Browse by Theme: Aid Effectiveness

Last year, 2020, should have represented the best year ever for EU gender equality policy-making and commitments. Over the course of the year, the EU made some great strides on gender equality and indeed, the year very nearly was a total triumph for EU gender equality ambition. Disappointingly, however, the EU had some inconsistencies in its approach to gender equality throughout the year and also, deplorably, rolled back on previous, fundamental commitments by the end of the year. In this context, can the EU remain a trailblazer and leader on gender equality in 2021 and beyond?

After a busy and challenging 2020, we at CARE, like many of you, were eager to turn the page to 2021. The new year is now upon us, and while many challenges remain for us to work through and overcome, it seems like a good time to reflect on the progress that has been made, even under difficult circumstances. We are particularly excited to celebrate a milestone anniversary – CARE’s Bihar Technical Support Programme (BTSP) in India is entering its 10th year of operation!

When the coronavirus pandemic hit Mali, most families CARE works with that had been eating three meals a day suddenly had to drop to eating only once a day. The combination of markets closing, quarantine measures, and falling incomes meant that people had to conserve food carefully. Six months later, most of those families are eating three meals a day again. Why? Because local communities mobilised to share information, and worked with CARE to distribute cash transfers to the families most in need.

How does an INGO like CARE contribute to sustainable, systemic change at scale, far beyond the direct work we and our partners carry out with communities? That is the challenge we’ve put at the heart of our new 10-year strategy. Drawing on learning from within CARE’s programs and within the wider scaling up community, we have also developed a new guidance note, outlining six pathways to Impact at Scale. These pathways are framed around Riddell and Moore’s three approaches of scaling up, scaling out and scaling deep.

Rumours are circulating once again about a possible cut to the UK’s overseas aid budget. As we all battle against COVID-19 in every part of the world, now is a time to stand together, not turn our backs on the people who need us most.

We asked CARE’s teams responding to COVID-19: what would you change if you could do it all over again? The answers showed that, as ever, CARE staff show remarkable learning, adaptability, and ambition to change the world – even in the face of a global pandemic.

By Ajaz Ahmed Khan and Affan Cheema

Faith is central to the lives of many people living in poverty. It is often the lens through which they view the world and a way for them to make sense of life’s experiences. However, this reality is rarely acknowledged, much less invested in or harnessed by many international development organisations. Instead, faith is often either ignored or perceived to have a negative influence, particularly in relation to Muslim communities. We feel that that these views arise from a lack of understanding.