CARE HQ

Hunger and malnutrition remain major threats to global public health. 820 million people will go to bed hungry tonight, and 2 billion more don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

These numbers are unacceptable, but they’re also getting worse. Over the last three years, conflict and climate change have caused food insecurity to increase every year. Farmers struggle to grow the food they need for themselves, and to sell at markets. And the number of people in the world affected by hunger increased in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Water and markets are a critical part of this work. CARE links water to other activities so that we can make the biggest impact possible, and promotes changes that generate sustained impact and equality in multiple ways.

In 2021, CARE helped 34 million people gain access to food, water, and nutrition.

Learn more: https://www.care.org/our-work/food-and-nutrition

In poor countries, four out of 1,000 women will die in childbirth. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one in 13 children will die before their 15th birthday—16 times more than children in countries like the U.S. The problems are about more than wealth, access, and infrastructure. Gender inequality, child marriage, and gender-based violence all contribute. So do emergencies, with women and children making up 76% of people displaced in times of crisis.

CARE works to remove barriers that prevent the most vulnerable people from accessing quality, equitable health care, while increasing health systems’ ability to serve those hardest to reach. CARE also works to provide high-quality health information and services to youth, building the knowledge and skills they need to transition into healthy, productive adulthood.

In 2021, CARE helped 48 million people gain access to health services, including the right to sexual and reproductive health.

Learn more: https://www.care.org/our-work/health

Education and the right to work are the most powerful tools in overcoming extreme poverty. CARE works to increase access to quality education for marginalized children, particularly adolescent girls. Our tailored curricula build relevant skills and opportunities for positive transitions to further education and employment.

CARE’s microfinance program, the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), have provided the template for successful community savings and enterprise. They also became a lifeline for thousands of communities facing COVID-19, through education and modified business models that kept community members safe.

Dignified work is a critical component of CARE’s approach to education and work: from domestic workers to those employed in the garment industry, CARE ensures women have dignified work opportunities.

In 2021, CARE enabled 14 million people to support women’s economic justice.

Learn more: https://www.care.org/our-work/education-and-work

CARE believes that everyone has the right to live on a healthy planet. It is estimated that climate change may push an additional 132 million people into poverty by 2030. Strengthening the resilience of the poorest and most marginalized people, especially women and girls, while building their capacities to adapt, becomes more pressing every day. At the same time, countries most responsible for climate change must commit to a stronger, zero-carbon future.

This transition will define our path to climate justice through increased capacities and assets for people of all genders, policies and actions by powerholders in the global north and the global south, and strengthened civil society, including social movements.

In 2021, CARE helped 3 million people to support climate justice and address the effects of climate change.

Learn more: https://www.care.org/our-work/climate

Gender remains one of the most fundamental sources of inequality in the world today. Across nearly every country, women earn only a fraction of what men do, and trans/non-binary people are disproportionately impacted by poverty and denial of fundamental rights.

CARE’s work is inextricably connected with race, class, ability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and other identities. CARE and its partners must learn from and support women and girls to challenge injustice and work toward equality. CARE does this through partnerships with social justice movements and supporting solidarity groups among women and girls. CARE tackles harmful gender and social norms, working to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV), engaging men and boys, and taking steps to hold itself accountable to its commitments.

In 2021, CARE helped 3 million people advance gender equality.

Learn more: ttps://www.care.org/our-work/gender-equality