Every year, approximately 4 million deaths are prevented by childhood vaccinations. In countries around the world, International Medical Corps delivers lifesaving immunizations—especially to children under 5—in underserved, hard-to-reach communities. In honour of World Immunization Week (April 24–30), we’re sharing the stories of our teams in a few of these countries across Africa and the Middle …
Malaria is a life-threatening disease that causes neurologic problems and can lead to death if it goes untreated. Nearly half a million children under 5 die from malaria each year in Africa—roughly one death each minute. In Cameroon, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) recently began the world’s first routine immunization program against the mosquito-borne …
Responding to the Cholera Outbreak in Ethiopia International Medical Corps works in Ethiopia to provide treatment for malnourished children as well as programs in food security, livelihoods, comprehensive healthcare, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Ethiopia is one of several countries experiencing recurrent cholera outbreaks. Cholera is a waterborne disease spread by eating food or …
Immunization means protection. Before International Medical Corps began offering primary health and nutrition services in Oshie, a village in Northwest Cameroon, the integrated health center (IHC) was not functional. This meant that people living in the town and its surrounding villages had to travel to Njikwa District Hospital, which is 8 km (5 miles) away …
Editor’s Note: This week, we publish the first in a series of features written by Arshad Ali Sodhro, a community mobilizer in Pakistan, where International Medical Corps has worked since 1985. In 2022, the country experienced an extreme monsoon season, with weeks of heavy rainfall causing widespread flooding and landslides. Some 33 million people were …
With each passing day, climate change is getting more real. It does not distinguish between the rich or the poor, the powerful or the weak. Sooner or later, every person on the planet will feel its effects—and a growing body of evidence indicates it will be sooner rather than later. As a global humanitarian organisation, …
Editor’s Note: International Medical Corps’ Yemen Blog presents a rare view of life in Yemen, chronicled by our first responders as they battle one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters—one fueled by poverty, hunger, disease and a seemingly endless war, now in its ninth year. The entry below is the second written by Dr. Esmail …
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina ripped through large areas of the American South, decimating homes, businesses and hospitals, and leaving thousands of people across Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi in despair. Native Mississippian John Roberts, in college at the time, volunteered to help local communities recover. What he saw there inspired him to become an emergency- and …
When the Zeruk district of Paktika province was hit by an earthquake last year, International Medical Corps staff were among the first responders. And the work has continued, with health teams from eastern Afghanistan travelling rural roads in pick-up trucks to conduct assessments and share best practices with the staff members of a new International …
Hailu Bekele looked out of the helicopter window, taking in vast fields dry from drought, pale-green treetops and cattle scattered across the landscape in Kurwai, South Sudan, and thinking about his new assignment, more than a thousand miles from home. Though Bekele usually works as a Health Programme Coordinator with International Medical Corps in Ethiopia, …