CARE International’s history in the UK
In the aftermath of World War II, the UK – like most of Europe - was facing a devastating crisis. Food shortages were widespread. Households faced challenges accessing nutritional meals. Infrastructure was severely damaged.
At the time, CARE had recently been founded in the United States to provide post-war aid. The organization began sending emergency relief in the form of CARE Packages.
Over 400,000 people in the UK received some of the first CARE Packages™, containing food and clothes. This support lasted until 1955, when the country had overcome the most urgent post-war needs.
In time, the UK gradually became able to help others facing similar challenges around the world.
CARE International UK was then founded in 1985 to become one of 20 full members of the global CARE International Confederation. Until this day, it supports communities facing crises — much like the one the UK experienced in the past.
CARE International UK’s work today
Today, we work with women and their communities in over 120 countries across the world to fight poverty and inequality, and are supported by thousands of people across the UK. A community who stands together to transform millions of lives across the world.
In the UK, we use our influence to advocate for better funding, systems, and policies for women and girls globally. We also work alongside partners and communities across the world to fight poverty and inequality, as part of the CARE International Confederation.
From 2024 - 2025, CARE International UK reached more than 2 million people, through 106 programmes in 47 countries. 58% of the people our programs reached were women and girls.
CARE International UK focuses on:
- Gender equality
- Providing humanitarian aid
- Health
- Food, water, and nutrition
- Making the economy work for women
- Climate
Lendwithcare
CARE International UK also runs Lendwithcare, an innovative microfinance initiative.
We help defeat poverty through life-changing loan funding, provided by a growing community of more than 55,000 dedicated lenders. This has meant more funding placed in the hands of small-scale business owners than ever before, providing the opportunity for talented and capable people to grow their income.
Lendwithcare supports different entrepreneurs. Ecuadorian farmer Fausto, for example, needed capital to buy more agricultural products such as pesticides, while Pakistani shop owner Shahnaz asked for support to restock and expand her business.
This work is done exclusively via our local partners, such as ElleSolaire in Senegal, LAMAC in the Philippines, and Doselva in Nicaragua (see our full list of partners).
Learn more about CARE International UK’s work here.
