The Healing Hands project of the International Rescue Committee seeks to support the comprehensive development, care and protection of migrant boys and girls and members of the host community from 0 to 5 years old in Ecuador. After the initial implementation of Healing Hands, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) developed a report with reflections and learnings that organizations can replicate.

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken important and crucial steps to provide relief to the most vulnerable populations abroad, such as through the American Rescue Plan’s supplemental funding for the international response; contributions to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and commitments to provide 500 million vaccine doses and donate another 80 million excess doses to low- and middle-income countries. But vaccine donations alone are insufficient; they must be complemented by clear plans for and investments in the efficient and rapid delivery of doses, with careful attention to areas not reached by national governments. 

This report by International Rescue Committee (IRC), with support from Development Initiatives (DI), builds on the already strong evidence base for multi-year flexible funding. A comparative analysis of two cash programmes in Somalia funded by DFID and Sida, which draws on data collected using the Systematic Cost Analysis (SCAN) tool developed by IRC with Save the Children and Mercy Corps, provides preliminary indications of quantifiable cost efficiency gains of multi-year funding.

This report by International Rescue Committee (IRC), with support from Development Initiatives (DI), builds on the already strong evidence base for multi-year flexible funding. A comparative analysis of two cash programmes in Somalia funded by DFID and Sida, which draws on data collected using the Systematic Cost Analysis (SCAN) tool developed by IRC with Save the Children and Mercy Corps, provides preliminary indications of quantifiable cost efficiency gains of multi-year funding.

Roughly 1 billion children worldwide are out of school due to school closures related to COVID-19. Children in humanitarian settings face a double crisis as the health emergency disrupts their opportunities to learn, develop and thrive. Ensuring children can continue to learn during the pandemic, no matter their access to technology, must be central to the COVID-19 response in fragile contexts.