Inspire 2025: Canadian volunteers immerse in humanitarian experience in Malaysia

BANGI, September 12 – Malaysia once again became the host for the Inspire Programme as 21 volunteers from Canada gathered to take part in the international volunteer programme organised by Islamic Relief Canada (IR Canada) in collaboration with Islamic Relief Malaysia (IR Malaysia), held from 30 August to 8 September.

Since its introduction in Malaysia in 2018, this sixth edition has provided a platform for practical learning and cross-cultural exchange, while offering volunteers the opportunity to engage with local communities.

Throughout the programme, participants connected with 60 refugee students comprising 30 students from Refugee Intellectual Skills and Excellence (RISE) and 30 students from Al-Noor Enrichment School. Activities included interactive learning sessions, games, an educational trip to KidZania, and providing essential supplies. Volunteers also visited the students’ families and distributed food packs.

According to Inspire Malaysia Coordinator, Siti Noradilah Zainal, this year’s edition introduced participants to the Orang Asli community. Among the activities were visits to the Mah Meri Cultural Village in Pulau Carey and the distribution of 100 food packs to several Orang Asli villages.

“Despite the packed schedule, the volunteers remained fully committed. Their sincerity was clearly seen in their interactions with the children,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tarek Faid, Volunteer Abroad Manager of IR Canada, expressed his appreciation for the strong cooperation extended by IR Malaysia. “The children here are truly special. God willing, we hope this collaboration can continue in the future,” he said.

One of the volunteers, Seerat from Calgary, Canada, described the experience of engaging with refugees in Malaysia as extraordinary. “Seeing their resilience despite the many challenges they face has truly opened my eyes to the reality of their lives. It has made me more appreciative of God’s blessings,” she shared.

Apart from Malaysia, Inspire 2025 is also being held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkiye, Kosovo, Albania, Makkah and Madinah, Indonesia, South Africa, and Morocco.

Pakistan floods: rising death toll and urgent humanitarian needs

PAKISTAN, September 9 – Since late June 2025, Pakistan has been facing above-normal monsoon rains which triggered widespread flooding, flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh and Islamabad.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 829 people have lost their lives, 1,116 have been injured and tens of thousands of houses have been destroyed or damaged.

The situation remains most critical in Punjab where extreme flooding of the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers has affected nearly two million people and displaced around 500,000.

Over 2,200 villages have been inundated, while large-scale evacuations and the establishment of more than 500 relief camps are ongoing.

Islamic Relief in Pakistan has been on the ground since the onset of the disaster, mobilising emergency response teams in the worst-hit provinces.

In Punjab, Islamic Relief is operating relief activities in Naroval, Jhang, Muzaffargarh, Multan and Rajanpur including managing a camp in Muzaffargarh for 200 household where families receive hot meals and safe drinking water daily.

In KP, which has recorded the highest human toll with 484 deaths, Islamic Relief teams continue to deliver food and non-food supplies to affected mountains districts such as Buner, Shangla and Swat despite damaged roads and difficult access.

Meanwhile in Sindh, teams are on high alert as floodwaters advance towards the province, working closely with local authorities to prepare for rapid response.

To date, Islamic Relief has reached over 22,000 people with life-saving assistance. Initial assessments indicate unprecedented levels of destruction and Islamic Relief plans to scale up its response to reach one million families (around 7 million people) in the coming months.

Over the next 12-18 months, Islamic Relief will support communities not only with urgent relief but also with long-term recovery, including restoring livelihoods, repairing shelters and strengthening resilience.

Islamic Relief Worldwide appoints Nadeem Malik as Interim CEO

Appointment ensures operational continuity as Board finalises new CEO selection.

BIRMINGHAM, UK – Islamic Relief Worldwide today announced that Nadeem Malik, currently Managing Director of the Humanitarian Academy for Development (HAD), has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer effective October 2025. The current CEO, Waseem Ahmad, will complete his term at the end of September.

The appointment comes as the Board of Trustees finalises its search for a new CEO to lead the global humanitarian organisation. Coming in as interim CEO, Nadeem will bring extensive experience from the charity, statutory and private sectors.

Nadeem Malik commented: “I look forward to working with my fellow Directors and all Islamic Relief staff to continue serving our rightsholders with excellence. With my colleagues I aim to oversee an orderly transition of the organisation into the capable hands of the new CEO. During this time I will continue in my role as Managing Director of the Humanitarian Academy for Development.”

Haroun Atallah, Chair of Islamic Relief Worldwide’s Board of Trustees, said: “Nadeem brings valuable experience in organisational leadership and development that will serve Islamic Relief well during this transition period. His commitment to strengthening civil society organisations and deep understanding of our sector make him ideally placed to maintain our momentum whilst we complete the appointment of our new CEO.”

Outgoing CEO Waseem Ahmad commented: “I have every confidence that Nadeem will provide the steady leadership Islamic Relief needs during this transition. His experience and values align perfectly with our organisation’s mission, and I know our incredible team will continue to deliver life-saving work under his guidance. I remain committed to supporting Islamic Relief as we move into this exciting new chapter.”

Waseem Ahmad will continue to support the Islamic Relief Trustees, the interim CEO and the future CEO.

-ENDS-

About Islamic Relief Worldwide Islamic Relief Worldwide is a faith-based humanitarian and development organisation, supporting vulnerable communities affected by poverty, conflict and disasters. Founded in 1984, we have grown into one of the largest Muslim humanitarian organisations and last year we helped 17 million people in more than 40 countries.

Islamic Relief deploys aid workers to provide critical services after the Afghanistan earthquake kills hundreds

Islamic Relief has deployed an emergency health team to provide critical services to survivors of an earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, which has killed more than 600 people and wiped out entire villages. The death toll continues to rise as rescue teams reach more areas.

The 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Kunar province around midnight local time, when most families were asleep. Children describe being woken in terror as homes collapsed around them, and families fled in panic to try and find safety. Multiple aftershocks continued throughout the night.

More than 600 people are already confirmed dead, and over 2500 are injured across multiple districts. The numbers keep rising as more information comes in. Many of the worst-affected areas are remote and mountainous regions. Roads have been blocked by landslides and rescuers have to reach some of the worst-hit villages by foot or evacuate casualties by helicopter.

Ibrahim Ahmed Alhomadi, Islamic Relief’s head of programmes in Afghanistan, says: “Entire villages have been turned into mud and rubble in Kunar and the death toll is rising every hour. Thankfully, Islamic Relief’s team in the affected region is safe, and we have now deployed an emergency health team to get urgent aid to survivors. People have lost everything and desperately need healthcare, food, water, and shelter. The affected areas are remote, rural, and mountainous, and landslides and floods make it even harder to reach them. These are poor villages, and many of the homes are made from mud or flimsy materials that completely collapse.”

The Islamic Relief team on the ground is particularly responding in areas of Kunar province to provide essential health services, including mother and child healthcare, treatment of injuries, nutrition support, and addressing trauma.

The impact is particularly severe as the earthquake was very shallow, just five miles (8kms) below the surface of the earth. The response is further hampered by severe flooding that swept through Kunar and neighbouring Nangarhar provinces in the two days before the earthquake. 

The disaster comes when people in Afghanistan are already struggling to cope with widespread drought and the impact of global cuts to humanitarian aid, which have resulted in the closure of essential services such as health facilities and nutrition centres. Services in the country are also overwhelmed by the massive influx of Afghan returnees who have been ordered to leave Iran and Pakistan – more than 2.4 million people have returned this year, and many arrive in poor health and without anywhere to live. Islamic Relief has been supporting returnees when they arrive.

Islamic Relief has worked in Afghanistan for over 20 years. Last year, we supported more than 636,000 people in 20 of the country’s 34 provinces, providing aid including food, nutrition, healthcare, education, and sustainable livelihoods. In the earthquake-affected provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, we support farmers to improve agricultural production and help small businesses to thrive. Islamic Relief has also provided support in response to the earthquakes in Paktika and Herat.

Gaza famine is a shameful global failure 

Today’s official confirmation of famine in Gaza brings shame on the entire world. Every day, our team there sees more people starving to death and children turning into living skeletons before our eyes. Many more will die unless the world acts now.

The famine is no accident – Israel is intentionally starving Palestinians to death. It is entirely man-made, caused by Israel’s cruel and illegal blockade and the complicity of world leaders who have failed to stop the daily war crimes. Never before has a famine – the most extreme and rarest form of starvation – been so widely predicted and so easily preventable, yet repeated warnings have been ignored. 

Israel has destroyed Gaza’s ability to feed itself, then blocked lifesaving aid from entering, and gunned down starving people trying to get food for their children. It has destroyed Gaza’s health system, denying malnourished people treatment.

Truckloads of food, medicine, and other vital aid are just a few miles from starving people, but are barred from reaching them.

Even as horrific images of emaciated children touch hearts around the world, Israel has further accelerated its attacks on civilians, continued to restrict aid, and stepped up its efforts to shut down and militarise the humanitarian response. Young children are the most vulnerable to starvation, but even aid workers and medics are now wasting away.     

In the face of relentless violence and suffering, Palestinians in Gaza have shown incredible courage and resilience, but there is a limit to what humans can endure.  

There can be no more excuses. World leaders must finally act to save lives and prevent genocide. The only way to stop this famine from spreading further across Gaza, and killing even more people, is to demand a ceasefire and pressure Israel to fully reopen all land crossings so that Gaza can be flooded with sufficient supplies. A small, temporary increase is not enough – it must be large-scale, sustained, and delivered through the UN-led system that Israel is trying to shut down.  

More paltry words of condemnation will not make any difference now. To save lives, governments must apply meaningful economic and diplomatic pressure, such as ending all arms sales, suspending trade agreements, and banning trade and investment with illegal Israeli settlements.  

68 aid organizations in Yemen call for solidarity and urgent action on World Humanitarian Day

19 August 2025 – Today, the humanitarian community marks World Humanitarian Day, a time to recognize the vital role of aid workers and pay tribute to those who have lost or risked their lives in the course of duty. It is also an occasion to reflect on the plight of the millions of people around the world—including in Yemen—who are caught up in crises, and to reaffirm our shared responsibility to protect the humanitarian lifelines they depend on.

Targeting humanitarian workers is not only a violation of International Humanitarian Law, but also an indirect attack on the millions of vulnerable people they serve. Humanitarian workers must be protected at all times and must be able to carry out their life-saving work safely and without interference or undue restrictions.

So far this year, 17 incidents of violence against humanitarian personnel and assets have been recorded across Yemen. Dozens of personnel from UN, non-governmental and civil society organizations continue to be arbitrarily detained by the de facto authorities, most of them for over a year or more. The humanitarian community continues to call for the protection of all aid workers and the unconditional and immediate release of detained colleagues.

This World Humanitarian Day comes at a time when humanitarian needs are surging. Yemen is now the world’s third largest hunger crisis, with more than 18 million people projected to be acutely food insecure by September. Malnutrition rates and disease outbreaks are escalating, with particularly dire impacts for Yemen’s children.

Protection risks are multiplying, especially for women and girls, internally displaced persons, refugees, migrants, people with disabilities and other at-risk groups.

While the humanitarian community is prioritizing its response to reach the most vulnerable, the very essential services that women, girls, boys and men rely on to survive are being reduced due to funding cuts and operational constraints. This is creating a collision course—where needs are soaring just as support is slipping away.

Despite tremendous challenges, humanitarians in Yemen have not stopped and will not give up in their efforts to save lives and alleviate suffering across the country, working hand-in-hand with the communities they serve.

This year, 155 aid organizations have reached more than 3.2 million people every month with vital aid such as clean water, food, health care, protection assistance, shelter, non-food items and cash. “It’s not just a profession; it is much more and beyond. It’s a calling to step into places and reach people that often feel forgotten, and to offer hope, relief and dignity when it’s needed most”, says Bushra, a Yemeni aid worker.

Today, we stand together with all humanitarians in Yemen and around the world who are pushing against the odds and putting their lives on the line to serve those most in need. Now more than ever, the international community must #ActForHumanity to protect and enable their vital work.

	Palestine Appeal
	mySedekah
	DWAS
	MyYateem
	Local Emergency Relief

	A-05-1, Paragon Point,
	Jalan Medan PB5,
	Seksyen 9, 43650,
	Bandar Baru Bangi,
	Selangor, Malaysia

	Tel: +603 8926 3434
	WhatsApp: +6019 637 9788
	E-mail: info@islamic-relief.org.my
	General Enquiries
	Complaint & Feedback
	Media Enquiries

	IRM Server
	Extra-net
	Staff Mail
	IR Digital