Hafiza, 21, was born while her family was on the run, fleeing violence in South Sudan. Today she works with the IRC in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, providing support to women survivors of violence and abuse, and campaigning for women’s rights. 

Twenty-four million people in Afghanistan are in urgent need of aid. Women and girls increasingly bear the brunt of violence and of a hunger crisis that threatens to overwhelm the country.

The IRC helps people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster, reaching those who need it most despite politics, hostilities or harsh climates.

As we mark 12 years of the Syrian conflict, a new report documents how targeted violence against health care personnel and infrastructure has impeded vital sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, resulting in far-reaching tolls on the health and wellbeing of women, girls, and health care professionals. The devastating earthquake that struck southern Türkyie and northern Syria in February 2023 has compounded already precarious access to health care in the region, contributing to the collapse of the fragile health care system in northwest Syria.

Syrian mothers at Arbat camp in Iraq wouldn’t sit by as their daughters lost an education. Instead, they took action.

Despite hardship and uncertainty, these resilient Syrian refugee mothers are raising confident daughters. Here are some of their stories.