Emergency response
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Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps
Life can change for millions of families in an instant: natural disasters can take loved ones and the outbreak of war drive families from their homes. When the unthinkable happens, Mercy Corps delivers rapid, lifesaving aid to hard-hit communities.
All stories about Emergency response
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Libya: Helping children heal September 5, 2011
I recently caught up with Dr. Omar Reda, a Libyan-American psychiatrist who’s helping Mercy Corps set up psychosocial programs for children affected by the conflict there.
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Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya: Water delivery starts in Mogadishu September 2, 2011
Although the crisis in Africa's Horn has fallen off the front pages, the situation "continues to deteriorate," according to the latest UN report. Cholera, measles and malaria are on the rise. Food prices have shot up, livestock are withering, and water is scarce.
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Somalia: Mogadishu: Conditions in camps August 30, 2011
There are over half a million people living in displacement camps in Mogadishu as a result of the famine and years of civil war. Most do not have access to clean water and basic sanitation services.
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Japan: Smiling girl displaced by Japanese tsunami August 29, 2011
This was outside an emergency shelter only a few weeks after the tsunami. Just down the hill lay incomprehensible devastation. But this girl showed a smile (a rarity during my visit) as she blew bubbles into the air, anxious for life to return to normal.
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Kenya: No more trekking and a chance to go to school August 29, 2011
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Libya: Response team assessing needs in Tripoli August 27, 2011
We now have a five-person response team in Tripoli, visiting hospitals, assessing general humanitarian needs and meeting with other emergency relief groups such as the Libyan Red Crescent.
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Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya: The purple dots represent hope August 25, 2011
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Somalia: Families seeking help at a Mogadishu hospital August 25, 2011
Banadir Hospital, the government hospital in Mogadishu, is providing medical assistance to malnourished and sick people. The hospital is flooded with mothers and children, and there is a long line of people waiting to be admitted.
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Somalia: Overwhelming needs in Mogadishu August 25, 2011
I just got off a Horn of Africa emergency response team phone conference involving dozens of colleagues in at least five different countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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Ethiopia: Helping more than 647,000 Ethiopians survive drought August 23, 2011
Our emergency response efforts in Ethiopia's Oromia and Somali Regions — two of the areas hit hardest by the region's worst drought in 60 years — continue to expand. We're now reaching 647,005 people, about 22,000 more than reported in our last update from Ethiopia.