Trapped in a nightmare Imagine being displaced alongside tens of millions of others in your homeland, forced into the most significant internal displacement crisis of our time. The consequences for you are severe. There is a lack of food, clean water, safe shelter, and poor access to health services. Your life is in ruins, under bombardment, and despite desperately needing help, it is nowhere to be found because your plight is largely unnoticed. The world’s attention is elsewhere, leaving the people of Sudan trapped in this nightmare alone. Public interest waned after the conflict in Khartoum ..read more

“It’s always the little things that linger, like waking up in the morning in your bed, relatives coming over for breakfast, taking walks around the neighbourhood with my best friend, these kinds of things,” says Fawziyeh. In 2011, at the start of the conflict in Syria, millions of people fled leaving behind their homes, belongings, and sometimes even their loved ones who were unable to flee with them. In the chaos of fleeing, they might abandon cherished possessions and items of sentimental value, but essentially, these people have left behind their sense of security, stability, and the very ..read more

Medair wants to celebrate the Global Day of Parents by honoring parents throughout Afghanistan who go above and beyond in making sacrifices for their children. We are highlighting this day at a time when mothers and fathers throughout Afghanistan are confronting various challenges. Climate change has had an immense impact on this country, including recent flash floods amidst arid mountainous areas affected by prolonged drought. Decades of destructive conflicts have eroded the pillars of the country’s economy and resulted in abject poverty for two thirds of the Afghan population.1 For Afghan p ..read more

From left to right (Haneen, Ruba Hussein, Health Officer, Amal CHV) Haneen, a 32-year-old Iraqi refugee, is no stranger to adversity. Living with her older brother and mother, she grapples with diabetes and Down’s syndrome – and her family’s financial struggles make it difficult to get access to proper healthcare and support. “My concern is that there are no available or accessible centres for Haneen’s case, and our economic challenges only add to our burden,” Haneen’s brother said. Thanks to Medair, Haneen has received the support that she so desperately needed. Haneen began attending one ..read more

Update from Ann Foley, Medair’s Country Director in Lebanon. In the wake of another airstrike in Lebanon this week, we are witnessing a concerning increase in tensions and instability across a country already reeling from rising poverty and widespread food insecurity.  This spring, it feels like it has gone up a notch. In February we saw the first airstrikes in the Bekaa Valley for nearly 20 years, in a place where Medair colleagues were working close-by at the time. I am pleased to report that they are ok but were certainly shaken and in need of support. In March and April, there have been m ..read more

Marta, 29 years old, a Syrian community member photographed during a midwife consultation in a tented home at an informal settlement in Serraaine, North Bekaa, on the 7th of February 2024.   Marta has been pregnant for seven weeks and is following up on her consultation with Medair’s midwife, Zeina, after receiving her first consultation at the Medair-supported Serraaine primary health care centre in North Bekaa. ©Medair/Abdul Dennaoui “The constant overcoming of obstacles is a daily burden. I worry about the future for us. How will I feed my child if I can barely afford to feed myself? I n ..read more

Tal Salhab Primary Health Centre, located in Hama Governorate, after the rehabilitation work is finished. Medair has conducted rehabilitation for the clinic and facilitated the rehabilitation by supplying medical equipment and some medications to the clinic. ©Medair/Lubna Zarzour “The clinic is ready!” The news was music to Dr Eyad’s,(the director of Tal Salhab clinic), ears. Medair had just completed the rehabilitation of Tal Salhab’s only primary health centre, providing it with much-needed medical equipment – offering a lifeline to over 30,000 people in crisis-torn western-central Syria ..read more

Sudan crisis: how Medair is stepping in Twelve months into the armed conflict in Sudan, it has become the largest displacement crisis in the world. To date, 8.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes, and the number is growing every day. Families have sought refuge in neighbouring countries such as Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. But even within the country, 6.5 million people who fled the war zones are now internally displaced. Many of them are forced to stay in emergency shelters in overcrowded IDP settlements or schools. As a result, humanitarian needs have increased dramatica ..read more

“I really enjoyed the organization of these trainings. I’ve already gained a lot of interesting knowledge, which, it seems, I was already familiar with, but had never thought about it deeply. Learning new things, I understand how I can apply them in my work to provide better support to people, especially in such a challenging period for everyone,” says Yaroslav, a family doctor with 28 years of experience in the medical field. Yaroslav, a family doctor with 28 years of experience in the medical field, seats on a sofa communicating with me about the benefits of training. ©Medair/Diana Mukan ..read more

In southern Madagascar, Medair aims to play a key role in improving access to water, sanitation, and hygiene for vulnerable communities affected by drought and ‘kere’ (famine). Normally, people living in remote villages in southern Madagascar need to walk 10 to 40 km to get water. But during the rainy season, these long journeys are no longer necessary and are avoided by using the local “sihanake”, or ponds and puddles. For Teratsoa – a 20-year-old father who lives in the rural commune of Anjeky Akilikiry – water is a daily struggle. He sat down with us to share his story, telling us how tha ..read more