The theme for this year’s International Day of the Midwife—held every year on May 5—is “Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis.” International Medical Corps’ Zipporah Onyancha is helping to make sure that our midwives are ready, and that the countries where we work have an adequate number of skilled birth attendants, when those crises inevitably arrive. …
Responding to the Myanmar Earthquake A massive 7.7 earthquake hit Myanmar on March 28, killing more than 3,700 people and injuring thousands more. As recovery efforts continue, some 130 people are still confirmed missing. All these numbers are expected to rise as search teams are better able to reach remote areas affected by the quake. …
On Friday, March 28, a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar. The epicenter was about 11 miles (17 kilometers) west of Mandalay—Myanmar’s second-largest city, with a population of more than 1.2 million—and shock waves were felt as far away as Bangkok, Thailand, more than 700 miles to the south. Thousands of people were killed or …
As a longtime emergency care nurse, Mary-Jane (“MJ”) Perry has witnessed innumerable traumas. But it was a local incident—responding to a hit-and-run one block from her home in Sacramento, California—that “really hit home” and put her on the path to volunteering in responses to natural disasters around the world. In January 2018, MJ found a …
International Medical Corps has been active in the United States and its territories since 2005, responding to emergencies including Hurricane Katrina and the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, Shira Goldstein, Deputy Director of Country Planning and Programs for the US, talks about how responses in our home country differ from those in other countries. There are so …
When multiple wildfires broke out in Los Angeles in early January, International Medical Corps was very much there—staff members could clearly see the first fire, in the Pacific Palisades, from our office windows. These collective fires eventually burned a total of more than 16,000 homes, businesses and schools across 40,000 acres, displacing at least 200,000 …
Somalia is prone to intense and frequent droughts, storms, floods and heat waves, which cause food, water and livelihoods insecurity, create a rise in water- and vector-borne illnesses and worsen the overall health and well-being of communities. Chronic insecurity and a lack of infrastructure make it hard to overcome these challenges. Our Water, Sanitation and …
Starting in July 2024, the Far North region of Cameroon began experiencing excessive rainfall that led to swelling rivers and flooding—all of which worsened ongoing security issues in the area. The floods—which have impacted more than 400,000 people—have led to food insecurity and displacement, in addition to making healthcare much harder for communities to access. …
Around the world, people continue to be displaced by conflict and natural disasters. Whether they are fleeing conflict in Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria or Ukraine, or natural disaster right here in the United States, International Medical Corps is there to help them recover and rebuild when they’ve left everything behind. Jordan “Without these facilities, they would …
On the morning of September 27, 2024, North Carolinians were bracing for a hit. The National Hurricane Center had been tracking a storm—christened Helene on September 24—for more than a week. What started as a low-pressure weather system was headed for the US Gulf Coast as a life-threatening hurricane, and a state of emergency had …
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