The Muppets are embarking on humanitarian missions. In spring 2016, Sherrie Westin, executive vice president of global impact and philanthropy for the Sesame Workshop, and Sarah Smith, a director at the International Rescue Committee, announced a collaboration to develop educational programs for refugee children.

Daniel, an ex-soldier from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, fled to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya in the mid-nineties. He suffers from post-traumatic stress. The International Rescue Committee provides mental health and psychosocial support.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), San Diego, is committed to placing the people we serve – our clients – at the center of our response. We aim to be responsive to our client’s priorities, preferences, and feedback and to safeguard them against all forms of exploitation and abuse, whether by our staff or partners. With this in mind, IRC San Diego aims to strengthen the Client Feedback and Response Mechanism by establishing a centralized multilingual Client Feedback and Response Mechanism (CFRM) across all IRC San Diego programs. 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), to date, has not undertaken analyses on the cost-efficiency of the procurement process undertaken by Global Supply Chain. Understanding the cost- efficiency of procurement will aid IRC in efforts to remain good stewards of funding and to improve the organization’s value for money in the humanitarian response sector. The study was also implemented to improve cost-efficiency across the organization as part of IRC’s Strategy100. The outcomes IRC achieves per dollar spent is affected by a range of factors, including contextual and country-level constraints within the procurement process.

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken important and crucial steps to provide relief to the most vulnerable populations abroad, such as through the American Rescue Plan’s supplemental funding for the international response; contributions to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and commitments to provide 500 million vaccine doses and donate another 80 million excess doses to low- and middle-income countries. But vaccine donations alone are insufficient; they must be complemented by clear plans for and investments in the efficient and rapid delivery of doses, with careful attention to areas not reached by national governments. 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) implemented BILLY in Nairobi, Kenya from 2019-2021. BILLY was a micro-entrepreneurship program which provided business grants and services intended to increase employment status, consumption levels, and business investments. The program focused on youth in Nairobi, particularly refugees and vulnerable populations. As part of a research study, three treatment models of BILLY were implemented, which included various combinations of direct program services, business grants, and compensatory cash grants.

The IRC (International Rescue Committee) in Phoenix received an increased number of Afghan refugees beginning in August of 2021, after the Taliban regained control of the region. In response to that, we were one of eight RAI (Resettlement, Asylum & Integration) offices who were granted funding to launch a new wellness program, Salamati Rohi, to support our Afghan clients.

The Global Compact on Refugees, an international agreement adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2018, aimed to make the responsibility for helping refugees worldwide more equitable and predictable. Three years on, and ahead of the first mid-term review of progress at a high-level meeting in December 2021, the International Rescue Committee in collaboration with Danish Refugee Council and Norwegian Refugee Council, have commissioned a report to assess progress on the Compact’s objectives and commitments.