Through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s COVID-19 response, Empower Pacific is supporting Fijians grappling with the economic, social and health repercussions of the global pandemic.

For women in Sinjar, Iraq, seeking sexual, reproductive and maternal health care, the AHP’s Building Peaceful Futures response has brought services closer to home.

In Fiji, the Ketesa community primarily earned their incomes through selling woodcarvings to hotels and local retail outlets. But the pandemic closed the doors on international tourism. Through partner CAN DO, AHP has supported new ways forward for the community.

Many communities and households in Tonga have to travel significant distances to access clean water. As part of the AHP COVID-19 response, water tanks are bringing supplies closer to home, improving hygiene and freeing up time.

Returning home after escaping ISIS conflict was made all the more challenging for Marjana and her family due to a lack of clean drinking water. Through the Building Peaceful Futures consortium, home water filters are making life easier and healthier for returnees.

Water scarcity was identified as key challenge for communities in Samoa wanting to keep safe from the COVID-19 pandemic. New water tanks and water harvesting systems are supporting clean, safe access.

Women and girls in displaced persons camps in Rakhine state, Myanmar, face many barriers to education and employment. Through the AHP Education in Emergencies response, women and girls are being encouraged into the classroom as both students and teachers.

Through the AHP Disaster READY program, Plan International Timor-Leste is supporting training for farmers in terracing, an agricultural technique of shaping sloping land to control erosion.

In Vanuatu, CAN DO partners are working on a national media and community education campaign on including marginalised groups in disaster response and preparedness, supported by Disaster READY.

Students at San Isidro Care Centre in Northwest Guadalcanal are learning new livelihoods and food security skills through the AHP COVID-19 response in Solomon Islands.

Through the AHP COVID-19 Response, new Village Savings and Loan Groups in Tanna, Vanuatu, are supporting women and men to put aside savings to grow their businesses or achieve family goals.

Churches are a key part of community life in Tuvalu. As part of the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s COVID-19 response, church leaders are being trained on providing psychological support to communities.

Through Disaster READY, communities in Bobonaro, Timor-Leste, have been supported to protect their water sources from contamination, improving community health and agriculture.

For villages along the Bebui River in Viqueque, Timor-Leste, the river is an important water source. Now, a community-designed early warning system is saving lives along the river during the dangerous rainy season.

Ten schools and surrounding communities in Madang have prepared hazard maps for disaster preparedness, with the support of the Disaster READY program.

AHP-supported psychosocial support and skill development programs for Rohingya women, including those with disabilities, in Cox’s Bazar are aiming to reduce gender-based violence and increase independence.

Children in Solomon Islands have learned how to protect themselves from earthquakes and tsunamis through a school-based disaster risk reduction program.

Disaster READY partner NGO Childfund PNG, in consortium with Plan Australia, has been supporting local-level governments in Papua New Guinea’s Central Province to better prepare for disasters through planning and training.

Through the AHP Disaster READY program, three parishes in Oecusse, Timor-Leste, have been supported to install water tanks and access training on community-based disaster risk management.