Global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have collided with long-standing sexual and reproductive health inequities. While COVID-19 has had a significant, and in some cases devastating, impact on health systems around the world, studies show that people whose human rights are least protected—such as refugees, displaced peoples, and conflict-affected populations—are the ones who suffer the most. The IRC’s work in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh—home to the world’s largest refugee settlement—inevitably became more challenging during COVID-19. This assessment explores the intersecting impacts of the pandemic on the demand, access, and delivery of SRH services and protective measures. It incorporates the perspectives of women, girls, and boys from Rohingya and host communities, as well as service providers (e.g., frontline health workers, doctors, midwives, etc.) and other key informants (e.g., local officials, NGO staff, etc.). It was also intended as a learning exercise, so that SRH services can be more accessible and prioritized during future public health emergencies.

Thank you for your interest in supporting refugees and taking a stand for welcome in Northern California.  You are vital to protecting the values that make this country who we are. On behalf of those we serve, thank you. Here are ways you can help.

An executive summary of a report from the IRC Child Protection Team, reporting from Gaza.

Opera singer Danielle de Niese visits IRC child protection programs in Tanzania.

Global partners have successfully called on the United Nations to adopt an International Day of Play to champion and protect children’s right to play. The International Day of Play will be June 11th, with the inaugural celebration to take place in 2024.

To support agricultural recovery in long-term or post-crisis locations, the IRC works with communities to restore agricultural assets, upgrade skills and practices, and build disaster preparedness to better protect and improve their livelihoods.