Health & Hygiene

IRD designs and delivers comprehensive programs and services that improve the health of millions worldwide, particularly in communities affected by poverty, conflict, and natural disaster. Our cost-effective outreach, education and awareness, and relief and development programs are designed in collaboration with local organizations, government agencies, and health authorities. As a result, IRD mobilizes resources and provides critical assistance that empowers communities to rebuild and sustain healthcare infrastructure and systems, save lives, and improve health for the long term. The success of every IRD health program depends on effective teaming, with global organizations like USAID and, equally important, with local stakeholders. IRD provides its implementing partners with leadership and financial and project management training, preparing community-based organizations to continue services when the project ends. Mirroring our programs in other core sectors, IRD health solutions take a multidisciplinary approach that combines critical compo¬nents of sustainability, including economic growth and education.

Featured Initiatives

Capacity Building

IRD supports communities to become self-sufficient – to guide their own learning, l... more

HIV/AIDS

How IRD Is Making a World of Difference for Communities Affected by HIV/AIDS   ... more

Hygiene

From Preparedness to Relief to Long-Term Development Working with local authoritie... more

Integration

IRD has accumulated valuable experience in approaching development from a multisect... more

Water & Sanitation

IRD develops a unique response to each situation using a wide variety of tools and... more

Programs

Addressing HIV and Poverty in Ethiopia

An estimated 1.2 million Ethiopians live with HIV/AIDS—a cause of vulnerability for... more

Avian Flu Awareness and Prevention

The first instance of avian influenza (AI) in the Ukraine was detected around Sivas... more

Better Foods for Better Lives

Better Foods for Better Lives promotes both agricultural and private sector develop... more

Bringing Clean Water to Kosovo

The Small Infrastructure for Water and Sanitation (SIWS) Program in Kosovo works in... more

Cameroon UNHCR 2013

An estimated 86,000 refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) reside in the... more

Child Survival in Cambodia

Funded by USAID’s Global Health bureau, IRD’s Child Survival and Health program use... more

Closing Emergency Gaps to Aid Victims of Displacement in Colombia

Colombia’s struggle against drug production and export, terrorism, and other armed... more

Community Based Support for Iraqis

The goal of the Community-Based Support Program (CBSP), funded by the Department of... more

Community Health Education Services in Southern Sudan

More than 20 years of civil war have obliterated most of Southern Sudan’s infrastru... more

Community-Based Solar Disinfection Program

Access to clean and safe drinking water is a huge challenge for much of the world’s... more

Conservation Agriculture in Swaziland

Much of southern Africa is caught in a cycle of drought and flooding, making it dif... more

Distribution of Medical and Non-Medical Commodities in the Caucasus and Ukraine

    Though there have been notable economic improvements in Armenia, Georgia... more

Ethiopia Health Infrastructure Program

Ethiopia’s 74 million people have among the lowest per capita access to healthcare... more

Flood Response in Pakistan

In the first half of 2009, well over 1 million people fled their homes in northern... more

Hambantota Educational Support Improvement Project

IRD worked in the Hambantota district of Sri Lanka in 2004–08 to distribute 12,000... more

Health Linkages and National Networks for Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

The Health Linkages and National Networks (HLNN) is enhancing protection of Iraqi r... more

Health Support for Syrian Refugees

IRD is improving the health status of Syrian refugees and host communities in Jorda... more

Improving the Health of Vulnerable Communities in Rural Yemen

The health of 30,000 people in vulnerable communities in the Hodeidah Governorate o... more

Increased Access to Potable Water & Improved Hygiene Practices in Yemen

With an estimated 3 million people lacking good-quality WASH facilities and service... more

Integrated Community-Based Transitional Shelter, Sanitation, and Community Infrastructure

Following the devastating earthquake in 2010, IRD constructed 1,200 transitional sh... more

Iraq Mothers and Daughters Empowerment Program

Many rural women in Iraq live in extreme poverty. Only 37 percent of rural women ca... more

Preventing Cholera in Coastal Mozambique

    Mozambique is one of the most climatically vulnerable countries in South... more

Preventing Loss of Sight in Laos

Laos had twice as many cases of childhood blindness as neighboring Thailand in 2... more

Reducing HIV/AIDS Stigma in Ukraine

Starting in September 2004, IRD implemented the Reducing Stigma and Discrimination... more

Reducing Vulnerability to Drought, Cyclones & Climate Change in Mozambique

For over a decade, Inhambane province, Mozambique, has experienced severe cyclones... more

Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting in Zimbabwe

Access to safe water remains a challenge to most people in Zimbabwe and this expose... more

Safe Educational Opportunities Project

Khammouane province in central Laos had one of the lowest primary school complet... more

School Repair and Restoration in Armenia

In 2005 IRD Armenia began implementing 12 small construction projects at social ins... more

SCIP Program in Southern Mozambique

While Mozambique is seen as a rare country to have successfully rebounded from year... more

Strategic Health Support for Iraqi Refugees (SHS)

The displacement of Iraqis is the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world. Alth... more

Strengthening Health Services through Community Mobilization

Through the ESOCUIDA project (the Portuguese acronym for Empowerment of Civil Socie... more

Women First

IRD has been implementing the Women First program since 2005 in an effort to empowe... more