UK Government Minister visits our HQ

Today the UK Minister for International Development, Alan Duncan, visited our European headquarters in Edinburgh. He came to meet staff, hear about our work saving lives around the world, and to congratulate us on our appointment to the UK's new Rapid Response Facility, which will allow our teams to rush aid from the UK to where it's need most when earthquakes or other disasters strike.

The Minister said: “I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit Mercy Corps at their European headquarters in Edinburgh today. Mercy Corps is one of the UK’s very best performing disaster response agencies, and a key partner in the delivery of UK aid around the world. This visit gave me the opportunity to meet staff and hear about the organisation’s efforts to save lives in some of the world’s toughest places.

“I congratulated the organisation on their appointment to the UK’s new rapid response facility, which will rush aid from the UK to those who need it most within hours of an earthquake or other disaster. We look forward to working with Mercy Corps in the future.”

Michael McKean from Mercy Corps, who hosted the visit, said: “It’s great to see Mercy Corps’ partnership with the UK Government’s Department for International Development recognised and to receive a high profile visitor to our European headquarters in Edinburgh. Through UK government funding for long-term development work and for rapid responses to humanitarian emergencies, we work in some of the most challenging environments in the world, changing lives in places like Mogadishu in Somalia and Helmand in Afghanistan. We hope to continue working with the UK Government and others to make a difference in places like these, where ordinary people need help most.”