Blog
Preventing Unnecessary Cervical Cancer Deaths in Zambia
Worldwide, women and girls are needlessly suffering from a disease that is preventable and curable. Cervical cancer has historically been overlooked by health systems, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue and left more women underserved. Each year, more than 260,000 women, almost 90 percent from low- and middle-income countries, die from cervical cancer…
Read MoreSCORE Holds International Webinar on Transformative Role of Women During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled all sectors of society to face new realities, particularly women as they face increased financial difficulties as well as having more responsibilities with children’s education at home which, for many, is now both the work place and learning space. Women in our society have the extra burden of providing caregiving…
Read MoreUSAID SCORE in Sri Lanka Provides 4,000 Hygiene Kits to Help Vulnerable Women During COVID-19
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Over the last month, the U.S. Government donated 4,000 personal hygiene kits to low-income women in the Western Province in Sri Lanka. On November 23rd, 850 kits were handed off to Rosy Senanayake, the mayor of Colombo, to be distributed among Colombo Municipal Council workers and residents of Modara. Many…
Read MoreUSAID SCORE in Sri Lanka Supports Hospitals and Health Offices in Matara and Kalutara to Contain COVID-19 Spread
With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, health authorities experienced an urgent need of personal protective equipment (PPE) to contain the spread of the virus, but since contagion is rapid, authorities are struggling with limited resources. Some Medical Officer of Health (MOH) offices in Matara do not even have enough thermal…
Read MoreSCORE Assists Schools with Setting Up Health Rooms and Added Healthcare Among Schoolchildren
By Kathya de Silva Senarath The Ministry of Health has instructed schools to take necessary steps to ensure basic precautionary measures against COVID-19. Among its many guidelines, the ministry recommends setting up separate health rooms at schools for isolation and related care when necessary. However, schools in marginalized areas have limited capacities to set up…
Read More‘Our Harvest’ Project Delivers Food, Hope to Guatemalan Families
Since the Government of Guatemala announced a “state of calamity” following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala, PCI, a Global Communities Partner, has continued to coordinate the procurement and delivery of fresh food to local schoolchildren through Nuestra Cosecha. PCI implements Nuestra Cosecha (“Our Harvest” in Spanish) in partnership with Save the Children…
Read MoreUSAID Mission Director Sheryl Stumbras at Emerging Farmers Partnership Launch and MOU Signing
This article was originally published by USAID. Harry Ngoma, USAID/Zambia Minister of Agriculture Honorable Michael Katambo, Global Communities COP Nobel Moyo, Corteva Country Director Samson Nyendwa, Afgri Representative Rayno Van Niekerk, Ladies and Gentlemen, All protocols observed. It is a great honor for me to be here with you at the signing of this memorandum…
Read MoreUSAID HEWS Program to Provide Post-Hurricane Shelter and WASH Support in Honduras
To respond to the substantial emergency needs brought on by recent hurricanes in Honduras, Global Communities has launched Honduras Emergency WASH and Shelter (HEWS), a six-month program in the country’s Cortés, Copán, Ocotepeque and Santa Bárbara departments. The program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), aims to address…
Read More‘Orange the World’: Tackling Gender Inequalities Exacerbated by COVID-19
Last year, for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, I shared my observations as a maternal and child nurse working in low-resourced environments. Reflecting on lessons from Ebola, natural disasters and outbreaks of violence, I called for the need for health systems and services to prioritize the needs of women and girls. In…
Read MoreHuman Rights Day 2020: Standing Up for Human Rights
This Human Rights Day, Global Communities is actively working to help protect vulnerable populations around the world, particularly in Syria, where after six long years, individuals are still displaced by the millions. The resulting refugee crisis is the largest in history, and Global Communities is responding to the needs of refugees and the displaced across…
Read MoreDreaming of and Driving toward an AIDS-free Botswana
Ask any adolescent girl or young woman what she wants to be when she grows up and the list will be as endless and unique as the girl herself. Some will say doctors and nurses or pilots and accountants, while others will want to make their mark as educators, entrepreneurs or celebrities in music, art…
Read MoreTransformative Role of Women during COVID-19 and Beyond: Challenges & Opportunities Webinar
A panel discussion to mark the UN-declared 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 9 December 2020, Wednesday, 03:30-05:00 p.m. To register visit: https://forms.gle/FgMw5KcGCAbKiGyS7 USAID Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Activity, implemented through Global Communities, is pleased to announce a panel discussion held in response to the challenges and opportunities for women with the ongoing…
Read MoreSCORE-Facilitated Legal Clinic on Radio Creates Awareness Among Communities, Prompts Action
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Many agree that suspicion and cynicism against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka existed for some time alongside the larger ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils caused by the 30-year civil war. Competition on socio-economic gains, land issues – especially in the North and East – and the general lack…
Read MoreSCORE’s Timely Donations to Combat Covid-19 Help Build Capacities to Speed Up Opening of Kilinochchi Hospital
by Kathya de Silva Senarath The government opened its first regional Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Kilinochchi in the Northern Province on November 11, 2020, as a part of an island-wide program to increase capacities to treat the growing number of Covid-19 patients in the area. The USAID-funded Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE) project,…
Read MoreSCORE Helps Sharpen Women’s Knowledge and Leadership Skills to Promote Good Governance
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Before Covid-19 hit Sri Lanka, long queues were the usual scene at hospitals, and patients had to wait a long time to get medicine. Such was the case at the Vavuniya General Hospital as Samantha Sebanesarani, an Urban Councilor recalls, when she went for checkups. Additionally, the pharmacy closes during…
Read MoreSCORE, Through Partner Shanthiham, Increases Access to Mental Health Services During Covid-19 Lockdown and Beyond
By Kathya de Silva Senarath The Covid-19 pandemic is not only a health issue— it is also an economic issue with businesses declaring bankruptcy and many losing livelihoods due to lockdowns and other disruptions to the economy. While significant focus must remain on addressing economic shocks and treating the physically ill, the pandemic’s impact on…
Read MoreLearning to Collaborate Through Sowing Futures in Argentina
“While Manuel has always been the type of student to speak up in front of his peers, his class is not very diverse in terms of ideas and those who speak up in public generally expose themselves to negative feedback from their peers,” explains Jorgelina Allegranza, professor of philosophy and the leader of the secondary…
Read MoreJoining Forces Against the COVID-19 Pandemic in Tanzania
In a bold effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania, PCI Tanzania and the Mara regional government have teamed up to jointly implement interventions that will contribute to slowing spread of the disease. More than 55 million cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, and the last publicly released data from Tanzania showed…
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