CARE tackles underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient (read about our approach here). We run around 1200 projects each year in  over 65 countries, reaching more than 50 million people in poor communities. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help entire families and communities escape poverty.
CARE is also one of the first to respond in emergencies such as natural disasters or civil conflict. Our projects directly assist survivors of natural disasters and conflict through immediate relief and longer-term community rehabilitation, which includes food, temporary shelter, clean water, sanitation services, medical care, family planning and reproductive health services, and seeds and tools.

In addition to emergencies, here is a brief snapshot of CARE’s work:

Agriculture and Natural Resources
CARE helps families produce more food and increase their income while managing their natural resources and preserving the environment for future generations. CARE works with farmers to increase their crop and livestock yields through activities such as planting new seed varieties, animal husbandry, home gardening and irrigation.

Education
CARE is dedicated to promoting basic education for all. Experience shows that educated people  have healthier families and greater earning potential. Our projects promote and facilitate discussion between parents, teachers and other members of the community to overcome barriers to education that help keep families mired in poverty. CARE also provides economic incentives to help parents cover the cost of keeping their children in school.
 
Health education program in India. 

Health
A family cannot be economically healthy if it is not physically healthy. CARE''s health projects focus on mothers and children, who often are the most vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. We are particularly interested in increasing the capacity of our local partners to deliver quality health services. This includes training local health volunteers as counsellors, mentors and monitors of community health. CARE is focused on interventions ranging from nutrition and education to birth spacing and clinical services. Our reproductive health projects encompass family planning, prenatal care, labour and delivery services, and the prevention, detection and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS
We believe that our HIV/AIDS programs must provide information and services to vulnerable groups while addressing the underlying factors that lead people to make choices that put them at risk of infection. CARE''s HIV/AIDS programmes link with our other sectors, including health, education and economic development. Through our HIV/AIDS programmes, we help communities care for children who have become orphaned and vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, develop peer education and outreach in communities, and increase access to services such as condoms, voluntary counselling and testing, anti-retroviral treatment, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) prevention and treatment. Advocacy on behalf of vulnerable and marginalized parts of the population is also an important part of our work.

Nutrition
Proper nutrition is vital to a child''s healthy development and an adult''s ability to work and care for his or her family. Our projects focus on teaching techniques and practices that help prevent malnutrition. These include demonstrating proper breast feeding, educating families and communities about how to cultivate and prepare nutritious food, providing food as part of emergency relief efforts, and managing food-for-work projects to help communities improve infrastructure.

Economic Development
CARE''s economic development programs assist impoverished families by supporting moneymaking activities, especially those operated by women. CARE initiates community savings-and-loan programs and provides technical training to help people begin or expand small businesses that will increase family income.

Water distribution in a refugee camp, Chad 

Water, Sanitation and Environmental Health
CARE helps communities to build and maintain clean water systems and latrines. Both directly and through local organizations, CARE provides training and subsidizes construction, but communities make significant contributions both in cash and labour, and pay the cost of operation and maintenance. The goal of these projects is to reduce the health risks of water-related diseases and to increase the earning potential of households by saving time otherwise spent fetching water. Projects also include educating people about good hygiene practice, which reduces the risk of illnesses.