The International Medical Committee (IMC) has set out its purpose in a mission and a vision. Both follow from the humanitarian mandate of the World Organization for Peace (WOFP).
To provide timely and dignified humanitarian medical care to vulnerable populations affected by emergencies, disasters and conflicts, without distinction of origin, belief or circumstance, as an expression of the commitment to peace of the World Organization for Peace (WOFP).
It says what IMC does, for whom and in what spirit: medical care for people in the hardest circumstances, tied to WOFP’s commitment to peace.
A world in which no humanitarian crisis is left without a medical response, with health teams able to reach emergency areas with the speed and professionalism that human life demands.
This is an aspiration, not a description of the present. It asks that medical care be part of every humanitarian response, and that health teams be ready to act quickly and well.
The mission asks for care that is timely and also dignified. Dignity is not an extra. It is part of what good care means.
In practice, care respects each person and their situation, and never depends on origin, belief or condition. This is also where IMC’s medical work meets WOFP’s wider mission of peace, stability and human dignity.
IMC’s part in humanitarian work is medical. The committee provides humanitarian medical assistance and supports emergency healthcare initiatives in these areas:
Access to care is most at risk in an emergency, and the hours after a disaster are often decisive. That is where IMC’s medical capacity is directed.
The committee’s response follows four stages — assessment, coordination, medical support and follow-up — set out under humanitarian medical response. The first phase is covered in emergency medical response.
The mission is directed at people whose health is put at risk by disasters, conflicts and humanitarian crises, and at communities with little access to basic healthcare.
Crises hit hardest those who already had the least access to care. That is why IMC’s attention does not stop at sudden emergencies: it extends to community health, where poor access to primary care is a lasting risk.
Five principles, drawn from the mission and from IMC’s institutional commitments, guide its medical work:
Medical care that respects every person and their circumstances.
Assistance offered without distinction of origin, belief or condition.
Priority for those whose access to care is most limited.
Responsible management of resources and clear communication with donors, partners and international organizations.
Joint work with local authorities, health organizations and the WOFP network.
More on the committee and its relationship with WOFP: About the International Medical Committee.
The four stages of a response: assessment, coordination, medical support and follow-up.
