A new feedback mechanism in Vanuatu supported by AHP partners is ensuring better communication between communities and government for disaster preparedness and response.

The COVID-19 pandemic made it tougher for Florence’s community in Solomon Islands to access seeds and agricultural materials. But with support from AHP, young people in the community have banded together to support food security for all.

When an AHP-supported health post in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, burnt down last year, dedicated staff restored services to the community in just two days. But rebuilding the health post itself was an eight-month long challenge. Now the health post is back to full operations, with more space.

Local food is important for the resilience and health of Vanuatu families, especially as they have weathered the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. An innovative food festival in South Pentecost last year highlighted local cooking and preservation techniques, and communities are now planning for it to become an annual event.

For Mayan, 65, who was kidnapped by ISIS, returning home to Sinjar after years of displacement meant rebuilding her family’s livestock business from scratch. With the support of the AHP Building Peaceful Futures response in Iraq, her business and life is back on track.

For three Rohingya sisters living with hearing and speech disabilities, the Women and Girls Safe Space in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, has opened up new social, learning and creative opportunities.

Reading and writing are skills that many of us take for granted. But for Nadia, 50, a lack of schooling meant she struggled to move around her community or use a phone to call her children. Literacy classes for women supported by AHP have boosted her confidence and created new friendships.

For 15-year-old Sathi, winning a prize in a primary school football competition ignited her dreams of becoming a famous player. But Sathi lives in a remote village in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where football is considered a boys' game. Through an AHP-supported youth club, Sathi found a way to create her own team.

Through the AHP response in Jordan, facilitators and outreach staff are being trained to bring education activities to Jordanian and Syrian children and young people who are not currently attending school.

For Rebeya Begum and other women in her village in Bangladesh, bathing was a cause of daily worries and waits. After receiving support from AHP partners to build a better bathing facility, women and girls feel safer and more confident.

For students living in Myanmar’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, access to temporary learning centres has been a lifeline. Students are enthusiastically back in the classroom after COVID-19 closed the centres for more than a year.

With COVID-19 vaccine mis-information reaching some of the remotest communities in PNG at a rapid pace, AHP partners are working hard to support greater vaccine uptake by building trust and sharing facts.

When her village gained improved access to water with support from Disaster READY, Doroteia was able to become a businesswoman, selling her produce at market.

Terejinha worried about the river every wet season, wondering if it might sweep away her modest home and everything in it. Through Disaster READY, Timor-Leste partners devised a solution.

In Kiribati, training for preschool teachers, alongside new handwashing facilities, is instilling good hygiene practices in some of the country’s youngest citizens.

In Teknaf, Bangladesh, adolescent boys and girls are usually not allowed to learn together or socialise. But an AHP-supported youth club is challenging gender stereotypes while increasing access to education.

Residents of Halimea village in Timor-Leste say they have had problems with water access for 450 years. But all that has changed after support from the AHP Disaster READY program.

In Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, COVID-19 outbreaks have impacted the ability of rural communities to travel to town. Through the AHP COVID-19 response, new agricultural methods are supporting food security and resilience in hard-to-reach communities.

The Meri Gat Pawa, Meri Gat Infomesen (Women have Power, Women have Information) partnership is one aspect of the AHP COVID-19 response in PNG and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Read how these women are working with Digicel to get COVID-19 information out to as many people as possible.

COVID-19 vaccine resistance in Papua New Guinea is strong, with social media playing a role. AHP partners are tacking mis-information and fake news on a number of levels, including a digital campaign on Facebook.