CONTENTS 1. ANNUAL MESSAGE 2. OUR MISSION 3. KEY SUCCESSES 9. WHERE WE WORK 11. FLAGSHIP INITIATIVES 14. FLAGSHIPS IN ACTION • Building Health Capacity in Iraq • Emergency Response in Kenya • Mental Health in Uganda • Women’s Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo • Clean Water in Ethiopia 19. AddrESSING REGIONAL CrISES 22. PartNERSHIPS FOR HUMANItarIAN ACTION 25. Board OF DIRECtorS 26. FINANCIAL LETTER AND StatEMENTS 30. ANNUAL SUpport 38. How YoU CaN HELP ON THE CovER: A severely malnourished child’s upper-arm circumference is measured at an International Medical Corps rural health outpost in West Hararghe, Ethiopia. Photograph by Julie Pudlowski. Dear Friend of International Medical Corps, As International Medical Corps approaches the quarter century milestone of delivering life- saving emergency programs around the globe, we look back at 2007 with great pride in our achievements: helping millions of people in the 25 countries and regions where we operate to recover from crisis and live healthier, more productive lives. Yet the challenges to providing health care through training remain significant. Existing conflicts intensified this past year across Africa, in places like Sudan, Chad, and the Central African Republic, as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. And at the end of the year, violence erupted in once-stable Kenya, reverberating throughout the region. The ongoing conflict in Iraq has devastated its population and health care system and forced massive displacement, putting severe strain on neighboring Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Meantime, countries like Indonesia and Myanmar suffered from natural disasters including floods and repeated earthquakes. Despite operating in such difficult and dangerous environments, International Medical Corps’ dedicated staff and volunteers responded rapidly and effectively in delivering emergency and long-term assistance, working with local communities to rebuild their health care systems, long after the emergency phase has ended, to help individuals and communities get back on their feet. That has been our mission since International Medical Corps was founded in 1984, and we remain deeply committed to that mission today. The following pages highlight International Medical Corps’ efforts over the past year to mobilize in crisis, deliver primary and mental health care services that target the most vulnerable populations such as women and children, and strengthen the capacity of local providers and institutions so that they can return to self-reliance. It is through the generous support of individuals, corporations, foundations, governmental agencies, and others, that we are able to continue these life-saving efforts and tackle new challenges as they arise. On behalf of all International Medical Corps volunteers, staff, and those we help, thank you for making our work possible. Sincerely, Robert Simon, M.D. Nancy A. Aossey Founder & Chairman President & CEO 1 INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS MISSION FROM RELIEF TO SELF-RELIANCE International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofi t organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Our mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in areas worldwide. By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk, and with the fl exibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations, International Medical Corps rehabilitates devastated health care systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance. 2 KEY SUCCESSES In 2007, International Medical Corps implemented programs in 25 countries and regions, helping hard-hit communities recover, rebuild, and care for themselves. The following represent just a few snapshots of our successes in the past year: 4 MULTI-FACETED RESPONSE IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO International Medical Corps aided thousands of residents driven from their homes by renewed fi ghting between rebel and government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the unfolding chaos of North Kivu province – while simultaneously preparing health systems in the relatively stable South Kivu province to transition from relief to development. Despite dangerous, arduous conditions, International Medical Corps teams performed heroically, treating over a quarter of a million patients in 66 different health care facilities in North Kivu, fi ve of them hastily erected camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) on the outskirts of Goma. Treatment included 970 cases of cholera and nearly 1,500 victims of sexual and gender-based violence. Over 15,000 moderate and severely malnourished patients were treated at International Medical Corps therapeutic and supplementary feeding centers. International Medical Corps also organized training for 910 local health care workers and traditional birth attendants on a range of areas from reproductive health care to psychosocial counseling to malaria prevention. 3 PREPARING INDONESIA FOR FUTURE DISASTERS Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and experiences numerous natural disasters, both large and small every year. The Strengthening 4 Emergency Preparedness and Response in Indonesia (SEPRI) program that International Medical Corps launched following the 2004 tsunami, today operates with its partner Ambulan 118 – an emergency response organization akin to the United States 911 system. International Medical Corps’ prior emergency training of Ambulan 11 8 in two earthquake-prone regions proved vital when a major quake struck in September 2007, ensuring accelerated emergency response times and smoothed coordination with other responding agencies. In the Padang region of West Sumatra province, the International Medical Corps/Ambulan 118 training exercise was completed just three days before the quake hit. These exercises were a continuation of the same program that had helped produce a successful emergency response to the massive earthquake that struck Yogyakarta in south Central Java in 2006, killing thousands. 4 PROTECTING CHILDREN IN LEBANON International Medical Corps partnered with UNICEF for a Child-Friendly Spaces project in parts of the country still reeling from the impact of the 2006 Hezbollah- Israeli war. A four-month assessment sketched a troubling picture: schools with no potable water, working toilets, or recreation equipment; students struggling with attention problems, high rates of aggression, and falling grades; teachers and administrators overwhelmed and ill-equipped to handle it all. Months of hard work brought a dramatic turnaround: over 20 schools rehabilitated; almost 400 teachers trained to promote high-quality education, as well as strong mental health and psycho- social development of their students; another 200 teachers and counselors trained in health education, including fi rst aid and nutrition. Referral systems between schools and local health centers were strengthened, bringing children a continuity of health care. Literacy workshops were also established in 26 schools, giving parents and other members of the community the chance to improve their skills. The project made tremendous strides in empowering Lebanese children and adults to recover from war and adapt to future crises. 5 HOPE AND HEALTH CARE FOR THE FORGOTTEN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC International Medical Corps health centers, mobile clinics, and feeding centers brought hope to those trapped in one of africa’s least known humanitarian crises: Central African Republic, where a decade of armed confl ict, rampant crime, and offi cial neglect in the remote northeast has left nearly half of the 18,000 residents around the town of Sam Ouandja too frightened to return home. In May 2007, after nearly 3,000 exhausted refugees arrived from neighboring Darfur, International Medical Corps teams were deployed to the border. Among those screened at a refugee camp near Sam Ouadja, International Medical Corps reduced the rate of malnutrition among children aged six months to fi ve years from an alarming 46 percent to 31 percent in the fi rst three months of activities. During the same time period, a 96 percent recovery rate was achieved among severely malnourished children admitted to one therapeutic feeding center for inpatient care. While many of the displaced still remain out of reach, International Medical Corps’ mobile clinics reached thousands who otherwise would have gone entirely without care. 6 EMPOWERING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN PAKISTAN An International Medical Corps literacy and vocational training program for women brought new, richer lives to female survivors of the massive 2005 earthquake. Leveraging trust earned during nearly 25 years of work in Pakistan, International Medical Corps was able with this project to overcome concerns from local elders about female education, then gave 75 widows and orphaned girls the basic tools for economic independence – the ability to read, write, and do elementary math, in addition to a marketable skill: tailoring and embroidery. The achievements were both modest and revolutionary: a group of women and girls, ages 14-55, now read newspapers, write letters, understand basic math, and have vocational skills they can use to establish income-generating at-home businesses. The program