International Rescue Committee

Description

The International Rescue Committee, IRC, is a global humanitarian aid, relief and development organization that helps people affected by conflict and disaster.

It was founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and took its current name in 1942 after merging with the Emergency Rescue Committee. It responds to some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, including conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. It provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and people displaced by war, persecution or natural disaster.

The IRC restores health, safety, education and economic wellbeing to people devastated by conflict and disaster, and works for equal opportunity for women and girls. Its programs include emergency response, health care, gender-based violence prevention, post-conflict development, education and child protection, and water and sanitation. It also advocates with policy makers on behalf of refugees and displaced people.

The IRC operates in more than 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States. In the US it helps refugees and displaced people resettle and integrate into new communities in dozens of cities. It is led by president and chief executive David Miliband.