Since September of 2022, Flexport.org and USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, a nonprofit fundraising and refugee awareness organization that assists with UNHCR’s global mission to protect the lives and rights of refugees, have collaborated on shipping humanitarian aid relief. In August of 2023, a delegation from Flexport.org and USA for UNHCR traveled to Ethiopia to review UNHCR’s work supporting the one million refugees living across the country, who are seeking safety and stability after fleeing their home countries of Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and more.

UNHCR’s Protection team focuses on ensuring refugees are safe from violence, that their rights are respected, and that services provided account for groups with particular needs, whether those be children, the elderly, minorities, or people with disabilities. After conversations with this team, it became clear that there weren't sufficient mobility items, such as canes and crutches, available for refugees.

While a lack of these devices would make life hard for a person in a stable environment, refugees are made particularly vulnerable. Even in newly built camps, physical barriers abound: people with disabilities may encounter inaccessible facilities, or reside in living areas with rubble or uneven ground. Amid these obstacles, lacking a mobility device may inhibit a child from attending school or a parent from being able to work.

“Hearing that refugees were resorting to using makeshift crutches was jarring,” said Dave Hartman, Senior Program Manager of Global Aid at Flexport.org, who was on the delegation. “It immediately occurred to me that Project C.U.R.E., a long-standing Flexport.org partner, would have precisely the items that UNHCR was seeking to distribute to refugees.”

Flexport.org connected the Project C.U.R.E. and USA for UNHCR teams, and together they coordinated the delivery of more than 11,000 pounds of essential accessibility equipment to refugees in Ethiopia.

Disability Inclusion in Humanitarian Aid Relief

UNHCR’s expansive programs in Ethiopia allow for numerous touchpoints with refugees, which can uncover issues that may not be apparent at first glance.

In the Ethiopia region, approximately 21% of refugees identify as having disabilities. Of that group, 80% have physical disabilities. Forced displacement often exposes residents to protection risks, many of which are compounded by disability.

Providing mobility equipment can help reduce or eliminate the physical barriers that people with disabilities have, and ensure that they have the same opportunities as others.

Project C.U.R.E., USA for UNHCR, and Flexport.org: Joining Forces to Deliver Critical Aid

As the world’s largest distributor of donated international medical relief, Project C.U.R.E. ships around 200 air and ocean freight shipments of medical goods to 45 to 50 countries each year. In the past two years alone, Project C.U.R.E. has provided over $130 million’s worth of medical equipment and supplies, and has sent more than $1 billion in aid since its inception.
With deep connections to hospital systems and medical equipment suppliers, Project C.U.R.E. had a sizable repository of crutches on hand, which they made available for donation to UNHCR.

“Project C.U.R.E.’s mission is to provide health and hope to underserved populations around the world,” said Kristofer Anderson, Vice President of Operations at Project C.U.R.E. “When our partners at Flexport.org and UNHCR shared the stories of need in Ethiopia, we were honored to participate in the project.”

USA for UNHCR and Project C.U.R.E. identified canes and walkers as readily available items that would make a meaningful impactful on displaced people in Ethiopia. With coordination and funding from Flexport.org, Project C.U.R.E quickly loaded the items into an ocean container and transported them to the communities in need.

“We're very grateful for this donation from Project C.U.R.E. and Flexport, facilitated by USA for UNHCR,” said UNHCR Assistant Public Health Officer Dr. Naol Berhanu, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “This will allow over 3,000 refugees living with a disability to recover their mobility. The canes and walkers will allow them to keep weight off the injured leg, assist with balance, avoid falls, and perform daily activities—restoring their dignity.”

At Flexport.org, impacts like these continue to drive our day-to-day work.

“This project crystallizes the importance of partnerships and what organizations can accomplish when they find new ways to work together,” said Hartman. “As an impact-focused logistics technology company, Flexport.org has connections to scores of nonprofits and humanitarian organizations, along with insight into issues they face at both the logistical and programmatic levels. Our connections, supply chain expertise, and technology can help solve those problems in a truly unique way.”

Image courtesy of © UNHCR/Andrew McConnell.