The Red Cross Society of Moldova represents a voluntary public association that, in coordination with public administration authorities, performs auxiliary humanitarian functions based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, hereinafter referred to as the Geneva Conventions.

The National Red Cross Society is a humanitarian organization, legally empowered to provide humanitarian assistance in cases of disasters and to support vulnerable individuals.

The activities of the National Red Cross Society are regulated by Law No. 39 of 10.05.2001 regarding the Red Cross Society of Moldova and Law No. 673 of 12.11.1999 concerning the use and protection of the Red Cross emblem.

The Red Cross Society of the Republic of Moldova is a component part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. As a National Society, the Red Cross of the Republic of Moldova was established with the formation of the Moldavian SSR and operated within the Union of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the former USSR until 1991 when, at the XIV Congress of the Society, it was decided to no longer participate in the Congress of the Soviet Red Cross, but only to delegate observers.

On December 1, 1992, based on Article 26 of the First Geneva Convention, the Red Cross Society of Moldova was recognized by presidential decree as an autonomous public organization that operates based on the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The Red Cross Society of Bessarabia has its beginnings during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, when a Committee of Ladies from high society in Chișinău, under the presidency of Maria Șebeko (1839-1905), wife of the governor N.I. Șebeko (1834-1904), who governed Bessarabia from 1871 to 1879, operated in two hospitals in Chișinău, helping the wounded from the front. These hospitals were located in the Suisse hotel and in the building of Gymnasium No. 1 for boys.

At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, when Princess Sofia Urusova, the wife of the governor of Bessarabia in 1903-1904, Prince S.D. Urusov (1862-1937), reestablished the Committee of Ladies from the elite of Chișinău, approval was obtained to establish a branch of the Red Cross Society in Bessarabia. A detachment of doctors and nurses from Bessarabia went to Manchuria to assist the wounded and sick on the front.

The Red Cross was also active during World War I, when from 1914 to 1916, alongside the hospital, a training school for nurses operated, which had two graduating classes.

During World War II (1941-1945), the Society trained 263,669 nurses, 457,286 combatants and medical instructors, 39,956 paramedics, 5,247 medical guardians, and 210,000 medical posts were formed for local air defense. Significant attention was paid to involving the population as blood donors, with 700,000 liters of blood from donors sent to the front.

On May 10, 2001, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted the Law on the Red Cross Society of Moldova. According to Article 7 of the law, the main responsibilities of the Red Cross Society of Moldova are:

a) to act in cases of armed conflict, and in peacetime to prepare to intervene in all areas provided for by the Geneva Conventions and for the benefit of all victims of armed conflicts, both civilian and military;

b) to ensure the effective coordination of actions undertaken in humanitarian assistance operations;

c) to disseminate knowledge and information related to international humanitarian law, including the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, and the principles and ideals of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement;

d) to undertake measures in the field of disease prevention and health protection.

Concurrently, according to Article 8 of the mentioned law, the main areas of activity of the Red Cross Society of Moldova are:

a) to provide assistance to victims of armed conflicts, as well as to the population affected by natural disasters and other exceptional circumstances; to create services for this purpose;

b) to search for individuals, restore contact between family members separated due to armed conflicts, political tensions, natural disasters, and other exceptional circumstances, to provide the necessary assistance for family reunification, and to create investigative services for this purpose;

c) to organize the collection of charitable donations from the population, enterprises, institutions, and organizations, to distribute these donations within the country or to send them abroad;

d) to receive, store, and distribute humanitarian aid received from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross; to participate in the reception, storage, and distribution of humanitarian aid received from other international and foreign organizations, etc.