International Rescue Committee   [to 15 March 2014]

Media Release – 14 Mar 2014 –
Early Arrival of Rainy Season in South Sudan Called ‘Catastrophic’ For Those Already Displaced by Conflict a Second Blow
March 14, 2014 – Early rains in South Sudan are “catastrophic,” says the IRC’s country director, Wendy Taeuber. “Now it’s a race against time. Shelter, sanitation and clean water are urgently needed because of the large number of people living in makeshift shelters. We are concerned about their health and safety.”

The rains, not anticipated at this strength until early April, began to fall last week in different parts of the country and are continuing, exacerbating an already difficult situation for the almost 710,000 people who have been displaced by the violence that has overrun South Sudan since December. “The rains are truly devastating for the people here,” says Taeuber.  “People are still afraid to go home but also fear living knee-deep in water amid dangerously unsanitary conditions, where they are at risk of disease outbreaks.”

The IRC is calling for an urgent shift from planning to action in dealing with the effects of the rainy season in the displacement sites. “Contingency plans developed by implementing partners for the rainy season should be set in motion now to respond to damage already done and prevent the additional damage being done daily by continuing rains,” says Taeuber…

Media Release – 12 March 2014
Syria’s women and girls continue to face chaos and danger, fearing for their safety

Media Release – 10 March 2014
Hauser Lecture 2014: What can be done in Syria?
[see coverage in Week in Review above]

3 million Syrians cut off by violence: Urge Congress to help aid get through
Posted by on March 14, 2014
2.5 million refugees created, 80% of them women and children. An estimated 140,000 people killed. Roughly 6.5 million Syrians displaced inside their own country. The figures continue to grow and leave the world numb in the face of the Syrian crisis, one that will reach the grim third year milestone on March 15. more »

The Syrian crisis: 3 years in
Posted by The IRC on March 13, 2014
Three years after the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, the threat of unspeakable violence and cruelty is a daily reality for women and girls who have fled their homes in search of safety. more »

“I Used to be a Nurse:” A Syrian mother adjusts to life as a refugee in Jordan
Posted by The IRC on March 12, 2014
“I used to be a nurse,” says Leila, who is describing her journey from the besieged Syrian city of Homs to Mafraq in northern Jordan, speaking with a calm dignity that can’t quite disguise a tinge of desperation so characteristic of Syrian refugees in Jordan. more »

David Miliband on the new Pakistan Reading Project [Video]
Posted by The IRC on March 11, 2014
In a recent video interview, IRC president David Miliband explains how the IRC’s new USAID-funded education program, the Pakistan Reading Project, fits in to the IRC’s long history of work in the country. more »

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC 18h
#Syria‘s #refugees: Where are they going? #WithSyria pic.twitter.com/jH217exdUi

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC Mar 14
“Women are bearing the major brunt of the Syria crisis”–  @DMiliband on @DailyMirror: http://bit.ly/OdkvaU  #WithSyria #ShesFirst

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC Mar 13
#Syria:”The defining collective failure of this century so far” Our president @DMiliband on @BBCNewsnight: http://bbc.in/1evCdg8  #WithSyria

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC Mar 11
@Refugees says its increasingly alarmed at rising level of violence in #Nigeria; working w/ @theIRC, via @VOA_News: http://bit.ly/1g66GB5