The International Rescue Committee’s mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods have been shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and regain control of their futures.

We serve people in crisis across the globe who have fled their homes or remained resilient in their communities.

Our vision is to lead the humanitarian field by implementing high-impact, cost-effective programmes for people affected by crisis, whilst we shape policy and push for change from a local to global level.

This year, the IRC has stepped up to deliver life-saving care in an increasingly hostile world. In Yemen, where nearly 10 million people lack access to basic health services, the IRC operated 134 facilities providing health and nutrition support to families in crisis.

In Bangladesh, our teams worked to scale our health and protection programmes for women and girls living in the sprawling, overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar. And in Syria, where daily life continues to be disrupted by attacks on hospitals and schools, our teams delivered medical, psychosocial and livelihoods support to communities experiencing an eighth year of conflict.

In 2018 the IRC renewed our standing commitment to safeguarding our clients. We furthered existing efforts and created a dedicated Safeguarding Committee which has oversight of our safeguarding prevention and response work.

This annual report demonstrates the International Rescue Committee’s work in 2018 and our continued commitment to our clients in over 40 countries, including:

  • Providing over 794,000 people in Yemen with vital access to reproductive health, vaccination and disease treatment services;
  • Supporting Rohingya women and girls in Bangladesh through 19 women-friendly spaces and 20 facilities for gender-based violence recovery;
  • Providing over 3,800 cash transfers to 1,615 conflict-affected households in Iraq, supporting displaced families and their host communities.