#Snapshots January 2024

From Gaza to South Sudan, see the impact you’ve had as a supporter of our work.

Creating Accessible Resources in the DRC

Years after the official end of a decade-long civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), violence remains pervasive throughout the eastern part of the country. Sexual abuse of women and children continues to escalate, and more than one-third of the population lacks access to basic healthcare.

Our medical staff conducts health consultations and routine check-ups for displaced people in Kirotshe.

Due to the increasing conflict, tens of thousands of people who already had been displaced have been forced to flee the camps where they’d been living in Kirotshe. In response, our team sent a mobile medical clinic to respond to expanding needs in the region and deliver lifesaving healthcare to vulnerable people.

At left, staff members unload and set up the mobile medical unit. At right, people from the community wait to be seen by our staff.

Bringing Relief to People in Gaza

In response to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, we set up a field hospital in early January where our staff is now treating an average of 600 patients each day. We provide emergency and inpatient services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Staff members set up the field hospital in southern Gaza.

In addition to surgical, maternity and other medical care, our team is providing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), protection, nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services at the field hospital.

Medical staff with a newborn infant (left) and patients waiting to be seen at our field hospital.

Given the large number of internally displaced people in southern Gaza, we are continually working to identify opportunities to expand our capacity and services and to address urgent needs, including those related to healthcare, MHPSS, protection, nutrition and WASH.

Helping Refugee Women Support Their Families in Pakistan

Gulmeena works at her sewing machine in the refugee village of Padhana, Pakistan.

International Medical Corps works in several districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which houses more than 45% of the Afghan refugee population, providing services such as sexual and reproductive healthcare, gender-based violence assistance and more for both Afghan refugees and vulnerable Pakistanis.

Afghan refugee women learn dressmaking and designing as part of an International Medical Corps vocational-skills training program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

In many countries, women struggle to earn enough money to support themselves and their families. This challenge can be even greater for refugee women, whose status may limit the jobs available to them. Click the link below to meet three Afghan women living as refugees in Pakistan who learned new skills through our Women’s Economic programs, and find out how they can now earn money to support their families.

Responding to the El Niño Floods in Somalia

Last year, Somalia faced a third consecutive year of drought and grappled with the impact of the El Niño season, which brought too much water too quickly and contributed to the country’s worst flooding in 35 years. Humanitarian needs for people living in flood-affected sites, including access to safe water and adequate sanitation, remain high.

At left, community members sit with their kits of non-food items. At right, a Community Health Supervisor meets with a mother and her children.

International Medical Corps is responding to the floods in the Baidoa district through the distribution of non-food items (NFIs). More than 2,000 people benefitted from the NFI kits, which included blankets, mats and a kitchen set.

Supporting Pregnant Women and Mothers in South Sudan

With one in every 50 live births resulting in the death of the mother, South Sudan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. The health system in the country, which relies heavily on international aid, faces staffing shortages. Vulnerable groups — including women, children, older adults and people with disabilities — face a high risk of illness and disease due to limited access to healthcare.

Josephine with her newborn baby and her older sons.

To improve lives in this fragile environment, International Medical Corps provides services in primary health clinics throughout the country, focusing on improving women’s and children’s health.

Josephine received a routine blood-pressure check (left) and medication during her pregnancy.

During her third pregnancy, our team of community health workers diagnosed Josephine with malaria, and saw that she was malnourished. We provided treatment for malaria and anemia, and enrolled her in a feeding program. After recovering, she safely delivered her baby.

Commemorating 40 Years of Lifesaving Healthcare

Dr. Michael Karch carries an injured man uphill during a rescue mission in Nepal.

We are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. Thanks to our supporters, we have provided lifesaving healthcare, medicines and supplies, clean water, food, training and more since 1984. As we reflect on our history, we’re highlighting some of the staff members and volunteers who have dedicated their lives to helping others.

At left, Dr. Michael Karch cares for a man who was trapped under his home for two days following the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. At right, Dr. Karch and a team of villagers work together to bring an injured man to safety.

“The morning of September 11, 2001, was an awakening,” remembers Dr. Michael Karch. Read about how 48 life-changing hours at Ground Zero led him to a remote mountainside in the Himalayas 14 years later, to help people affected by the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

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International Medical Corps is a global first responder that delivers emergency medical and related services to those affected by conflict, disaster and disease, no matter where they are, no matter the conditions. We also train people in their communities, providing them with the skills they need to recover, chart their own path to self-reliance and become effective first responders themselves. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, we are a nonprofit with no religious or political affiliation, and now have more than 9,000 staff members around the world, 97% of whom are locally hired. Since our founding, we have operated in more than 80 countries, and have provided more than $4.4 billion in emergency relief and training to communities worldwide.

Our staff includes experts in emergency medicine, infectious disease, nutrition, mental health, maternal and infant health, gender-based violence prevention and treatment, training, and water, sanitation and hygiene, all within the humanitarian context.

To arrange an interview on or off the record, contact our Media Relations team at media@internationalmedicalcorps.org.