We move fast in emergencies to meet people's urgent needs
How we respond to emergencies.
What is the scale of the crisis?
First, we determine how many people are impacted by a sudden emergency or growing crisis.
Can a country cope on its own?
Then, we assess the country of focus’ pre-existing vulnerabilities and their ability to respond to the scale of need. If they request international humanitarian assistance, we start preparing a response.
Are there gaps we can fill?
Depending on people’s most urgent needs, we decide if we are the right organisation to respond and whether our areas of expertise are needed.
How can we reach people in need?
Disasters cause destruction that make it hard to access communities in need, while conflicts pose challenging safety concerns. But whether it’s by plane, boat, donkey, or on foot, we are determined to respond as safely and effectively as we can so no one is forgotten.
Do we have sufficient funds to respond?
When a new emergency strikes, time is of the essence. That’s why we allocate funds to respond to emergencies before they strike. Donating to Medair’s Emergency Fund is one of the biggest ways you can make a difference in emergencies. We also look at other funding options available at the time, such as government or foundation partnerships.
Do we have response capacity?
Medair’s Global Emergency Response Team is compromised of technical experts located all over the world who are ready to deploy within 48 hours. Before we respond, we determine if we have the appropriate staff available to deploy as well as look at any existing partnerships and networks we have in the area.
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Lebanon: emergency response, and providing immediate, life-saving assistance
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Responding to Mpox in the DR Congo
EMERGENCY FORGOTTEN CRISES
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Emergency in Ukraine
Be part of restoring hope in people’s lives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Headquarters is located in Switzerland – where we were originally founded in 1989 – with two Shared Service Centres in Kenya and Jordan and six Affiliate Offices in France, Germany, South Korea, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States. Medair is currently responding to humanitarian needs in 13 countries worldwide.
We rely on the generosity of time, money, and prayer of others. If you’d like to volunteer, make a donation, partner with us, or learn how you can pray for our work, visit our Get Involved page for more information.
Medair focusses on people’s most urgent needs in times of crisis, which most often includes water and sanitation, nutrition, health, and shelter. We also use cash assistance where appropriate to help people provide for themselves, allowing them to prioritise their biggest needs while investing in the local economy. We also recognise that the people we serve are often traumatised and need care, so we offer mental health and psychosocial support.
Our mandate is to respond to urgent humanitarian needs resulting from disaster, disease, and conflict. However, for communities to become more resilient against future threats, they need to become better prepared. That’s why we provide training and preparation to reduce risks and strengthen communities in places prone to disasters, like Madagascar.
We are transparent about our finances and committed to using them wisely – 90.5% goes directly to delivering humanitarian assistance and 9.5% to supporting management and fundraising efforts. We are certified to the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), which demonstrates our programme excellence. And we are deeply committed to upholding and being accountable to our codes of ethics and protection policies.