As of 2022, some 100 million people around the world had been forcibly displaced, including over 27 million refugees. According to the UN Refugee Agency, violence, persecution, and conflict are among the most common reasons people flee their homes. Experts caution that we are currently witnessing the highest rate of displacement on record. As with other categories of crisis, children are disproportionately affected, accounting for over 40 percent of refugees worldwide.
Dedicated to providing refugee aid across the various sectors it operates in, Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) provides food, emergency shelter, health care, clean water, winter aid, education, social inclusion, economic empowerment, and sustainable livelihood opportunities. The organization supports vulnerable communities around the world. In addition to refugees from Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, and Venezuela, IRUSA also provides aid to Palestinian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and Türkiye.
Response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Violence has escalated following months of ongoing conflict in Palestine. More than 31,000 people have died, with thousands more missing or injured. In the Gaza Strip, a total blockade is currently in place, effectively cutting off more than 2 million people and preventing them from accessing fuel, electricity, and food. For months, officials from the United Nations have been warning impending famine in Gaza.
On March 18, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) issued a Phase 5 (famine) classification for North Gaza and Gaza Governorates, signaling the “imminent onset of famine” in these areas, due to the conflict and the blockade preventing humanitarian organizations from delivering aid to the region. One in three infants are acutely malnourished.
Developed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), the IPC is a standardized scale that national governments and NGOs use to assess the severity of food security issues. Per the International Rescue Committee, a declaration of famine is rare—the IPC has only made two such declarations in the past 12 years.
In addition to famine, families in Gaza have been left without shelter. Over half of all housing units have been either damaged or destroyed. An astonishing 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, with hundreds of thousands of people forced to sleep on the streets with inadequate clothing to protect them from the cold.
Moreover, attacks on Gaza’s health system have been devastating. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 14 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are only partially functional, grappling with a lack of medical supplies and a shortage of medical staff. WHO warns that thousands more people will die from disease without intervention and restoration of Gaza’s health system to provide citizens with basic health care provisions.
Even with the blockade complicating the delivery of aid, IRUSA’s work is more important than ever. Islamic Relief, the organization’s international partner, distributes food parcels sourced by local farmers to displaced families, as well as provides people in shelters with hygiene kits. Their work has also enabled 23,400 people in shelters to access mobile clinics and has provided vital medical supplies to Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, Al-Awa Hospital, and Hayfa Hospital. Islamic Relief has also launched immediate trauma responses for more than 4,000 people, as well as delivering vital winter aid, including warm winter clothing, mattresses, and blankets.
A longstanding commitment
Islamic Relief is not new to Palestine or Gaza, of course. The organization has been active in the region for years. For example, in 2021, Islamic Relief provided health care services to 411,900 people across Gaza, providing 5,407 with emergency assistance, and 62,292 with access to clean drinking water and sanitation. The organization also helped 3,960 young Gazans to access education services.
Another example of Islamic Relief’s longstanding commitment to Palestine was the Women Can 2.0 project, which was designed to empower female heads of household, enabling them to provide for their families. Targeting 237 women and their family members, many of whom were from Gaza and the West Bank, the program aimed to help women start or develop their own businesses, increase their household income, and support their families. Over 1,400 people benefited from the Women Can 2.0 program, including Ikram, an architect from Gaza.
Although she initially had big dreams of obtaining a well-paid job, the blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2007 changed the economic and political landscape as well as a pending what should have been a promising career for Ikram. As the caretaker to her ill husband and the main breadwinner, Ikram struggled to make ends meet and feed her their three children. However, thanks to the Women Can 2.0 project, Ikram was able to open her own shop selling stationery and children’s toys, launching an enterprise that is thriving today. As Ikram points out, it takes a lot of persistence and patience, “but there is always a way.”
Helping refugees at home in the US and abroad
Thanks to the support of its generous donors, IRUSA and its international partners are able to support refugees in Gaza and other places experiencing refugee crises, such as Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar.
At home in the US, IRUSA has reached out to the 83,000 Afghans who have fled their home country since the power shift in 2021. The organization and its partners have provided a wide variety of services to help these newly arrived families heal and find their footing in their new country. These services include cash, rental, and legal assistance; case management services; orientations; transportation to/from airports; interpreters; food boxes; hygiene kits; and mental health support.
A key part of IRUSA’s mission
Refugees are often forgotten by those of us lucky enough to have a roof over our heads and a safe place to call home—they are among the most vulnerable populations on the planet.
However, IRUSA’s mission is rooted in Islamic teachings that highlight the value of every human life. The organization’s beginnings lay in providing disaster and emergency relief, and this is still a major focus today. IRUSA supports people in crisis who have lost everything in conflict, floods, droughts, or earthquakes, irrespective of their religion, gender, or race. With both emergency assistance and longer-term aid, IRUSA is helping the millions of refugees around the world find relief from suffering.