BGN 40,576,000.

Addressing the Assembly, BRC Chairman Grigorov called the members heroes, because what they did in 2025 was heroism. According to him, 2025 was one of the hardest years in recent memory. Nearly half a million people received assistance from the Bulgarian Red Cross last year, he noted. Over a million Ukrainians have passed through Bulgaria, and the BRC has also assisted many of them. The biggest amount of work was done by volunteers, Grigorov specified. “What has been happening over the past three or four years is a disaster - our population has fallen below six million, the villages are empty, and Sofia has more than two million residents, which is causing tension,” Grigorov went on to say. "Bulgaria is not what we wanted and what we fought for," he added. In his view, people need to return to live in the villages as well, have children, and work.

Labour Minister Efremova said the Ministry draws strength from the BRC when carrying out some of its tasks. "It is important for us to show how much we value the partnership we have built over the years with the Bulgarian Red Cross, an organization that is always the first on the ground in any crisis, and this is extremely important to us in order to emphasize how much we appreciate your courage and dedication," she added. "Our partnership is primarily evident in the support provided during the distribution of food packages, but it goes much further - we seek your feedback and draw strength from you," Minister Efremova noted. She expressed the hope that the Labour Ministry and the BRC volunteers would stand together through thick and thin.

UNICEF Representative for Bulgaria Christina de Bruin expressed her gratitude for the fruitful partnership between the Bulgarian Red Cross and UNICEF.

In a congratulatory address sent to the Assembly, President Iliana Iotova said that BRC members heal not only physical wounds but also the invisible scars that remain deep within people's souls.

The work of the regular session of the 68th General Assembly will continue on Saturday with an Interim Assessment of the Bulgarian Red Cross Strategy until 2030, and the adoption of a plan and budget for 2026.