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Coping with Drought and Climate Change in Zambia (CDCC) Project in Gwembe District of Southern Province
Zambia is currently experiencing severe food insecurity and water shortages due to the worst drought seen in the country since 1981. A total of 2.3 million people are affected and are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. The purpose of this project was to improve the food and nutritional security of drought-affected small-scale farmers in Zambia, specifically Gwembe District, to restore their livelihoods, and to enhance their resilience to future climate threats. Read More...
Building sustainable and scalable peer-based programming: promising approaches from TESFA in Ethiopia
This research was written by Pari Chowdhary, Feven Tassaw Mekuria, Dagmawit Tewahido, Hanna Gulema, Ryan Derni, and Jefrey Edmeades.
In Ethiopia's Amara region, girls encounter child marriage at a high rate. They are also less able to negotiate sex or use family planning. With the purpose of improving their lives, CARE's TESFA program delivered reproductive health and financial savings curriculum to married girls through peer-based solidarity groups to 5,000 adolescent girls. This was divided into 3 interventions: sexual and reproductive health, economic empowerment, and a combination of both. Participants reported improvement in both areas. Four years after TESFA, 88% of groups communicated meeting without continued CARE's assistance, and some of the girl participants created new groups following the TESFA model. Also, some girls that did not participate in TESFA, replicated the model to create their own groups. Despite this, there is still in question who contributed to this sustainment and scale-up of groups.
Original article: https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12978-021-01304-7
Originally published by Biomedcentral and is republished under the creative commons 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). Read More...
In Ethiopia's Amara region, girls encounter child marriage at a high rate. They are also less able to negotiate sex or use family planning. With the purpose of improving their lives, CARE's TESFA program delivered reproductive health and financial savings curriculum to married girls through peer-based solidarity groups to 5,000 adolescent girls. This was divided into 3 interventions: sexual and reproductive health, economic empowerment, and a combination of both. Participants reported improvement in both areas. Four years after TESFA, 88% of groups communicated meeting without continued CARE's assistance, and some of the girl participants created new groups following the TESFA model. Also, some girls that did not participate in TESFA, replicated the model to create their own groups. Despite this, there is still in question who contributed to this sustainment and scale-up of groups.
Original article: https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12978-021-01304-7
Originally published by Biomedcentral and is republished under the creative commons 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). Read More...
Conflict Sensitive Rapid Gender Analysis Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
The on-going armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado that started in 2017 and the mass displacement it caused have created a complex humanitarian crisis in one of Mozambique’s poorest regions, Cabo Delgado. Prior to the crisis, Cabo Delgado province already suffered from high levels of poverty and absence of services. This situation has been worsened by the crisis which depleted what little resilience the province’s population had. Host communities find themselves having to share already scarce resources. There are evident signs of solidarity fatigue and tensions between IDPs and host communities result in frequent conflicts.
IDPs in Cabo Delgado are suffering from dire living conditions, extremely limited access to basic services and struggling to meet essential needs. Widespread lack of access to cash and income generating opportunities are causing negative multi-layered gendered impacts on the lives of IDPs. IDPs living in resettlement centres are among
those most vulnerable, women and children making up the majority of residents, where access to resources or income generating opportunities is very limited. Female-headed IDP households have constrained access to land when compared to their male counterparts, making subsistence farming difficult. The combination of these factors
has led to the commodification of humanitarian aid with the sale of part of the food received through humanitarian assistance being a prevalent practice.
While humanitarian assistance has been vital in meeting IDPs’ most urgent needs, there are still immense and persistent needs. Life at resettlement centres is difficult and protection risks abound, particularly for women and girls. Water is scarce and fetching it is an arduous and often dangerous task for women and girls. Access to health care is
limited, including to maternal and sexual and reproductive health services. Reports of sexual exploitation and abuse were frequent and included cases of community leaders requesting money or sex in exchange for guaranteed access to humanitarian aid. Read More...
IDPs in Cabo Delgado are suffering from dire living conditions, extremely limited access to basic services and struggling to meet essential needs. Widespread lack of access to cash and income generating opportunities are causing negative multi-layered gendered impacts on the lives of IDPs. IDPs living in resettlement centres are among
those most vulnerable, women and children making up the majority of residents, where access to resources or income generating opportunities is very limited. Female-headed IDP households have constrained access to land when compared to their male counterparts, making subsistence farming difficult. The combination of these factors
has led to the commodification of humanitarian aid with the sale of part of the food received through humanitarian assistance being a prevalent practice.
While humanitarian assistance has been vital in meeting IDPs’ most urgent needs, there are still immense and persistent needs. Life at resettlement centres is difficult and protection risks abound, particularly for women and girls. Water is scarce and fetching it is an arduous and often dangerous task for women and girls. Access to health care is
limited, including to maternal and sexual and reproductive health services. Reports of sexual exploitation and abuse were frequent and included cases of community leaders requesting money or sex in exchange for guaranteed access to humanitarian aid. Read More...
Baseline Study of the Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs) in Niger
This report is a baseline study of three Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (legacy Office of Food for Peace [FFP] in Niger. Part of the Resilience in the Sahel-Enhanced (RISE) initiative, the RFSAs in Niger are: Girma in the Zinder region, implemented by Catholic Relief Services; Hamzari in the Maradi region, implemented by CARE; and Wadata in the Zinder region, implemented by Save the Children. The RFSAs aim to address critical challenges in food security, nutrition, and poverty, and to improve the resilience of households and communities. The baseline study included a representative population-based survey (PBS) of 2,325 households (775 households per RFSA area). Data collection was scheduled for May–April 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic fieldwork was suspended until local regulations and conditions indicated that face-to-face interviewing could safely resume with COVID-19 mitigation procedures in place. The survey was conducted in September 2020 and ended at the start of the harvest period in October 2020. The sample was selected using a multi-stage clustered sampling design to provide a statistically representative sample of the three RFSA areas. The questionnaire was streamlined from the standard FFP questionnaire for a non-permissive environment. Estimates of impact-level indicators pertaining to poverty and anthropometry were expected to be derived from the RISE II baseline survey, scheduled to take place a few months after the RFSA baseline survey. Read More...
COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among People in Kailali, Nepal
COVID-19 has caused massive disruption and destruction worldwide, with millions of deaths since 2019. Vaccination plays a vital role in ending COVID-19. The objective of the study was to assess
the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and its determinants among the general population aged 18 years and above. A total of 506 participants were interviewed in the study. A quantitative questionnaire covered socio-demographic characteristics of the respondent's knowledge related to the vaccine, misconceptions related to the vaccine, perceived reliable sources, and acceptability of the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was 76% in the study area. The vaccine acceptance rate was slightly lower among female participants (74%) in comparison to their male counterparts (78%). The Bivariate analysis showed a significant association of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine with the municipality, caste/ethnicity, and family type. Similarly, in the multivariate analysis, religion, caste/ethnicity, and disability statuses were found to be significantly associated with vaccine acceptance. Concluding that the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be curbed if people do not accept the vaccine. The findings of the study showed that a considerable proportion of the respondents did not accept the vaccine due to fear of the side effects and doubt about vaccine efficacy. Therefore there is a need to increase advocacy and awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine to increase people's trust in it. Read More...
the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and its determinants among the general population aged 18 years and above. A total of 506 participants were interviewed in the study. A quantitative questionnaire covered socio-demographic characteristics of the respondent's knowledge related to the vaccine, misconceptions related to the vaccine, perceived reliable sources, and acceptability of the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was 76% in the study area. The vaccine acceptance rate was slightly lower among female participants (74%) in comparison to their male counterparts (78%). The Bivariate analysis showed a significant association of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine with the municipality, caste/ethnicity, and family type. Similarly, in the multivariate analysis, religion, caste/ethnicity, and disability statuses were found to be significantly associated with vaccine acceptance. Concluding that the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be curbed if people do not accept the vaccine. The findings of the study showed that a considerable proportion of the respondents did not accept the vaccine due to fear of the side effects and doubt about vaccine efficacy. Therefore there is a need to increase advocacy and awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine to increase people's trust in it. Read More...
Supporting meaningful civic engagement for improved accountability by leveraging digital technologies
The baseline assessment for the “Supporting meaningful civic engagement for improved accountability by leveraging digital technologies” project was conducted to develop values for baseline indicators and provide evidence with regards to the degree of satisfaction and level of dialogue target beneficiary groups have with public service providers. Data from this baseline assessment will enable comparisons between the start, during the course of the project, and at the end of the project. Baseline respondents were chosen from key project beneficiaries: citizens, youth (aged 15 to 30 years old), local authorities/services providers (commune and district levels, healthcare centers, and primary schools), and Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs). A total of 906 respondents were interviewed for the baseline. Read More...
Strengthening Approaches for Maximizing Maternal and Newborn Health (SAMMAN)
The use of the family planning method enables people to achieve their desired number of children and helps to reduce unintended and high-risk pregnancies and unsafe abortions, which contributes to saving the lives of many women. The main objective of this study is to examine the post-intervention impact on the use of family planning methods among married women of reproductive age in Nepal. Read More...
Localization in Practice: Realities from Women’s Rights and Women-Led Organizations in Poland
During the invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, violence against women and girls, especially intimate partner violence and sexual violence, increased rapidly. Since February 2022, the situation has deteriorated to alarming new levels. Exacerbated and pervasive violence against Ukrainian women and girls is a consequence of war, with women and girls continuing to be abused, exploited, and raped in Ukraine and while they flee to other countries. An increasing number of survivors are coming forward, buttressed by additional reports from women’s rights activists, service providers, humanitarian organizations, and UN agencies. As conflict in Ukraine pushes millions of women to seek refuge abroad, those leaving remain highly vulnerable to risks like trafficking, or may face sexual exploitation and abuse when seeking access to accommodation, transportation, or financial resources.
Women’s organizations in Poland, particularly those providing services to survivors of violence and working on women’s rights, are reporting more and more requests for assistance from sexual violence survivors inside Ukraine. Polish civil society has demonstrated their commitment and fitness to respond to the growing humanitarian needs, but the international community must step up with financial and technical support to ensure that a sustainable, localized approach can continue. Read More...
Women’s organizations in Poland, particularly those providing services to survivors of violence and working on women’s rights, are reporting more and more requests for assistance from sexual violence survivors inside Ukraine. Polish civil society has demonstrated their commitment and fitness to respond to the growing humanitarian needs, but the international community must step up with financial and technical support to ensure that a sustainable, localized approach can continue. Read More...