International Resuce Committe News

IRC Responds to Cholera Outbreak, Flash Floods in Afghanistan

Kate.SandsAdams — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:54:23 +0000

Afghanistan: IRC responds to cholera outbreak, flash floods

Jalalabad, Afghanistan

27 Oct 2009

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is chlorinating hundreds of public water sources and conducting hygiene promotion sessions to help communities stricken by a severe outbreak of cholera in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangahar. The cholera outbreak comes less than two months after heavy rains triggered flash floods that left thousands of people homeless in the province.

Pakistan's Forgotten Crisis

Kate.SandsAdams — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:13:50 +0000

Pakistan's forgotten crisis

Islamabad and Peshawar, Pakistan

13 Oct 2009

Over the last month world attention has focused on the hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have returned to their homes in Pakistan’s conflict-ridden Swat Valley. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and other aid groups are helping these people rebuild their communities and lives.

Displaced Bajauri

The IRC Distributes Emergency Aid to Sumatra Earthquake Survivors

Kate.SandsAdams — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:36:44 +0000

IRC aids Sumatra earthquake survivors

07 Oct 2009

The International Rescue Committee is distributing emergency food rations, tents and household items to families affected by last week’s devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Working through partner organization Leuser, a student volunteer association based in the Sumatran city of Banda Aceh, the IRC is focusing its response on the outskirts of the coastal city of Pariaman, the hardest hit by the earthquake.

IRC Activates Emergency H1N1/A Readiness Plan as 21 Cases Are Confirmed in Two Large Kenyan Refugee Camps

Kate.SandsAdams — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:11:57 +0000

H1N1 in Kenyan refugee camps

Nairobi

07 Oct 2009

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has activated its emergency preparedness plan for Influenza A H1N1/A virus viral outbreak after 21 cases were confirmed in two large refugee camps in Kenya – collectively home to more than 320,000 people.

There have now been 5 confirmed cases in Kakuma camp, northwestern Kenya, as well as 16 cases in Hagadera, Dadaab – one of the world’s largest refugee camps, where overcrowding and lack of resources are already putting a strain on healthcare systems.

Dadaab H1N1/A virus

On International Day of Peace, International Rescue Committee Calls for Bolstering of Peace-Building Efforts in Northeastern Uganda

samir.ahmad — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:56:54 +0000

IRC Calls for Bolstering of Peace-Building Efforts in Northeastern Uganda

21 Sep 2009

Uganda_Peace Committee Member Dressed up by Jo Offer

Uganda_Peace Committee Member by Jo Offer

Pakistan: IRC Repairs Schools that Housed the Displaced

samir.ahmad — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:35:57 +0000

IRC repairs schools in Pakistan

Peter Biro

16 Sep 2009

IRC Introduces Displaced Pakistanis to Fuel-efficient Cooking

samir.ahmad — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:42:21 +0000

Displaced Pakistanis learn fuel-efficient cooking

Peter Biro

16 Sep 2009

The IRC has trained some 7,000 displaced Pakistanis in the Jalozai camp near Peshawar in fuel-efficient cooking, which has helped families free up much-needed household income. The program has also helped protect women and children who normally spend a significant amount of time daily collecting firewood from the areas surrounding the camps, making them vulnerable to assault.

Central African Republic: A Deepening Crisis

Kate.SandsAdams — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:29:37 +0000

CAR: A Deepening Crisis

by Peter Biro

14 Sep 2009

When the long-running civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR) ended in 2007, observers hoped that peace would usher in a new era of economic recovery and development. Instead the country, already one of the world’s poorest, faces a devastating humanitarian crisis that threatens to plunge the population even deeper into misery.

Central African Republic 14 Sep 09

The IRC Launches Program to Help Pakistanis Returning Home

samir.ahmad — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:22:35 +0000

IRC Helps Pakistanis Returning Home

31 Aug 2009

The International Rescue Committee is launching a program that will deliver lifesaving emergency relief to over 200 conflict-affected villages in northwestern Pakistan. The project is funded by the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.

IRC Remembers Ted Kennedy - Champion of Refugees

samir.ahmad — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:41:00 +0000

IRC Remembers Ted Kennedy

26 Aug 2009

The International Rescue Committee expresses deep sorrow at the passing of US Senator Edward Kennedy, who devoted his life to helping many of the world's most vulnerable people.

Brokaw_Kennedy_Brownback

IRC Mobilizes Emergency Health Response to Monsoon Floods in Pakistan

samir.ahmad — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:26:00 +0000

21 Aug 2009

At least 20 people are confirmed dead in flash floods caused by monsoon rains in the districts of Mardan and Swabi in northwestern Pakistan. The Pakistani government estimates that the floods have affected up to 80,000 people, with approximately 400 homes destroyed.

Pakistan0709

Press Release - UN Must Seize Opportunity to End Rape in Conflict

samir.ahmad — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:24:46 +0000

21 Aug 2009

04 Aug 2009 - The International Rescue Committee yesterday released the following statement calling for the United Nations to step up efforts to prevent and respond to rape in armed conflict:

New York, August 3, 2009 — The United Nations Security Council should live up to its pledge to prevent and punish rape in conflict by using this week’s debate on resolution 1820 to develop a concrete action plan to carry it out, says the International Rescue Committee.

Need for Humanitarian Assistance Grows as Displaced Pakistanis Return home

samir.ahmad — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:41:19 +0000

21 Aug 2009

07 Aug 2009 - Even as thousands of displaced Pakistani families head home to the Swat district, thousands more are still fleeing violence elsewhere in the country’s volatile northwest, according to IRC witnesses.

On Anniversary of Georgia-Russia War, Poverty and Insecurity a Reality for Many

samir.ahmad — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:50:52 +0000

by Peter Biro

21 Aug 2009

- As Russian tanks rolled into the village of Aradeti on the border between Georgia and the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia, Nikoloz Titvinidze gathered his two children and fled for his life.

“There were shells falling everywhere,” Nikoloz, 48, says. “It was horrible.”

Nikoloz, his daughter Nanuli, 7, and son Gogita, 10, escaped to Sagaredjo, a town some 200 kilometers east of Aradeti, where they lived with relatives for a month before feeling safe enough to return. But the homecoming was far from happy.

Titvinidze_Family

IRC Launches Program to Address Violence Against Women in Jordan

karyn.gladstone — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:46:04 +0000

27 Jul 2009

The IRC has launched a two-year program in Jordan that will train local aid workers to respond to violence against women, predominantly Iraqi refugees. The program, which is supported by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, will also help a local aid organization, the Jordan River Foundation, establish a case management center in the eastern part of the capital, Amman, home to the most Iraqi refugees.

Pakistan Crisis "Far From Over" As Some Displaced Return Home

karyn.gladstone — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:37:57 +0000

Islamabad

17 Jul 2009

Thousands of displaced Pakistanis who fled a military offensive against the Taliban in the North-West Frontier Province began heading home this week after the Pakistani government announced the first stage of plans to return them. But for most people, returning back home is not an option.

p1010108

IRC Responds to Measles Outbreak Among Somali Refugees in Kenya’s Congested Camps

natasha.barnum — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:48:37 +0000

DADAAB, KENYA

01 Jul 2009

The International Rescue Committee is launching an emergency measles vaccination campaign targeting thousands of refugee children in Hagadera camp to contain an outbreak of the disease at the massively overcrowded site.

The IRC has confirmed six cases of the highly contagious virus and suspects 19 other cases in Hagadera, one of three overflowing camps in Dadaab, eastern Kenya

A Frightening Past, an Uncertain Future: Hajer’s story

natasha.barnum — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:02:23 +0000

26 Jun 2009

Hajer is a 38-year-old Iraqi refugee and a single mother of three children, ages 16, 12 and 4. Her husband was killed after the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Hajer arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 28, 2008 and has tried to find her footing ever since. She does not speak English and could only afford English classes at a local college for one semester. She has no other family in the U.S and her only support system is her International Rescue Committee caseworker and other Iraqi war widows in similar situations.

Hajer, Iraqi refugee woman

IRC Assessment in Pakistan Shows "Shocking" Conditions for Many Displaced People Living Outside Camps

natasha.barnum — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:47:06 +0000

26 Jun 2009

An assessment by the International Rescue Committee of uprooted Pakistanis living outside the camp system in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province shows many are living in “appalling” conditions

pakistan_photos8

Flawed US Refugee Admissions Program is Failing Iraqi Refugees; Recession Only Makes Matters Worse - IRC Commission Calls for Overhaul of Resettlement System

natasha.barnum — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:19:20 +0000

16 Jun 2009

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is outdated and under-funded and is resettling Iraqi refugees into poverty rather than helping rebuild their lives in the country that offered them sanctuary, says the International Rescue Committee.

a1008_0375