How 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. With support from the United States Agency for International…
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 MoreRaising Awareness about Flood Risks in Vulnerable Areas of Gaza
By Ziad Bakri Ahmad*, a father of six children, lives with his family in Khuzaa village. Like many others living in the Gaza Strip, he and his family face daily challenges related to hazards that accompany the winter season, from sewage overflow and flooding to frequent power outages and frigid temperatures. More than 148,500 people…
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 Palestine, 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…
Read MoreSupporting Households Impacted by Poorly Processed Wastewater on the Gaza Strip
On the Gaza Strip, access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is fragile and an estimated 25% of households are not connected to the wastewater network. Access to WASH varies drastically by location, as many unconnected households are outside of Gaza’s five largest cities. Chronic power shortages limit regular operation of treatment plants, leading to…
Read MoreChallenging Malnutrition When Widespread Hunger Prevails in Yemen
One-year-old Mohammed and his family live in the Qa’atabah district of Yemen, near constant conflict that has killed and injured civilians and impeded access to essential goods and services for the past seven years. When volunteers from the Yemen Emergency Food Assistance (YEFA) III program first met Mohammed, he was 14 months old and suffering…
Read MoreDisaster Planning Pays Off in Northwest Syria
By Adile Sahin Originally from Hama, Asem has been displaced several times, like most Syrians, to escape the war at home. First forced to flee in 2012, he was displaced to the Idleb countryside, where he opened a hygiene materials shop. However, the village was later bombed by an air strike, during which Asem suffered…
Read MoreUsing the New Digital Savings Group Hub to Eliminate Paper, Inspire Savings
Digitization can feel overwhelming — and even risky when considering inherent equity and access issues. Yet, with the right resources, organizations can go paper-free, or at least reduce that paper output, and save money in the process. We chatted with Paulina Rudnicka, Senior Technical Advisor for Gender Integration at Global Communities, about the launch of…
Read MoreThe Vitas Lab: Building Brighter Futures Through Financial Innovation
By Rohit Kulkarni and Lizzie Hickman Low- and middle-income countries were hit hard by COVID-19, as revenue streams dried up and government enforced lockdowns shuttered workplaces. Cracks in Lebanon’s financial system started in 2019 but were exacerbated by the pandemic. As a result, the Lebanese economy has undergone one of the worst peacetime collapses in…
Read MoreFinding a Safe Space in Syria: Hamida’s Story
For more than half of her life, Hamida has been exposed to the trauma, violence and instability of war. The 20-year-old, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is one of 14.6 million people currently in need of humanitarian assistance due to the ongoing crisis in Syria. Recognizing that women and girls often…
Read MoreReflecting on USAID YouthPower Jordan’s Long-Lasting Impact
By: Carrie Hessler-Radelet, President of Global Communities We at Global Communities believe that today’s youth should not have to wait to become leaders, because they already have a vision of the world in which they want to live. With access to the right tools, training and networks, youth can build an enabling environment and simultaneously…
Read MoreSolar-Powered Pumping System Brings Clean Water to Community in Yemen
Yemen’s ongoing conflict had pushed the community of Al-Mahfad to undertake extreme measures to deal with water shortage. Residents were given access to water only once every four days, and water pumps were limited to operating only six hours per day. Not surprisingly, the burden of collecting water fell on women and children. “I used…
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