Officials of Qatar Charity and International Medical Corps at the signing ceremony yesterday.

The International Medical Corps will immediately scale up healthcare and training programmes to help those affected by the conflicts in Syria and Central African Republic and to help contain the spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone with $2.3mn in collaborative funding from Qatar Charity.

With the common mission to assist and strengthen the capacity of vulnerable communities worldwide, International Medical Corps and Qatar Charity have formed a global strategic partnership earlier this year that will allow the organisations to maximise their reach in humanitarian hotspots worldwide.

“Thanks to Qatar Charity’s generosity, compassion and commitment to human dignity worldwide, this timely award will help us rapidly expand to meet these increasing humanitarian needs,” said Nancy A Aossey, president and chief executive officer, International Medical Corps.

Qatar Charity CEO Yousuf bin Ahmed al-Kuwari said: “Qatar Charity is pleased to be taking our partnership forward with International Medical Corps in order to address the often overlooked and certainly underserved and under-resourced emergency health sector. We are especially concerned with the Ebola outbreak throughout West Africa and its danger to not only the rest of Africa but the entire world requiring coordinated, sustained efforts from a variety of factors. The fact that International Medical Corps is a leader in tackling this outbreak and serving other at-risk communities throughout the world including those in the Central African Republic and Syria encourages us to join forces in this emergency response.”

Now in its fourth year, the conflict in Syria has resulted in 6.5mn displaced people, 50% of whom are children. Due to disruptions in routine healthcare, overcrowding of living areas due to displacement and damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, many are at high risk of communicable and preventable diseases. International Medical Corps, with support from Qatar Charity, will provide lifesaving healthcare to Syrian children displaced by the conflict.

An unprecedented outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has spread to four countries with cases confirmed in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. As of September 13, there were more than 1,600 confirmed cases and 511 deaths in Sierra Leone due to Ebola.

Through funding from Qatar Charity, International Medical Corps will implement and manage an Ebola Treatment Unit in Lunsar, Sierra Leone. Leveraging its experience managing a 70-bed Ebola Treatment Unit in Liberia, the organisation will work to safely and effectively implement case management and isolation services for the rapidly rising number of Ebola patients in Sierra Leone.

Against a backdrop of persistent political instability, poor health indicators and damaged health infrastructure, Central African Republic has experienced high levels of violence since December 2012. As of September 2014, almost half a million internally displaced people were recorded in the country.

With support from Qatar Charity, International Medical Corps will immediately rehabilitate damaged primary healthcare clinics and improve safe water and sanitation facilities in Bornou, Haute-Kotto, resulting in improved access for nearly 10,000 conflict-affected
people.