Browse by Theme: Humanitarian

Having finished up a week of intense discussions on cash programming in Geneva earlier this month, I have to say that even I, a cash advisor who is avidly passionate about cash-based programming, am all “cashed out!” However, there is one major takeaway from the Global Cash Forum that I can’t help thinking about. I was struck by how much the discussion about how best to deliver cash at scale efficiently and effectively dominated the whole day – and for good reason.

CARE International provides humanitarian and development assistance in 79 countries around the world. We are committed to evidence-based delivery, continuous improvement, value for money, and providing appropriate, flexible aid to communities. So cash was always going to be on the agenda for us.

Just past the halfway point of FP2020 – and looking towards next week’s Family Planning Summit – it’s time to celebrate and showcase progress towards our 2020 commitments but also crucially reflect on what more needs to be done to reach women and girls, especially in emergency settings.

On 11 July, the international Family Planning Summit will be held in London, hosted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and UNFPA. One of the Summit’s four priority areas is on reaching the ‘hardest to reach’, including women and girls in humanitarian settings. But why is family planning in emergencies so crucial, and how can it be truly life-saving?

Today, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. It’s a day to raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees and to hold governments accountable for commitments they made under the UN Refugee Convention to protect and assist displaced people. But there are also other sides to the global refugee crisis, which do not get enough attention.

The right to work for refugees is vital. In fact, increasing the economic opportunities for refugees is the only way in which they can become autonomous and productive, escape from long-term limbo and prevent them from being a burden on the state. But this is just one of the ways in which refugees can be supported, and providing the right to work is not an excuse for states to avoid their responsibilities to help people in need. Fundamentally, there needs to be political will and collaboration around a range of interventions and support to resolve refugee crises and an equitable resettlement arrangement should be a part of this.

Today, ministers and senior diplomats from around the world meet with the UN, EU and states involved in the Syrian conflict for a high-level Conference (5 April) to identify ways forward on the crisis. This happens as news from Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib in Syria suggests that an aerial bombardment using chemical weapons has left over 50 dead, and the situation escalates across multiple besieged areas across the country. At the top of the agenda is the question of ‘reconstruction’ – yet what does ‘reconstruction’ mean in a country still at war?