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SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL does not forget women in crisis

Published on Tuesday 23 February 2016

According to the 2015 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report on the Status of the World Population, women are forgotten in humanitarian crisis. At SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL, gender and individuals are systematically taken into account in their programs.

“Of the more than 100 million people currently displaced or uprooted by a conflict or natural disaster, one quarter are women or adolescents from 15 to 49 years old, whose primary needs regarding health are often neglected in the framework of humanitarian interventions”explains the UNFPA report. Nevertheless, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s teams always try to take into account gender in their humanitarian response. For each country and population with a different culture, our teams ensure the definition of adapted programs in their analysis, including in emergencies. “For example, after the earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015, we defined and gave out different modules promoting hygiene, adapted to each category of the concerned population. Women were trained on food hygiene and on hygiene for children. Men were trained in good practices in the use of construction materials in order to respect the basic rules of security and hygiene”, explains SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s emergency team manager Thierry Benlahsen.

women nepal

Apart from emergencies, the same methodology is adapted for different contexts. Crisis in Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, or Central African refugees in Cameroon, our teams take into account all individuals for each kind of crisis. Our teams also adapt their response to women who are often already in poverty or vulnerable in their home community. A situation which worsens in the case of conflict or disaster. Women and young girls are then more exposed especially regarding health. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL brings specific solutions to counter these risks.

Afghanistan: prioritize the access to family sanitation structures

In Khost province of Afghanistan, where thousands of Pakistanis found refuge when fleeing the fight between the Army and the Taliban, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s teams made it possible to reinforce access to hygiene for women in Gulan camp. “We recruited promoters of feminine hygiene to reach them. Furthermore, blocks of emergency latrines/showers have been installed in each encampment to enable each family access to sanitary infrastructures adapted to the cultural environment. The installation of public latrines would not have ensured women’s access to essential infrastructures. They also improved women’s private life within the camp, because they usually don’t have space inside their tents for personal hygiene”, according to Valentina Origoni, program manager for our activities in Asia.

women afghanistan

In Cameroon, our income generating activity beneficiaries are 90% women

Thousands of Central African refugees have come to the Eastern part of Cameroon to flee the violence which started in their country in December 2013. In order to help, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has intervened since August 2014 in the transit site of Garoua Boulaï, the refugee site of Gado and in the host villages of Gado and Ndokayo. “In the refugee camp of Gado and its host village, 46.8% of the targeted households in the fruit and vegetable producing sector are headed by a woman. On the same project, 27 of the 30 income-generating activities (IGA) supported by our teams are managed by a woman. They represent 90% of the individuals targeted by this project. These income-generating activities will enable them to feed themselves and retain their dignity”, explains Charline Coate, Sahel program manager.

women cameroon

In Lebanon, 30% of the cash program beneficiaries are women

In Lebanon, millions of Syrians came to seek refuge in the country, fleeing the civil war which started five years ago. SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s teams present in the Tripoli region of North Lebanon are developing assistance to the most vulnerable households via an unconditional cash transfer program. “This activity enables 1,690 households to meet their basic needs. Within the households who benefit from the program, at least 30% of the heads of household are women. This cash, amounting to $175 per month, enables them to provide for the family’s basic needs, buy water, buy food, pay rent, and also handle illnesses by being able to buy the necessary medicine”, says Lise Salavert, program manager for the Syrian crisis.

women lebanon

Waste management in Somalia

Health also comes from a good waste management. This is how in Somalia, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s teams put in place a Water, Hygiene and Sanitation program that is particularly supported by women. “One of the programs’ activities was to support 19 groups of women, young and displaced people, in the solid waste management in the districts of Adaado and Abudwa. Within these groups, half were exclusively composed by women. These groups were therefore trained to the three principles of waste management: reduction, reuse and recycling (3 Rs). For example, groups were trained to reuse food, animal and vegetable waste to make compost. This, to reinforce these groups’ skills to enable them to create revenue from these activities, while at the same time clearing the environment of badly managed waste. Some groups opened shops to sell baskets and vases made from recycling diverse plastic objects”, says Amélie Cardon, Somalia program manager.

women somalia

From Haiti to Myanmar, from South Sudan to Bangladesh, or, as described above in Somalia, Cameroon, Lebanon or Afghanistan, all the organisation’s programs integrate gender as soon as implemented in order to bring appropriate, efficient and focused help.

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