What is Direct Relief? What does Direct Relief do?

Direct Relief is a humanitarian organization, active in more than 80 countries and all 50 U.S. states, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies.

Nongovernmental, nonsectarian, and not-for-profit, Direct Relief provides assistance to people and communities without regard to politics, religious beliefs, or ethnic identities.

Since 1948, Direct Relief has provided assistance to locally run healthcare facilities and projects by supplying them with specifically requested and appropriate pharmaceuticals, supplies, nutritional supplements, and medical equipment. 

Direct Relief’s assistance programs focus on maternal and child health, the prevention and treatment of disease, and emergency preparedness and response, and are tailored to the particular circumstances and needs of the world’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations.

This tradition of direct and targeted assistance, provided in a manner that respects and involves the people served, has been a hallmark of the organization since its founding in 1948 by refugee war immigrants to the U.S.