About Us

About IRD

 

Drought relief in the Horn of Africa. Nourishment for school children in Laos and Liberia. Healthcare knowledge and steady incomes for women in Mozambique. Resilience to violent extremism in West Africa. New schools and health clinics in Haiti, Ukraine, and the West Bank. Revived agriculture in Afghanistan. Improved livelihoods for Iraqi refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.

In 2011, in collaboration with our partners and beneficiaries IRD helped make all this possible. A nonprofit humanitarian and development organization, IRD improves lives and livelihoods through inclusion, engagement, and empowerment. We build lasting relationships and strengthen our beneficiaries’ capabilities to create sustainable change and direct their own development.

These principles are at the core of IRD’s mission: to reduce the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable groups and provide the tools and resources needed to increase their self-sufficiency.

Since 1998, IRD has provided more than $3 billion in humanitarian assistance. To the communities we serve, that means more hospitals and medicines to heal, schools to educate, safe water to drink, roads to provide access to markets and healthcare, homes to provide safe havens, training to foster vocational skills, and jobs to put food on the table.

We are expert at working in challenging environments, including conflict zones and areas suffering the consequences of natural disaster. IRD approaches each situation with systematic assessments; then we design short- and long- term interventions that keep communities on the path to development. Rather than just delivering clean water to residents of the Horn of Africa, IRD tackles the underlying problem of upgrading community water storage and management systems. And rather than handing out seeds and fertilizer in Afghanistan, IRD increases trains farmers in improved agricultural methods that increase jobs, incomes, and confidence of Afghans in their government.

In short, IRD’s integrated development strategies solve interrelated needs and challenges simultaneously. That means more effective engagement with local governments and residents, more community capacity, better use of resources, and more sustainable results. 

Quick Facts about IRD

 

  • 1998: year IRD was founded by Dr. Arthur B. Keys, Jr.
  • 42: number of countries where IRD has offices or programs
  • 7: number of IRD key services areas
  • 122: number of active projects in IRD’s portfolio
  • 2900+: number of IRD staff worldwide
  • $500 million: amount IRD delivers annually in development assistance
  • 91: cents on each dollar of our annual budget that goes to programs
  • $100 million: amount IRD delivers annually in donations of commodities, food, and emergency relief
  • $3 billion: amount IRD has delivered in development assistance since 1998
  • 90+: minimum percentage of IRD staff who are hired locally in our country offices, on average

Featured Success Stories

Vaccination Campaign Helps Prevent Measles

The spread of communicable diseases has become a high risk factor in the... more

IRD Swaziland Launches Climate Change Project

IRD Swaziland successfully handed over its completed project and launched t... more

Recovering from Loss Caused by Conflict

GHAZNI, Afghanistan – Living near a military base in Afghanistan is dangero... more

Recovering from Conflict, Stitch by Stitch

GHAZNI, Afghanistan – For many Afghan women, earning a living can be tough.... more

Crumbling Walls of Ignorance and Mistrust in Iraq

As the car nears the checkpoint, the roads are muddier and more potholed, and armed... more

IRD Distributes Clothing to Ukrainian Children’s Rehabilitation Center

The All-Ukrainian Children Rehabilitation Sanatorium “Chayka” (Seagull) is... more

Papuan-to-Papuan Business Development

JAYAPURA Indonesia – Papua ranks last of 33 Indonesian provinces in human developme... more

IRD Pakistan Launches the Conflict Victims Support Program

ISLAMABAD Pakistan – IRD launched the USAID-funded Conflict Victims Support Program... more

Refugee Herdsman Becomes a Settled Farmer

MANDJOU, Cameroon – Saliou Adamou, 55, fled to Cameroon from unrest in the Central... more