This has been an unprecedented year.
300 million people across 70 countries are in need of urgent assistance — more than double the number just six years ago.
As war, famine, and other disasters pushed millions to the brink of survival, their lifeline was severed when the U.S. slashed billions in humanitarian aid funding.
These cuts have significantly affected Mercy Corps’ ability to deliver critical assistance in crisis zones worldwide.
Mercy Corps received termination notices for more than half our U.S. government funded programs. Some of these supported families facing hunger crises in Sudan, Somalia, and Nigeria. Now children are wasting away because clinics are closed and supplies of therapeutic peanut paste have run out.
It’s unthinkable that children are suffering when the situation is preventable.
I don’t tell you this because I believe all is lost. But rather because another story is beginning to emerge: In the face of immense challenges, committed individuals and courageous communities have found ways to meet the moment. It’s a reminder that when we take action together, lives are saved, and progress remains possible.
You are of those committed individuals, and I’m asking you right now to show up with a generous year-end gift that will go twice as far thanks to a generous donor who has chosen to meet this unprecedented moment with us.
The fallout from the funding cuts has been swift, sweeping, and catastrophic — and the consequences can be measured in lives lost and futures uprooted.
Kids who once relied on a school feeding program for one nutritious meal a day are now going hungry. Parents who relied on health clinics to save their malnourished children are now watching them die. Wells and pumps to provide safe drinking water lie half-dug and unfinished because funding was abruptly stopped.
 |
 |
In Nigeria, 12,000 pregnant women and 55,000 children lost a critical healthcare and nutrition program. |
| |
| |
|
In Democratic Republic of Congo, 162,000 people lost access to water for drinking, sanitation, cooking, and basic daily living. |
| |
| |
|
In Somalia, about 2 million children lost a program that serves meals and provides malnutrition treatment. |
These numbers are real, and they break my heart. But we are determined to keep doing the most we can, wherever we can. Mercy Corps is on the ground in 35 countries delivering life-saving assistance. Our team of 43,000 humanitarians are working day and night, and our commitment is unwavering.
So right now it is imperative that we move forward with urgency — that we come together around the future we still believe in, where civilians affected by war have access to lifesaving resources, local partnerships power lasting progress, and smart solutions are scaled to spark profound impact across the world we share.
What happens next truly is up to all of us. I hope you’ll do your part right now to make sure that 2026 is a better year ahead. Please donate to our year-end Matching Gift Challenge and see your support go twice as far.
Thanks for all that you do,
Tjada D’Oyen McKenna
Mercy Corps Chief Executive Officer
|
