CARE International has recently received a grant of 100’000 USD from our new emergency partner, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan), in favor of CARE’s Emergency Response Fund (ERF). This will allow us to start up and strengthening of two highly needed emergency responses: supporting people affected by conflict in the Kasai region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Mosul, Iraq.
Conflicts in the Kasai region in DRC started back in August 2016 during the violent uprising of the local armed groups. Women, men and children found themselves hostage to various forms of violence. Until now, more than 1.3 million people have been displaced by the fighting in the region.
The goal of CARE’s emergency response in the Kasai Region of DRC is to meet the immediate needs of the most vulnerable women and children affected by armed conflicts through life-saving activities while supporting them, their families and communities to recover and rebuild long-term resilience to future crisis. CARE being a key player in sexual and reproductive health and in sexual and gender based violence will support health facilities in the areas where population displacements have occurred.
Following the ongoing West Mosul offensive, the upsurge in displaced people to both East Mosul and West Mosul has greatly increased the need for life-saving support. With up to10,000 people displaced every day and another 150,000 people who are believed to be trapped in an increasingly shrinking number of neighbourhoods in the Old City of Mosul, a steady stream of families are in dire need of basic amenities.
CARE is supporting affected men, women, boys and girls to meet their immediate needs, including providing safe drinking water, water for other essential needs and sanitation and hygiene kits. Our goal is to minimize risks of diseases and ensure the safety and dignity of the war-affected population.
The CI ERF ensures timely life-saving activities and alleviates human suffering, while leveraging the launch of a larger response supported by other donors. It is designed to release financial resources within 24 hours after a disaster hits or when an ongoing crisis reaches a new peak, thus enabling emergency assessments and rapid start-up of lifesaving operations.