Stay up-to-date with Trócaire's work overseas, get news on key global social justice issues, and find out about our latest campaigns in Ireland and how you can get involved.
Halting the spread of ebola in DRC: 6 year old Elen washes her hands at a water tank.
Trócaire responds to humanitarian crises in countries affected by natural disaster, pandemics and conflict.
Armed conflicts and natural disasters deprive people of food, clean water, education, health services, sanitation and protection. Devastating natural disasters like droughts and cyclones are increasing due to climate change. Armed conflict has forced millions to flee their homes worldwide.
Thanks to your support, Trócaire provides rapid assistance where most needed. This support saves lives.
Long after the TV cameras have gone, we stay and support people to ‘build back better’. So that they are less vulnerable to future emergencies. So they can recover and live a life of dignity.
Across the world, the scale of humanitarian crises continues to grow.
Brutal conflicts are affecting staggering numbers of people. Particularly in Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.
Worldwide, over 70 million people have been displaced by conflict, violence and persecution. 37,000 people flee their homes every day because of conflict. Over half of the world’s refugees are children.
Conflicts deprive people of food, clean water, education, health services, sanitation and protection. Conflicts put women and girls, in particular, at higher risk of violence and sexual exploitation.
While some conflicts attract high levels of media attention, many more are forgotten. In places like Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Palestine, conflict has affected people for decades. The average length that a person is displaced is an astonishing 17 years.
People arriving in Europe to seek asylum has placed a spotlight on this issue. But, in reality, 84% of the world’s refugees live in developing countries.
At the same time, natural disasters are having a devastating impact. They are becoming more frequent and more extreme. Climate disasters – droughts, floods, storms – increase by the year. Hundreds of millions are at risk as the reality of climate change worsens.
Disasters and extreme weather conditions erode people’s ability to cope. They affect people’s ability to grow food and to earn an income. This makes it difficult to withstand future disasters and pandemics.
We focus on responding to the needs of the most vulnerable in a crisis.
Our approach to humanitarian action involves working in partnership with local organisations. What we mean by a ‘local organisation’ is one that comes from and works specifically in their own community.
During emergencies it is the local community and local organisations that respond first. Our local partners get aid to where it’s needed immediately. We work with our local partners, supporting them with expertise and our staff. This allows us to respond quickly, effectively and in the most appropriate way.
Trócaire is a member of the Caritas Internationalis network. This is the Catholic Church’s global confederation of 165 development agencies. When a crisis strikes, we support local Caritas agencies and other local organisations.
The key standards we are guided by include the Core Humanitarian Standard and the Sphere standards. Committing to these standards ensures greater:
In 2022/23, we provided humanitarian help to 1.12 million people in 15 countries.
Healthcare to communities affected by war
Shelter and camps for people forced from their homes
Water, sanitation and food
Protecting women and girls in crisis
In early February 2023, a deadly earthquake of 7.8 magnitude caused devastation in Syria. Trócaire is supporting Caritas Syria and other agencies in the response effort to provide immediate food and shelter to 20,000 people affected.
In South Kordofan, 3,715 children received treatment for malnutrition.
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, Trócaire is supporting partner organisation Caritas within Ukraine and in neighbouring countries to assist 108,696 people.
37,000 people received nutritional treatment in 2022.
You can access our Emergency Preparedness and Planning Training Resource Module here
