Global Communities

🌟 Exciting Announcement 🌟 Global Communities is thrilled to announce that we are joining forces with IntraHealth International, a renowned global health organization with a shared commitment to saving lives, advancing equity and securing strong futures. Through this agreement, IntraHealth becomes a subsidiary of Global Communities, a strategic combination that increases our collective scale and impact, expanding and deepening our technical portfolios, geographic reach and digital capabilities. Join us in welcoming IntraHealth to the Global Communities family! Together, we will help create a world where health is a universal human right, emergency response is swift and effective, and resilience is ingrained in our global commitments. Read more about our future: https://lnkd.in/ghXq8uSc

MR/Ensalwatta Tamil Vidyalaya is a remote school in Sri Lanka where the challenges of accessing education are palpable. Difficult terrain and limited transportation cause long and costly commutes for students, and the school lacks essential tools and resources needed for learning. Despite the many challenges families face in this region, both the students and their parents show remarkable persistence and determination in pursuing education. In August, the USAID-funded Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Activity launched an Information Technology center aimed at bridging the digital divide for 90 dedicated youth. Learn more about the impact of this new resource: https://bit.ly/4e3tYwO

We welcome the new Locally Led Humanitarian Assistance Policy launched last week by USAID, which outlines their vision for advancing locally led solutions along the continuum that includes emergency response, early recovery, resilience and disaster risk reduction. Its goals include increased funding to local humanitarian organizations, advocacy for local humanitarian leadership and greater capacity strengthening – and sharing – in humanitarian partnerships.    “Locally led solutions are critically important to our humanitarian response programs across the globe,” said Kelly Van Husen Global Communities’ Vice President for Humanitarian Assistance. “We have been working closely with USAID - Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance to implement localization principles in crisis settings for many years. We look forward to our continued partnership and joint efforts to realize the policy in practice.”           The policy acknowledges that partnerships with local actors are vital to providing effective humanitarian assistance and commits USAID to putting local communities at the center of humanitarian work. Learn more about the policy ⬇

At the 25th International AIDS Conference this summer, our staff from both IntraHealth International and Global Communities showcased five evidence-based approaches conducted by HIV projects in Central America, Botswana and South Sudan. Get an overview of the research questions and key findings from colleagues Betty Adera (MPH, PMD, PgMD), Sr. Technical Advisor for HIV/AIDS & Health; Dr. Mario Luis Cooper Medina, Director of Health Programs, Honduras; María Inés Castañeda, Sr. Officer of Qualitative Research, Guatemala; José Eduardo Abdo Retana, Laboratory Specialist, Guatemala; and Gladys Achan, Communications Officer, South Sudan. https://lnkd.in/gvjB4JHK

We are excited to partner with Launch Girls to host a session at the upcoming Global Youth Economic Opportunities Summit in Silver Spring, MD. The session, Beyond Capital: Supporting Young Entrepreneurs through Job Skills Training and Worker Cooperatives, will explore how to create enabling environments for marginalized youth to participate and thrive in their local economies. We will delve into effective entrepreneurship training that develops professional skills through a gender lens, addressing unique challenges and inequalities faced by girls in the Global South. Our USAID Cooperative Development Program CLEAR+ will also share the successes of worker cooperatives in creating supporting environments for youth entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa. 🗓️ This interactive session will take place on September 12, 2024 at 3-4pm ET, and will feature Marissa Cardwell and Tindi Sitati from Global Communities, and Averil Spencer from Launch Girls. 📌 To register, visit the 2024 GYEO Summit website: https://lnkd.in/dQKNky_y

Linguistic discrimination is still prevalent in classrooms across Central America. Every 14 days, one of the 7,000 known languages spoken worldwide dies. By the end of this century, half of these languages will disappear. Incorporating native languages into education helps to preserve children's cultural heritage and has shown to improve learning outcomes. Leonel Arguello, Director of Integrated School Feeding Programs for Global Communities, shares how UNIDOS, a McGovern-Dole Food for Education program in Guatemala, not only helps protect indigenous languages, but also promotes bilingual education and literacy. Read the article: https://bit.ly/4gjF6HC #LiteracyDay #Guatemala #Education USDA USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)

Over the decades, scientific advances have transformed #HIV from a fatal diagnosis to a manageable chronic condition, but prevailing stigma, discrimination and a lack of universal access to healthcare still hold us back from fulfilling a dream of an AIDS-free generation. Achieving this vision is one of the top priorities for us and IntraHealth International, as we combine to apply a holistic approach to global health across the humanitarian and development sectors. This summer, four colleagues attended the 25th International AIDS Conference; read some of their key takeaways and the progress that's giving them hope for the future. https://bit.ly/3TlFYl3 International AIDS Society #PutPeopleFirst #GlobalHealth #AIDS

Global Communities has spent more than two decades implementing HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, nutrition, tuberculosis and cervical cancer programs in Zambia. As part of our commitment to locally-led development, in 2018, we began the process of transitioning our operations to a fully localized entity, Project Concern Zambia (PCZ), governed entirely by Zambians. Local leadership is vital to achieving greater equity, effectiveness and sustainability of development programs. Hear from Yvonne Mulenga, PCZ CEO, about lessons learned in this process and learn more from Chioma Okafor about how localizing PCZ put decision-making in the hands of those closest to community needs: https://bit.ly/4cRtvww #LocallyLed #Localization

Even before the current Israel/Palestinian war, access to clean water and adequate sanitation facilities was a challenge for civilians in Gaza. Now, the situation is so dire that 95% of the population — roughly 1.8 million people — require some form of humanitarian water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance. Despite access constraints to deliver aid into Gaza, we continue to provide and support essential humanitarian WASH services. Scroll to learn how these interventions will help to mitigate health risks, improve living conditions and uphold dignity among the most vulnerable populations in conflict-affected areas lacking these critical facilities. #WorldWaterWeek #WWWeek

Women play a crucial role in food security as producers, farmers, workers and caretakers, yet they face higher levels of hunger and limited access to resources compared to men. The Honduras Agricultural System Support (HASS) program addresses these disparities by teaching technical farming practices and promoting climate-smart agriculture. The program also includes women’s savings groups and engages men as allies to challenge gender norms. This gender-transformative approach empowers women in agricultural and economic activities, fostering a more inclusive environment. Such efforts are vital for building sustainable communities that can withstand climate change and other challenges.