Led by Dr. Mark Doidge and founding members Henry Gold and Simcha Jacobovici, CPAR was founded in 1984 in response to the extreme famine and the critical health crisis faced by Ethiopian refugees in Sudan. At this time, CPAR’s work began in the form of emergency relief – providing food aid and medical relief. These initial actions were the catalyst for CPAR’s evolution and transformation into a development organization that not only responds to the immediate needs of a community but also takes a long-term sustainable approach in ensuring that this community will have access to life’s most basic needs. CPAR's geographic presence has since expanded from Ethiopia to Malawi (1991), Uganda (1992), and Tanzania (2001) in east Africa. CPAR’s work has also continues to evolve and now revolves around the integrated pillars of developing access to clean water, adequate food, primary health care, secure livelihoods, and a healthy environment to support the needs of vulnerable communities in Africa. Physicians continue to be an integral part of CPAR’s base of supporters which has grown rapidly to include more than 10,000 Canadians from coast to coast. CPAR’s work has also attracted the attention of major international funders like UNICEF, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), USAID, UNDP and the World Food Program.