Responding to Extreme Flooding in Nigeria
On September 10, heavy rains caused the Alau Dam to overflow, resulting in major flooding across over 40% of Maiduguri Municipal Council in Borno State. The disaster impacted more than 414,000 people, with 37 deaths and 58 injuries. It has also destroyed key infrastructure and heightened the risk of disease outbreaks, especially in camps for displaced people.
International Medical Corps has worked in Nigeria since 2014, providing a range of services to communities affected by the conflict there. We are working closely with local humanitarian partners to ensure that people affected and displaced by the flooding receive comprehensive services. We have started interventions in three major displacement camps, which together house more than 31,000 people. In Bakasi Camp, we’re providing essential protection services, mental health support for women and girls, and gender-based violence prevention information. In Dalori Camp, we’re focusing on health, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Our teams in the camps also help monitor and report diseases through an early-warning system while working to prevent malaria, cholera and other waterborne diseases by promoting good hygiene practices. Additionally, we supply 30,000 liters of clean water daily, along with water storage containers, emergency latrines, sanitation equipment, personal protective gear, and hygiene, menstrual and cholera kits.
Vaccinating Gazan Children Against Polio
This month, our team in Gaza vaccinated thousands of children against polio. The four-day vaccination campaign began September 1 and was conducted in partnership with the World Health Organization at our field hospital in Al Zawaida and through mobile units run by a partner. The campaign was launched after it was confirmed in late August that at least one child has been paralyzed by the type 2 poliovirus—the first case of polio diagnosed in Gaza in 25 years.
A lack of access to regular healthcare, and poor sanitation and hygiene conditions—issues that are common problems for people caught in conflict zones—are contributing factors to the resurgence of this dangerous and highly contagious disease.
Each day, the two field hospitals we run in Gaza help thousands of civilians caught in the conflict, providing a wide range of health services.
Providing Mental Health Services Throughout Ukraine
Mental health is just as important as physical health. That’s why mental health support is integrated into all our responses, ensuring that everyone has access to health and hope as they face difficult and uncertain circumstances.
The full-fledged Russian invasion of Ukraine has had significant effects on the mental health of people throughout the country. International Medical Corps has a long history of working both directly and with local partner organizations in Ukraine to provide mental health services to people in need, with a focus on treating the “unseen wounds of war.”
Our mental health and psychosocial support team offers a range of programs to help patients and the staff treating them better cope with life in a conflict zone. Learn more about our mental health programs in Ukraine.
Bringing Healthcare to Displaced People in the DRC
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues, causing hundreds of thousands of people to flee areas plagued by violence. Since January 2024, violent clashes between rebel groups and armed forces have displaced more than 400,000 people in North Kivu, on the eastern edge of the country.
Families that the ongoing conflict has displaced are finding refuge and care at Bugeri Camp, where our mobile medical units provide free access to primary and secondary healthcare services, including temperature checks, pharmaceutical services and more—for displaced people and members of host communities, saving lives amidst conflict.
Delivering Health and Hope for Four Decades
For the past 40 years, we’ve been committed to delivering critical health services—and hope—to people facing crises, from conflict zones to areas struck by disease and natural disasters. Our journey began in 1984 in Afghanistan, where we responded to urgent needs in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion. Since then, we have worked in more than 80 countries, providing emergency medical care, training local healthcare workers and helping communities rebuild their healthcare infrastructure. What sets us apart is our focus on empowering communities to become self-reliant, ensuring that they can continue to thrive long after a crisis has passed.
Our work spans a wide range of health-related areas, including maternal and child health, mental health, nutrition, and water and sanitation services. We’re also dedicated to preventing outbreaks of disease, especially in vulnerable communities. By integrating training and capacity-building into everything we do, we create lasting change, equipping local health workers and leaders with the skills to maintain progress. Over the past four decades, we’ve remained driven by our core belief that no one should be left without access to healthcare, no matter where they live or what challenges they face.
Assisting Syrian Refugees in Jordan
We are committed to supporting the thousands of Syrian refugees that reside in Jordan, where we provide critical healthcare services in Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps. We focus heavily on primary healthcare, maternal and child health, and on managing chronic diseases. Recognizing the toll that displacement has taken on mental health, our teams run mental health and psychosocial support programs to help refugees deal with the trauma they have endured.
We are also deeply committed to improving the overall well-being of these displaced communities by offering child protection programs, vocational training and other livelihood-support initiatives. Our efforts include helping refugees build skills that will benefit them in the long term, whether they remain in Jordan or eventually return home. By working closely with local organizations and strengthening Jordan’s healthcare infrastructure, we ensure that the needs of both refugees and host communities are met, fostering resilience and sustainable growth.
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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 8,000 staff members around the world, 96% of whom are locally hired. Since our founding, we have operated in more than 80 countries, and have provided more than $4.2 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.