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June 14, 2022
June 8, 2022
How investments in gender equality have kept health systems running during COVID-19 Even before COVID-19, investments in health systems—and especially female health workers—were too low. In 2019 the world had a gap of 18 million health workers. Two years and 15 million deaths later, we have at least 26 million fewer health workers than we need. This leaves us severely unprepared for future pandemics and other major shocks to the health system, including conflict and climate change. We must invest in health systems that don’t just meet the needs of today, but that are also resilient in the face of future shocks. Pandemic preparedness requires gender equality: equal recognition, support, and fair pay for ALL health workers. Globally, 70% of health workers are women, but half of their work is unpaid. We must do more to support these health workers. The glimmers of success in COVID-19 built on previous investments in women health workers, their skills, and equality in health systems. Pre-existing investments in equality helped systems respond to COVID-19. Increased investments will build better resilience for the crises that come next. Read More
Since 2015, CARE has been tracking impact metrics in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2021, CARE shifted to 30 impact indicators for CARE’s Vision 2030, still aligned with the SDGs. The SDGs represent a collective, global commitment to a transformed world. It is only right that an organization like CARE also be accountable to demonstrating how its work contributes to these shared goals toward this collective vision. Between 2015 and 2021 CARE and our partners have contributed to global change for 161 million people in 83 countries. We use the word “contributions” deliberately: in all our work, change happens through the combined efforts of many different actors, including civil society and movements, governments, and the private sector. Our programs are just some of the contributing factors that lead to these impacts and outcomes. Read More
Since September 2021, CARE Tanzania has worked as a partner to the Government of Tanzania to improve vaccine access across the country. CARE’s logistical support has helped the government to cover large, underserved geographical areas. To increase vaccine uptake, CARE staff has also engaged local Community Health Workers (CHWs) to address vaccination misconceptions and developed improved health communication and data management tools. With these new resources, these health workers on the front lines have put in place two new strategies. First, COVID-19 vaccination is now integrated with other basic health services at local facilities. Second, the CHWs are now conducting targeted outreach informed by local concerns to address vaccine hesitancy in women and children. Now, not only are vaccinations being provided, CHWs have confirmed that women have increased their acceptance of vaccination shots. Read More
Since Ukrainian women and girls started crossing the border into Poland in February, Polish civil society and women’s organizations been tested like never before. Demand and need for their services has skyrocketed as millions of women and girls from Ukraine seek refuge and support services in Poland. CARE spoke with representatives from 11 women’s rights organizations and women-led organizations in Poland. They told us what their organizations need, what they are concerned about, and what their recommendations for the future of the response are. Read More
Globally an estimated 1.1 billion women, nearly one in three, are excluded from the formal financial system. This is particularly true in humanitarian crises. The Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model with its focus on establishing low cost, self-administered informal financial services - with the ability to link to formal financial institutions where available - has the potential to help address this gap and lay a foundation for future economic recovery. Since 2019, CARE has been working through our VSLA in Emergencies (VSLAiE) approach to increase sectoral learning on how to successfully implement VSLAs in some of the most challenging crisis affected settings. Read More
The lives of people across Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by the humanitarian crisis brought on by the invasion on 24 February 2022. As of 29 April, 5.5 million refugees have already fled Ukraine, and the number of internally displaced persons has reached 7.7 million. Read More
Agricultural collectives are one of the most important platforms across the globe for small-scale farmers and their households and communities to democratically organize around common goals for prosperity and well-being. To support CARE’s commitment to fulfilling the rights to food, water and nutrition security for women and youth small-scale producers and their families, CARE and partners implement programmes that support competitiveness, gender transformative change, and social solidarity of farmers by establishing and strengthening business-oriented farmer collectives, often with the integration of approaches for gender justice. Drawing on programmatic learnings, in addition to the lived experiences of members throughout the world, CARE believes that collectives play a significant role in building social cohesion and strengthening individual and collective agency; advancing access to and control over resources; changing harmful and discriminatory gender norms; engaging governance structures to change laws; advocating for policy and practices that uphold women’s economic, social and political rights; and, driving socioeconomic development by providing structures for actors to collectively advance their common interests. Read More
To better understand the potential for agricultural collectives to empower women, this literature review is conducted using the theoretical lenses of two key frameworks: She Feeds the World and the Gender Equality Framework. Read More
CARE’s work with collectives to build group conscientization and collective empowerment is an important pathway to address the deep structural power and relational barriers that create and reinforce gender and socioeconomic inequalities. To better understand the role that collectives play in CARE’s work to create gender transformative food and water systems, CARE, with support from the Cornell Atkinson Partnership, carried out a wide-ranging qualitative investigation of its work with agricultural collectives in Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Georgia, and Bangladesh. Read More