Reference video

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency, or ADRA, is the global humanitarian arm of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. We are a team of more than 10,000 dedicated humanitarians in more than 100 countries who tirelessly serve the world’s most vulnerable people every day.

For decades, ADRA has responded to some of the world's most devastating disasters and crises, but nothing could have prepared us for a global pandemic.

COVID forced us to rethink and redesign the way we would face this new crisis. Within days of the pandemic ADRA established a global COVID-19 task force to drive the response. Within weeks the task force had established a strategy to serve vulnerable people around the world.

What did that look like? In response to the pandemic ADRA created 422 projects to serve 20 million people in 96 countries. ADRA pivoted to meet needs with the support of our generous partners. The ability to leverage funds strategically helped ADRA’s response grow to more than $26 million.

Thanks in large part to the strength and support of partnerships with the Adventist Church, governments, United Nations agencies, corporations, and other nonprofit organizations.

For every $1 that ADRA invested, our partners contributed $7. Our work with the church in particular was a major success. Nearly 70% of all COVID-19 response projects were in partnership with our church.

Adventists around the world came together to support the mission of ADRA. They came together in solidarity for those who are suffering, and for those who continue to suffer. So all may live as God intended. Thanks to our partnership with the Adventist Church and other agents of change, ADRA is working around the clock to counteract the fallout of the pandemic.

For years, ADRA has helped communities stay healthy because we understand that when health is affected, little else matters. This is why we have been supporting health projects around the globe to ensure people are not made more vulnerable by sickness. Ensuring that families remain healthy was never more important than during this devastating global pandemic.

To mitigate the impact of the virus, our response included 97 health projects, helping more than 5 million people around the world. Our partnership with Adventist led health facilities has reached many in need.

During this response ADRA delivered tons of personal protective equipment supplies to hospitals and healthcare centers, so the health workers and patients alike could be protected. In partnership with Adventist broadcasters ADRA also sent out critically important health messages to millions of people to ensure hand-washing and proper precautions to reduce the spread of the virus.

ADRA also understands that water and sanitation are critical in times of need. During a Health crisis especially, proper sanitation does more than almost anything to stop the spread of the virus.

And ADRA has been hard at work to ensure people around the globe have access to hand-washing stations, cleaning alcohol, and proper training of sanitation protocols.

This year our COVID task force has taylored 89 projects to address the needs of water and sanitation. More than four million people have accessed these projects.

Few fallouts of any crisis however, can match the desperation of global hunger. As markets collapsed, economies crumbled, and millions lost their jobs, food became harder to find and to afford. Families who have never experienced hunger waited in lines at food banks and distribution centers. Children missed meals, many felt the pangs not only of hunger, but also of hopelessness.

For these reasons ADRA spent 8.5 million dollars to ensure that vulnerable families around the world would not go hungry. In Northern Colombia ADRA worked with the Adventist Church to select 100 Wayuu indigenous families who are unable to work and earn money so they could receive regular food baskets during the pandemic.

In total our COVID task force implemented 134 projects to feed more than 6 million people around the world. During these times of instability and confusion, support systems breakdown, mental health suffers, and individuals feel isolated and lonely. ADRA serves them during this time of great suffering. Fifty eight of our COVID-19 projects are tailored specifically for psychosocial support. 2.6 million people have connected with us through these projects and have learned they are not alone.

Since the start of our COVID task force, our 422 projects have assured 20 million precious lives that they will not be defeated by the pandemic. This example has given hope to millions more. As ADRA’s response grows, our focus will expand to help communities recover from the long-term. This forwarded momentum will see an increased focus in areas of resilience, rebuilding livelihoods and education for all children.

While it is true that the global effects of the novel coronavirus are unprecedented, it is also true that ADRA in partnership with the Adventist Church has a proven capacity to rise to the occasion. We service as the hands and feet of Jesus so all may live as God intended. Not even a pandemic can change that.