What it’s like to be a mother in conflict

The IRC conducted a multi-sector needs assessment in 2024, covering the sectors of Protection, Health, Education and Economic Wellbeing, to identify key needs to support humanitarian program design in the coming period. Findings show that humanitarian needs are at an all time high, particularly impacted by shifts in the context in 2023, including the earthquake in Turkiye and the highest levels of violence seen across northern Syria since 2020. Millions of individuals continue to be unable to meet their basic needs.

Babies bring their parents endless love, joy and strength – but raising them doesn’t come without its challenges. But what would it be like if you had to raise a baby in a war-torn country? For mothers in Areesha camp in northeast Syria, looking after their newborns takes a remarkable level of resilience.

As Europe deals with a heat wave, people least responsible for global emissions are on the front lines of an urgent, deadly battle against climate change.

On 30 May 2023, 40-year-old Raouda gave birth to her third child, a healthy baby boy called Abdelrahim Arba Zackaria. Only two weeks before the birth, she did not think she would see her child be born alive. “What if I went into labor in the bush with my [toddler] strapped to my back? How would I manage?”