Poni Rukia, a 38-year-old widow, is one of 1.7 million refugees residing in Uganda and working to rebuild their lives after fleeing brutal conflicts in places like South Sudan, the DRC and Sudan. After experiencing unimaginable tragedy that drove her from her family and home, she has found strength and purpose in community health work.

Faduma Ali Adan, a 24-year-old mother of two, is a resilient and dedicated caretaker. Living in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, Faduma's life was already fraught with challenges. Her eldest daughter fell ill and became paralyzed from a prolonged severe fever, and Faduma did everything in her power to seek help. Her story reflects the broader struggles of many Somali families who are struggling to get the health care they for their families and who are navigating an ongoing humanitarian crisis exacerbated by climate change, frequent floods, and conflict.

As Syria has entered its fourteenth year of war, its health infrastructure has almost completely broken down and what remains of it is on the verge of collapse. With support from the EU, IRC teams have trained clinical staff and health workers providing reproductive health treatments to women in need.

A decade of conflict has made Syria one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The recent 7.8 earthquake has devastated communities even further. How is the IRC responding?

Violent conflict and climate change are driving protracted crises in the Sahel region of Africa, forcing large scale displacement across the region and beyond, with 4.4 million people forcibly displaced.

Women are more likely to live in poorer households globally than men. Countries where this is evident are predominantly fragile or conflict-affected. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure no one is left behind, women’s economic empowerment must be prioritised and resourced in crisis contexts. Choices, Chances and Safety in Crisis discusses the impact of crisis on women’s economic empowerment and the limitations of recent responses. It proposes a practical model for increasing women’s safety as well as their use and control of resources in crisis contexts. It outlines the preconditions that must be met to genuinely transform harmful gender norms and empower women economically along with examples from IRC’s work. It concludes with recommendations for governments, international actors and the humanitarian sector.