EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Emergency response

Mercy Corps works to achieve a real and lasting impact in the world’s toughest humanitarian emergencies. We’ve responded to almost every global natural disaster in the last 20 years, including the Nepal earthquake, the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa, the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. We’re also in places like Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where we’ve helped contain the Ebola epidemic.

15.1m

people reached through our COVID-19 response

1.8m

people received cash assistance this year

12.3m

people received water, sanitation and hygiene assistance this year

Today, as we continue to help the world’s most vulnerable people rebuild their communities, we are tapping into our decades of experience in emergency response to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. For most of the world—especially people fleeing conflict, living in poverty, or without access to safety nets or healthcare—the coronavirus introduces a new and powerful threat that intensifies existing hardships.

Expanding upon a foundation of success fighting Ebola, our teams are protecting the health of their communities through public outreach, clean water and sanitation services. They’re on the front lines, meeting immediate needs with cash distributions that provide families with food, soap and health care. And we’re working to strengthen local economies by supporting small-holder farmers and small businesses through this crisis.

Learn more about how we approach our emergency response work through the short video below.