In partnership with Provincial Health Authorities and AHP NGOs, community leaders in Papua New Guinea are being empowered with correct information on COVID-19 to become advocates for vaccination.

In Cox’s Bazar, few Rohingya living with disabilities have accessible latrines in their homes or communities. Work by AHP partners is supporting better access to WASH in the camps for all. For 13-year-old Fatema and her mother, an accessible latrine has improved their quality of life.

Through pilots of cash and voucher support in Papua New Guinea, Disaster READY partners are improving financial literacy while supporting resilience.

One of the greatest concerns for children on the move and those who have fled their homes due to conflict is missing out on their education. As part of the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, Plan International and Save the Children are supporting Syrian refugees living in Jordan, ensuring that they are receiving the education they deserve and not being left behind.

Communicating information about the pandemic to Samoa’s Deaf community proved challenging for national disability organisation Nuanua O Le Alofa, with more than half not knowing formal sign language. With AHP support, they held a week-long forum to support the Deaf community to understand the pandemic, and other key issues.

Community members in Naqaravutu village, Fiji, were able to assist a shocked family who lost their home in a recent fire after participating in Psychological First Aid training through Empower Pacific, supported by AHP.

The opportunity to start a sewing business has helped Warda, 23, support her family after years of displacement due to conflict in Iraq.

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.