International Rescue Committee

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International Rescue Committee We respond to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and help people to survive, recover & rebuild. cities. cities.
-- Worked with 8,027 volunteers in the U.S.
(1875)

Since 1933, the International Rescue Committee has been providing lifesaving services to the world’s most vulnerable. Here’s how the IRC was founded at the call of physicist, humanitarian -- and refugee -- Albert Einstein:

In July 1933, a committee of 51 prominent American intellectuals, artists, clergy, and political leaders formed a branch of the International Relief Association in New York, at the request of its chief, German-born physicist Albert Einstein. Among them were the philosopher John Dewey, the writer John Dos Passos, and the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. Other prominent citizens, even including Eleanor Roosevelt, soon joined the effort. Einstein arrived in America on October 17,1933 after he and thousands of other Jews fled persecution in N**i Germany. The committee established offices at 11 West 42nd Street, opposite Bryant Park and not far from the International Rescue Committee's current headquarters location. Its mission, as The New York Times reported on July 24, 1933, was to "assist Germans suffering from the policies of the Hi**er regime." Another group of leaders formed the Emergency Rescue Committee when Paris fell to the N**is in 1940. As the crisis deepened into World War II, the two groups merged. And so came into being the organization that would grow into today's International Rescue Committee. The International Rescue Committee has since established programs in more than 40 countries and in 25 U.S. Our dedicated teams provide clean water, shelter, health care, education and empowerment support to refugees and displaced people. We respond to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and regain control of their future. Here are highlights of our impact:

In 2018, the IRC and our international program partners:
-- Provided 1.6 million children with schooling and education opportunities. Supported 15,645 existing businesses and 4,738 new businesses.
-- 21,982 people participated in awareness-raising sessions on governance-related topics, such as individual rights, conflict mitigation and local government hotlines.
-- Trained 23,852 people on child protection, gender-based violence and protection principles, and service delivery.
-- Reached 1.2 million people through our efforts to raise awareness about human rights, protection and gender-based violence.
-- Supported 27,827 village saving and loan association (VSLA) members. VSLA participants saved more than 1 million USD.
-- Supported 16,177 schools, education centers, vocational training centers and safe healing and learning spaces. In the United States in 2018, the IRC:
-- Served 9,127 people with economic empowerment programs, including financial coaching, vocational training and asset building.
-- Assisted 2,175 children and parents seeking asylum in the U.S. and resettled 5,374 refugees and SIV recipients across 25 U.S. who collectively provided more than 200,000 hours of service.

10/08/2026

“If the IRC had not been in that area, I don’t know what would have happened to that family.”

Almost half a million people across Sudan have just lost access to lifesaving healthcare, nutrition support, clean water and protection services as a result of humanitarian aid funding cuts.

Our teams are determined to stay to serve their communities, who often have nowhere else to turn. But resources are desperately needed to fill the gap.

The timing couldn't be worse: cholera is spreading, and without clean water and sanitation, it could take hold in overcrowded towns and settlements where families are living.

The world cannot not look away now. Watch as our staff member Mogahed Ikleet explains what’s happening and how you can help.

In Lebanon, the new school year began without a classroom for thousands of kids.Hundreds of school buildings have been d...
10/05/2026

In Lebanon, the new school year began without a classroom for thousands of kids.

Hundreds of school buildings have been damaged by the conflict, while many schools are still being used as emergency shelters for displaced families. On top of losing their classrooms, children are also carrying the emotional toll of violence and displacement.

But through Play to Learn — the IRC's initiative supported by The LEGO Foundation and developed in partnership with Sesame Workshop — facilitators are giving kids a reason to smile again.

At a community center in South Lebanon, the IRC and Right To Play recently welcomed 100 children ages 3 to 8 for a day of sports, music, storytelling, and creative play.

During some of the most critical years of their development, the activities gave children a chance to laugh, build friendships, and experience moments of joy and connection in a community that has faced so much.

This is the power of play-based learning: it builds the foundational skills kids need for lifelong learning and wellbeing. Our educators are bringing that to children across the region, from early learning to parenting support and community programs.

On , we're standing with the incredible facilitators and educators who continue creating opportunities for children to learn and grow through conflict and displacement.

After aid cuts reduced her team from nine to one, 27-year-old Shila is the only remaining midwife at the IRC’s remote he...
10/04/2026

After aid cuts reduced her team from nine to one, 27-year-old Shila is the only remaining midwife at the IRC’s remote health clinic in Tora Bora, eastern Afghanistan. Yet she remains as dedicated as ever.

Until last year, she was one of a medical staff of nine serving 11,200 people across 13 communities. Then the U.S. funding cuts hit, and the IRC did everything it could to prevent it from closing altogether.

Every day, Shila provides antenatal and postnatal care, family planning and help with uncomplicated deliveries. For the women visiting, the nearest alternative is a 40 minute drive they simply can’t afford.

"Their poverty, the lack of services. Their needs are so high and they are not being helped,” she explains.

Shila isn't giving up. But she's worried about what's next, both for her patients and her own future children who may never have the opportunity she had to train.

The United States announced today that it will primarily resettle Afrikaners from South Africa under a new refugee ceili...
10/01/2026

The United States announced today that it will primarily resettle Afrikaners from South Africa under a new refugee ceiling of 17,500 for fiscal year 2027. The administration did not allocate resettlement slots to refugees who fled danger from anywhere else in the world.

The U.S. resettlement program should welcome the world's most vulnerable, no matter where they’re from. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home.

Refugees need America, and America needs refugees.

For seven years, Fatima prayed for a child.Every time she became pregnant, she hoped that she would finally have a child...
10/01/2026

For seven years, Fatima prayed for a child.

Every time she became pregnant, she hoped that she would finally have a child of her own. But one after another, seven pregnancies each ended in heartbreak.

In her community in Maiduguiri, Borno State, specialized maternal care was hard to come by, so Fatima did not know why she kept losing her pregnancies. As the years passed, her dream of becoming a mother seemed further away.

But everything changed when she became pregnant for the eighth time.

At 12 weeks, health workers at an IRC-supported facility reviewed her history and flagged the pregnancy as high-risk. She was quickly referred for specialized care, received a procedure to address her condition, and was closely monitored for the rest of her pregnancy.

At 39 weeks, Fatima gave birth to a healthy baby girl. For the first time, she held her own child in her arms.
"I feel so happy because I finally have a daughter of my own to hold and care for," she says. "I am so proud of her."

With support from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund OCHA Funds, the IRC continues to provide lifesaving maternal and reproductive health services to women like Fatima who are facing high-risk pregnancies.

Today, six-month old baby Hafsat is a symbol of hope after years of pain and uncertainty.

Majida is 20, pregnant with her second child, and worried about most of it.She lives in Rakhine State, Myanmar, in a hou...
09/28/2026

Majida is 20, pregnant with her second child, and worried about most of it.

She lives in Rakhine State, Myanmar, in a house shared by 15 people: her parents, her brothers and their families, her husband and her two-year-old son. Her husband drives a rickshaw and sometimes fishes at sea. The family needs at least 50,000 kyat (~$12) a day to do this work, and rarely earns it. Fresh meat or fish is uncommon to come by; most meals are beans and dried fish.

"I have always been worried," Majida said. "Will I be able to deliver the baby safely? If I cannot eat nutritious food, will it affect the baby? Even after delivery, how will I feed my child?"

She recently went for her first pregnancy check-up at a clinic run by the International Rescue Committee, alongside her sister-in-law Husana, who is also 20 and also expecting her second child. Husana knows the clinic well: she came there three times during her first pregnancy and delivered safely at home. Both women were examined, given supplements, and told their babies are doing well.

The care is free, which is the reason they can go at all.

"We are grateful that we have access to the clinic when we are sick," Husana said. "Since we aren’t doing well financially, it’s very difficult for us to buy medicines elsewhere."

The clinic provides primary health care, maternal and child health services, sexual and reproductive health care and mental health consultations, with support from the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund. Demand runs well past what the day allows: it closes early, and some patients have to return another day.

Majida and Husana plan to deliver at home, and will keep coming for check-ups until then. What they want after that is straightforward.

"We want all of our children to be educated," Majida said. "We will take care of them with all the strength we have."

Renewed fighting in Yemen has displaced over 140,000 people in just weeks, with many forced to leave their belongings, l...
09/23/2026

Renewed fighting in Yemen has displaced over 140,000 people in just weeks, with many forced to leave their belongings, livestock and livelihoods behind.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for families to reach help as movement restrictions disrupt humanitarian operations and entire cities and coastal areas are cut off from supply, markets and aid access.

Read through to learn why we can’t look away from Yemen ➡️

A lifetime of service doesn’t stop at the border. At 60, Beatrice fled South Sudan to Uganda with decades of nursing exp...
09/21/2026

A lifetime of service doesn’t stop at the border.

At 60, Beatrice fled South Sudan to Uganda with decades of nursing experience, only to be told she was too old to work in her new home. But when her neighbors in Uganda’s Adjumani refugee settlement need medical help at night, they still knock on her door.

Our teams are on the ground in Uganda providing lifesaving care to vulnerable refugees like Beatrice, helping them meet urgent needs while supporting them to rebuild their lives with dignity.

Swipe to learn how this lifelong nurse found a new way to care for her community, and how she’s supporting her grandkid's future 💛

“I hope he grows, gets married, builds his life, and takes care of his parents. [I hope] he gets better and does somethi...
09/20/2026

“I hope he grows, gets married, builds his life, and takes care of his parents. [I hope] he gets better and does something for himself.”

In Jawzar village, a small community set among the mountains of Afghanistan’s Herat province, Guldasta and Abdul Ahad are raising five children. But when their youngest, Temur Shah, was born, life changed drastically. Shortly after giving birth, Guldasta was diagnosed with a neurological illness requiring medicine she could rarely afford. To make matters worse, the medicine also stopped her from being able to produce breast milk—leaving her unable to feed Temur Shah. Powdered milk was expensive and would often make him sick. For months, the family survived on little more than bread and tea.

The turning point came at a clinic in Nagal village, when an IRC team was able to offer even more than the basic medicine she had managed before. Temur Shah was given ready-to-us-therapeutic-food (RUTF), a treatment for malnutrition. Soon after, his condition improved. Now, the time Guldasta used to spend worrying about whether her baby would survive is spent dreaming about his future.

"When he laughs, plays, and giggles, he is happy. He is fine."

A daily coffee. The rubble of a destroyed home. A swim in the sea. The ongoing danger of living in a tent.These are IRC ...
09/17/2026

A daily coffee. The rubble of a destroyed home. A swim in the sea. The ongoing danger of living in a tent.

These are IRC case manager Mohammed’s own photos, accompanied by his own words, capturing his everyday life in Gaza.

With millions still living in tents or damaged buildings, daily survival is a struggle. Aid restrictions continue to keep basic necessities out of reach for many families, and with most schools destroyed, most kids still aren't in school.

And yet people still find ways to come together, to celebrate, and to reclaim small moments of normalcy.

Swipe through a day in Mohammed’s life in Gaza →

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