Letter from Michelle Nunn, CARE’s President and CEO
This year, as conflicts intensified, disasters struck without warning, and the funding landscape shifted, CARE’s teams and partners once again showed what steadfast compassion and ingenuity can achieve. In a world facing profound strain, we have seen extraordinary examples of courage and community leadership, reminders that even amid uncertainty, hope and inspiration are never in short supply.
In 2025, CARE reached 58.7 million people across 121 countries, more than half of them women and girls. Even as sudden cuts to U.S. and global funding created real challenges, our teams adapted with determination. Their efforts ensured that lifesaving work continued while long‑term opportunities for stability and prosperity were strengthened. This commitment — to respond in moments of acute crisis, to sustain progress over time, and to help communities rise — guides our fiscal year 2030 strategy and anchors our mission.
In Kenya, young women leaders like Juliana show how CARE’s savings groups can alter the trajectory of a life. She was forced to leave school to care for her siblings and her bedridden mother. Without access to family planning, Juliana became pregnant at 16 and felt her future slipping away. That changed when a CARE community partner connected her to the She Soars program and she gained counseling, practical skills, and the support of a youth savings group. Today, Juliana is pursuing culinary training and building a stable future for herself and her daughter.
In remote Afghan villages where a woman dies in childbirth every two hours, CARE and its local partner OCCD operate clinics providing lifesaving antenatal and postnatal care. In Poshta‑e‑Murad Khan, 16‑year‑old Sita — married at 12 and facing dangerous pregnancy complications far from any hospital — survived because she could reach one of these clinics.
In Ecuador, Venezuelan mothers like Nanyely are rebuilding their lives after fleeing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. When her 13‑year‑old daughter asked to leave Venezuela so she could eat and access medical care, Nanyely made the agonizing decision to migrate alone, hoping to find work and reunite her family. Today, with support from CARE, she is rebuilding stability, supporting other migrant women, and creating the dignified life she and her daughter deserve.
These stories, repeated thousands of times across continents, reflect something essential: communities are not only surviving crises — they are leading the way toward solutions and a more hopeful future. CARE’s role is to stand beside them with solidarity, partnership, and unwavering belief in their power.
As we honor CARE’s legacy of eight decades of global service, we also embrace a future that demands creativity, innovation, strong alliances, and steadfast commitment. The challenges before us are immense. But so is the collective power of our supporters, partners, staff, and the communities who define and drive this work.
Thank you for standing with CARE through one of the most challenging years in our history. Your generosity and advocacy ensure that we can meet the urgency of today while building the foundations for tomorrow. Together, we carry forward the courage, imagination, and resolve needed to help people not only weather crisis but thrive.
Michelle Nunn
President and CEO