Mercy Corps

Livelihood and economic opportunity: Mercy Corps helps build strong local economies by investing in the jobs and markets that serve as the best engines of long-term recovery. Across the globe, especially in countries affected by the climate crisis, conflict and the devastating economic impact of COVID-19, Mercy Corps works with individuals and communities to achieve financial inclusion and independence. Particularly in the Middle East and Africa, we connect young people to the resources they need to build demand-driven skills and to land and keep jobs. We blend non-formal education, vocational and soft skills training, apprenticeships, mentoring and access to financial and technological services, as well as address the social and cultural norms which often prevent young people from accessing work opportunities.

Civil society and education: Mercy Corps fosters good governance at every level to support development in communities grappling with complex problems, such as conflict and climate change. We elevate locally-led collective action among civil society, government, community members, and formal and informal leaders. We help people access and influence processes and decisions within formal and informal governance institutions to address grievances and to contribute to meaningful change, Specifically, we focus on groups and organizations led by or serving women, youth, or other systemically marginalized populations.

Humanitarian assistance -- Relief: In the wake of natural and human-made disasters, Mercy Corps' first priority is to meet urgent needs, such as cash, food, clean water, and basic hygiene items. This year Mercy Corps worked alongside local communities to meet the urgent needs of millions of people facing emergencies around the world, from people trapped in and fleeing war-torn Ukraine to refugees fleeing Ethiopia and Venezuela to communities devastated by natural disasters such as the 2021 earthquake in Haiti and climate-driven weather disasters like severe drought in the Horn of Africa.

Humanitarian assistance -- Recovery: After a crisis, Mercy Corps works to meet people's immediate needs while sparking recovery through tools that help them build a stronger future. We work to prevent the breakdown of markets in times of crisis, and we intervene early to help rebuild the agriculture sector, labor markets, and financial services so that livelihoods can resume. Our teams worked tirelessly to help communities to persevere through the long-lasting and still severe economic impact of COVID-19.

Health: In communities around the world, conflict, the climate crisis, COVID-19 have threatened food security as well as access to clean water, which is necessary for health. Mercy Corps improves sustainable access to clean water and we work with water providers and users at multiple levels to identify sustainable rural and urban water solutions and strengthen water planning, governance, management. We use cash and voucher assistance to meet urgent food needs, while simultaneously layering market approaches that support more resilient food systems by improving access to affordable and nutritious food, promoting healthy and diverse diets, building diverse and climate-smart agriculture, offering health and nutrition services for mothers and children, and strengthening community health centers.