Child in a refugee camp, Rwanda

Lassa fever education, Sierra Leone

Volcano survivor, DR Congo

Queue for vaccinations, Tajikistan

Tsunami survivor, Indonesia

Mother and child at a Merlin clinic, Sudan

In 1993, three young friends - a doctor, a manager and a logistician - set out to create a charitable organization to send medical teams into disaster zones. Dr. Christopher Besse, Nicholas Mellor and Mark Dalton sought to harness the energy, expertise and goodwill of doctors, nurses and other professionals, and enable them to work overseas to care for the sick, prevent disease and help develop local health services.

From an office in a spare bedroom of a house in London, Merlin organized its first mission: a convoy bound for war-torn Bosnia carrying £1million worth of essential food and medicines. Since then, Merlin has grown dramatically - evolving into a specialist charity with a unique mandate to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies, then stay to rebuild local health services until they are ready to operate effectively and independently.

To date, Merlin has worked in 39 countries and responded to many of the most serious humanitarian emergencies in recent history, including the Rwandan genocide, Hurricane Mitch, the 2003 war in Iraq, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Darfur, and the Myanmar cyclone.

As we celebrate the fifteenth year of Merlin programs, we are poised to become one of the world’s leading medical aid agencies, with ambitions to expand our capacity for emergency response and to launch new operations in Zimbabwe, Yemen and Sierra Leone.

Snapshots from 15 years in the field

1994 - Pioneering project for mothers and babies in Afghanistan

Merlin helped reestablish women's rights to health care when the Taliban came to power in Kandahar and banned women from practicing as health workers or being treated by men.  Nurse Rachael Tapsell was the first Western woman allowed into the city after the Taliban occupation. She led a team that negotiated with the authorities to train midwives and set up special clinics for women and children. Merlin has worked in Afghanistan ever since.

2003 – Emergency health service support in post-invasion Iraq

In April 2003, Merlin was one of the first international NGOs to enter Iraq after the fall of Baghdad. We immediately supported the Ministry of Health to carry out a rapid assessment of all health facilities in Baghdad; delivered essential medical equipment and drugs to aid 60,000 people; and implemented water and sanitation projects that continue to benefit a quarter of a million people.

Merlin went on to train local doctors and health workers, rehabilitate 137 clinics and 2 pediatric units, and improve access to health care for Baghdad’s poorest populations. Merlin had to leave after 18 months, but we are now exploring the option of working with local organizations.

2008 – Emergency response to Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar (Burma)

On May 2nd and 3rd, a massive cyclone struck Myanmar’s Ayyarwaddy Delta, killing 138,000 and leaving 2.4 million people in need of emergency medical treatment, food and shelter. Merlin’s staff in the Delta arrived within hours and was quickly joined on the ground by members of the Merlin Response Team from London. The operation grew quickly and currently includes 325 staff and a fleet of 36 boats. Merlin has helped 350,000 people and over 13,000 have been treated by medical staff.

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