A young girl wearing a light blue face mask.

CARE / Josh Estey

Current emergencies

For people already living in crisis, the effects of COVID-19 will be devastating. 

A new wave of COVID-19 is threatening some of the world’s most at risk people. Infections are soaring in countries that were previously thought to have escaped the worst, overwhelming limited healthcare resources. While the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines is bringing new hope, distributing them poses massive challenges, especially where public health infrastructure is weak.

CARE’s COVID-19 Response

CARE continues to play a central role in combating the pandemic – with the largest emergency response in our 75-year history, so far reaching 69 of the 100 countries where CARE works. Our achievements to date include:

  • Clean water supplies for 4.9 million people.
  • Hygiene kits with crucial supplies like soap, hand sanitizer, masks and sanitary napkins, for 4.8 million people.
  • Nutritious food for 4.3 million people who face the threat of malnutrition due to lockdowns or loss of income.
  • Vouchers enabling 890,000 people to choose what they need most and support local businesses.
  • Mass media campaigns reaching nearly 262.8 million people with information on COVID-19 prevention and services.
  • Community outreach engaging nearly 20.6 million people in dialogue to offer prevention education, answer questions and dispel rumors.
  • Prevention and response of violence against women and girls reaching 5.1 million people.

Update on COVID-19 in India

Deepmala Mahla, CARE's Vice President of Humanitarian Affairs, provided a July 2021 update about COVID-19 in India and how CARE is responding.

Global Distribution of the COVID-19 Vaccine

Now that COVID-19 vaccines are finally available, CARE is mobilizing resources and expertise to support vaccination campaigns that are efficient and reach those most at risk, including women and frontline health workers.

CARE’s two-year vaccine initiative will work with national, regional and local governments that are implementing vaccine campaigns, to ensure:

  • Fast and fair vaccine delivery for at least 100 million vulnerable people.
  • Direct impact for at least 60 million people, mostly women, in at least five countries.
  • Vaccine access for 275,000 frontline health workers who might otherwise have been excluded.
  • Advocacy on behalf of efficient and fair vaccine policy benefiting at least 40 million people in at least 10 countries.

Drawing on 20+ years of CARE’s leadership in vaccine programming – dating back to polio eradication efforts – our teams are preparing to:

  • Lend our logistical support to complex operations and advocate with public authorities for effective campaigns, particularly in countries with weak public health infrastructure.
  • Stand with grassroots health workers – from midwives to hygiene volunteers, mostly women – who are on the frontlines of the pandemic but often overlooked.
  • Mobilize our extensive networks and trusted local staff to rally communities, identify priority populations and provide vaccine education.
  • Leverage CARE’s decades-long community partnerships and reservoir of trust to combat misinformation, stigma and hostility to vaccines.

 

The global COVID-19 pandemic represents an all-hands-on-deck moment for humanity. CARE is determined to ensure that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people are not forgotten in prevention, vaccination and economic recovery efforts. With your help, we can meet this historic challenge – and make an important leap forward toward access to health for all people.

*Updated November 2021