A dangerous combination of factors—conflicts and displacement, extreme weather, outbreaks of disease and economic uncertainty—has created a global hunger crisis, putting additional pressure on people who already have trouble putting food on the table. International Medical Corps is responding with emergency food assistance, essential medicines, medical care and screening services, and training.
The situation is particularly dire in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, where years of drought, conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic upheaval have recently been further compounded by the war in Ukraine and the disruptions in shipments of food and fertilizer to the region that it has caused. Millions are living on the brink of famine, not knowing where their—or their children’s—next meal will come from.
Millions of women and children are acutely malnourished, with an entire generation at risk of the long-term effects—including conditions called stunting and wasting, which pose a threat to a child’s physical and cognitive development. Access to health, nutrition and other critical services is limited, especially in the hard-to-reach and remote sites where internally displaced persons (IDPs) live. Many people have been driven to adopt various negative coping strategies—such as selling livestock or engaging in gender-based violence and child marriage—that exacerbate their vulnerabilities even further.
International Medical Corps is responding to the global hunger crisis by providing a wide range of services in the countries where we work, focusing especially on young children (6–59 months), pregnant and breast-feeding women, and people who have been displaced by conflict. We are procuring nutrition commodities and medicines, providing emergency food assistance, and training nutrition health workers on community management of acute malnutrition and on malnutrition screening services, while also providing such screening services ourselves. And because we take a holistic approach to food insecurity, we provide water, sanitation and hygiene services, because clean water and proper hygiene are essential to good health, especially when populations have been weakened by malnourishment.
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Your Support can Save Lives!
By supporting this project or creating a giving opportunity of your own, you can make a lifesaving difference for families affected by crises in South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen and worldwide.
With the support of our global community, in 2023, we:
• reached nearly 16.5 million people affected by armed conflict, natural disasters and disease outbreaks;
• delivered 9,331,598 primary healthcare consultations;
• trained 107,202 people on health, mental health, protection and nutrition-related topics; and
• assisted 2,375,098 people with vital nutrition support.
Join International Medical Corps in our mission to build a healthier and more hopeful world for all in 2024.
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*Note for recurring donations: Once we have determined that the community can continue to respond to the after-effects of this emergency without us, we will scale back our response efforts. At that time, we will redirect your future donations where they are needed most, to help us respond to future outbreaks of conflict, disease or disaster.
