Protecting Children in Emergencies: Perspectives from Syria and Ukraine
By Emily Galloway, Tarek Fakhereddin, Nataliia Biloshytska and Tania Dudnyk Global Communities has a rich history of providing emergency aid and protection services to refugees and internally displaced people in many crisis settings, from Ukraine and Gaza to Syria and Guatemala. This includes our Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) programming, which supports the well-being of…
Read MoreAdapting and Innovating in a Volatile World: Reflections from the 2024 Fragility Forum
By Paula Rudnicka, Sr. Manager for Public Affairs Last month, the World Bank held its 2024 Fragility Forum – a biannual conference that brings together policymakers, researchers and practitioners from humanitarian, development and peacebuilding communities to exchange knowledge and ideas about how to improve our approaches in fragile, conflict and violence-affected settings. This year’s theme…
Read More‘Survival, Resilience and Solidarity’: Our Relief Efforts in Gaza
By Maureen Simpson Now over four months in, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, with one in four households facing famine levels of food insecurity and severely limited access to safe water. “Our mornings begin with a silent check – are the kids, is everyone, alright?” said Mohammad, one of 74 staff…
Read MoreGlobal Communities and Local Organizations Mobilize to Provide Emergency Meals in Gaza
Gaza Strip – Global Communities, in collaboration with Palestine Islamic Bank (PIB) and other partners, recently distributed meals to families displaced by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The initiative reached over 2,800 families, amounting to assistance for more than 14,000 individuals. Each received at least two hot meals amid dropping winter temperatures. In this collaborative…
Read MoreGlobal Communities Mourns Loss of Colleague and Family in Gaza Airstrike
Gaza Strip — We are deeply saddened to confirm the tragic loss of our colleague, Hani Jnena (33), along with his family in Gaza, including his wife, Abeer (32), and their two young daughters, Mariam and Zayna, aged 4 and 2. Based on the information currently available to us, the young family was killed on…
Read MorePreventing and Responding to Gender-based Violence in Humanitarian Settings
By Emily Galloway, Sr. Advisor for Global Protection, Global Communities Gender-based violence (GBV) is a pervasive issue that disproportionately affects women, girls and vulnerable individuals during emergencies. In disaster or conflict-affected areas, gender inequalities and power dynamics can both exacerbate existing risks of GBV and create new ones. While risks are always context-specific, we see…
Read MoreGlobal Communities and Bank of Palestine Team Up to Provide Winterization Aid in Gaza
Gaza Strip — As part of its ongoing humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, Global Communities is collaborating with the Bank of Palestine to distribute winter clothing vouchers. The Bank of Palestine has committed to funding this program, aiming to reach 1,000 families with much-needed support during the cold season. Despite the scarcity of resources,…
Read MoreBrainstorming Climate Adaptation and Resilience in Diverse Programming
By Paula Rudnicka, Sr. Manager for Public Affairs & Chioma Okafor, Sr. Technical Advisor for Local Capacity Strengthening Last month InterAction held its annual Forum, which brought together organizations, changemakers and executives from the public, private and nongovernmental sectors to explore the most pressing issues facing the world today. Sarah Charles, who oversees the Bureau…
Read MoreOpen Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel
#CeasefireNow: Open Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel to Prevent a Humanitarian Catastrophe and Further Loss of Innocent Lives We have witnessed unfathomable death and destruction in the Gaza Strip and Israel. Thousands of people have been killed, injured, displaced, and nearly two hundred remain held hostage, including children and elderly.…
Read MoreHow Vitas Jordan is Supporting Medical Centers through a New Digital Loan Product
By Lizzie Hickman The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in the global medical supply chain. Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and medications made it challenging for hospitals and clinics to treat patients and contain the virus. In Jordan, where public hospitals lacked beds and ventilators, the government ramped up domestic production of PPE and…
Read MoreTackling Sewage Issues in Northern Gaza for Healthier Homes and Neighborhoods
By Nour Zaqqout For years, Rami*, his four children, eight married brothers and other extended family have lived in a building plagued by chronic sewage issues in the Beit Lahia area of northern Gaza. No matter the season, leaking pipes, blockages and frequent manhole flooding have inconvenienced the residents and posed serious health risks. During…
Read MoreProviding Professional Development Opportunities to Graduate Engineers in the Gaza Strip
By Ziad Bakri and Nour Zaqqout Seven graduate students are one step closer to building a better future for themselves and the world at large after completing a seven-month engineering fellowship focused on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) construction projects in the West Bank and Gaza. Global Communities welcomed the first cohort of engineers in…
Read MorePass the Mic: Using Data to Improve and Adapt Emergency Food Assistance Programs
By Paula Rudnicka, Sr. Manager for Public Affairs at Global Communities Using reliable, quality data in humanitarian settings is critical to ensuring that life-saving interventions reach affected populations in a timely and equitable manner. While evidence-based decision-making should be a trademark of any emergency response program, data collected in crisis contexts is not always translated…
Read MoreImproving the Livelihoods & Living Conditions of Gaza Youth through WASH Projects
Global Communities recently began implementing 10 construction projects that will directly impact the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs of 3,497 households in the Gaza Strip. The projects include the installation of new water pipes, water tanks, toilets and shower taps as well as construction of a new sewage network and stormwater pipelines in seven…
Read MoreHygiene Promotion Team Protects Families from Diseases in Northwest Syria
By Adile Sahin Ali, 37, lives with six family members in Atmeh, which hosts more than 157,400 internally displaced people in northwest Syria. The camp was established in 2011, following the start of the country’s now decades-long conflict, and sits on graded agricultural land that lacks a proper sewage drainage system. Over the last 10…
Read MoreSupporting Families through Winter in Gaza
By Ziad Bakri and Lizzie Hickman In Gaza, winter brings near freezing temperatures and torrential rain, leaving families that cannot afford to winterize their homes at the mercy of the weather. To help families overcome winter-related challenges, Global Communities distributed 350 winterization and hygiene kits and conducted health promotion sessions with 3,485 households in the…
Read MoreGlobal Communities Ramps up WASH Services in Response to Cholera Outbreak in Syria
Atmeh, Syria – Global Communities is responding to a major cholera outbreak that has been spreading across Syria, ramping up water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for more than 157,000 internally displaced people at Atmeh camp in northwest Syria. Between August 25 and November 5, at least 35,569 suspected cases – including 92 deaths –…
Read MoreRight to Care: Family-Centered Approaches for Vulnerable Children and Adolescents
By Betty Adera The impact of disasters, complexities of humanitarian crises and ongoing effects of climate change pose major threats to the lives of children. These challenges impact the most vulnerable among us and expose them to health, water and food insecurity; exploitation and sexual violence; deprivation and neglect. Long-standing, systemic human and child rights…
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