Empowering women and girls to achieve their rights is a fundamental pillar of peaceful development in the Balkans, says CARE International in its latest report: Evidence of Change in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the Balkans. 

The report focuses on CARE’s work in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia over the past seven years and highlights the impact of programs and partnerships to overcome poverty and marginalisation of minorities.

‘With this publication we strive to showcase the real life impact of our work in the Balkan region and be accountable to the people we work for as well as the donors who make our work possible,’ says Felix Wolff, CARE’s Regional Director for the Balkans.

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As the world marks World Environment Day today, CARE Australia is urging people to remember people in poorcountries who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is ‘Eat, Think, Save’ and CARE Australia’s Climate Change Advisor, Edward Boydell, said Australians should use the day to think about the impact their actions are having on the planet.

Speaking from Vietnam, he said climate change was having a profound impact on everyone, but that people living in developing countries were particularly threatened. 

‘Climate change threatens the lives of billions of people, however the vast majority of those affected are the world’s poorest, who have little responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions that have created global warming. 

‘Here in Vietnam for instance, rural poor communities are facing increasing challenges from climate change including rising sea levels, intense floods and unpredictable rainfall. These are compounded by other pressures including high food prices and unequal access to land and resources,’ Mr Boydell added.

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As world leaders prepare for the Hunger Summit in London on 8 June, international aid organisation CARE Australia is urging governments around the world to put female small-scale farmers in developing countries at the centre of efforts to end hunger.
 
Focusing on women is vital because women account for 60 to 80 per cent of food production in developing countries, and yet only five per cent of government agricultural services, such as training in agriculture techniques and livestock vaccination programs, ever reach women farmers.
 
CARE Australia CEO Dr Julia Newton-Howes said, ‘The single biggest ‘game changer’ in ending hunger would be greater support for women farmers. Simply helping them to grow more food in their gardens could break the cycle of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.’

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Unprecedented levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere provide stark new evidence that the pace of climate change is increasing with alarming consequences for millions of the world’s poorest people, international development agency CARE International says.

According to new scientific data, the concentration of CO2 per million molecules of air has passed the 400 mark for the first time since records began. The latest readings were taken at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii on 9 May.

Ed Boydell, CARE Australia’s Climate Change Advisor said, ‘Scientists have repeatedly warned that passing 400 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere will put us on an ever more dangerous and irreversible trajectory towards devastating climate change. This is now an alarming reality.’

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Following assessments, CARE emergency teams in Myanmar and Bangladesh found that Cyclone Mahasen caused little damage as it passed over coastal Bangladesh and spared Myanmar almost entirely.

“Thankfully, Cyclone Mahasen has not had the impact that we feared in Myanmar, but the Government’s and all stakeholders’ efforts and preparedness to respond have been laudable," said Brian Agland, CARE Country Director in Myanmar. 

"Now, CARE and other humanitarian agencies are working with the Government, and monitoring the situation to ensure the needs of the people who have been evacuated, and are required to return to the pre-cyclone locations – some 100,000 people across 13 townships, many of them women and children – are considered.

"As we are still at the beginning of the cyclone season in this region, we need to continue to be prepared, and ensure that those who return are not placed in further danger.”

Many of the returnees are Internally Displaced People who have been living in makeshift camps in Sittwe area. CARE Myanmar is ready to support the Government to build adequate temporary shelters and mitigate the risks of future natural disasters that the returnees are likely to be facing.

In Sittwe, CARE is also distributing, through government agencies, 1,300 family emergency kits, including plastic sheeting, tarps, hygiene items, water pumps to families who have been evacuated and are vulnerable.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, CARE Assistant Country Director Alex Maclean said:

“We are very glad Mahasen did not have the feared devastating impact on Bangladesh as expected, and we commend the excellent preparedness actions of the Bangladeshi Government to minimise loss and damage.

"Bangladesh is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world, with regular flooding and cyclonic events, and CARE Bangladesh will continue to work to ensure that families can prepare and protect themselves from these catastrophes, and we respond to emergencies when needed.”

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Syrian refugee children are being abandoned by the international community as funds run dry, humanitarian aid organisation CARE International warns.

CARE’s household assessment of more than 1,900 Syrian refugees living in urban sections of Jordan has revealed that in some areas 60 per cent of school-aged children are not getting an education. In many cases, families are forced to prioritise food, water and shelter over sending children to school.

Kevin Fitzcharles, CARE’s Country Director in Jordan, said: ‘What happens now, in the short term, will have an impact on this generation of Syrian children. If these children miss out on their right to an education they might never be able to escape a life of poverty. A decent education provides children the foundation they need to reach their full potential, and is a basic right that no child should be denied.’

The assessment of Syrian refugees in the Mufraq, Irbid, Madaba and Zarqa areas of Jordan found that 50 per cent of boys aged 13 to17 were working to support their family income. In addition, 55 per cent of refugee households headed by women reported no income. CARE is concerned that the number of children having to work is likely to rise as mothers face increasing financial pressures.

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As thousands of Syrians continue to flee conflict every day, seeking safety in neighbouring Jordan, humanitarian aid agency CARE warns that many refugees are invisible as they seek shelter in Jordan’s towns and cities.   

According to the UNHCR, the total number of Syrian refugees living in urban areas is now approximately 291,000 compared to 117,000 living in camps. More than 367,000 people have sought registration with the UNHCR although the Jordanian government estimates the total figure is as high as 420,000. 

Dr Julia Newton-Howes, CEO of CARE Australia said: ‘The majority of Syrian refugees in Jordan are living in urban areas, outside of the refugee camps, making it harder for them to access vital help. It is not well recognised that the refugee population is widely dispersed in Jordan’s cities and towns.’

CARE Australia has launched the Syrian Refugee Crisis Appeal to support its work to provide lifesaving assistance to Syrians seeking refuge in Jordan. 

CARE is supporting refugees in urban areas of Jordan and has reached more than 30,000 Syrians (5,000 families) with case management support, referrals and cash assistance to pay for basic living costs, such as rent and food. 

Late last year, CARE Jordan opened a support centre for Syrian refugees where they receive relief items and information on where and how to access further health and social support. Around 750 people seek help at the centre each week. The centre is assisted by volunteers who are Syrian refugees themselves.

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Actress Angelina Jolie has met with survivors of sexual violence while visiting CARE’s work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A special envoy for UNHCR, Angelina Jolie visited CARE’s Ujio Wetu project, which focuses on the holistic wellbeing of sexual violence survivors in Kayna, Goma and Karisimbi. CARE works to ensure that survivors of sexual violence gain access to quality and timely care including HIV and pregnancy prevention treatments.

CARE is helping women like Josephine, a mother-of-eight who was raped near Lac Vert camp on October 22 last year.

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International aid organisation CARE says people living in Laos - the most bombed country in the world - need greater support to clear land that is suitable for income-generating activities.

As the world prepares to mark International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, in Laos unexploded ordnances (UXO) contamination still affects more than 25 per cent of Lao villages.

Lao PDR is the most bombed country in the world per capita. More than two million tons of ordnance was dropped on the country during the Second Indochina War (1964-1973), and up to 30 per cent of ordnance did not detonate.

CARE Laos Country Director Glenn Bond said, ‘UXO contamination continues to threaten the physical safety, livelihoods and food security of people living in some of the most remote and vulnerable communities in Laos.’

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CARE Australia has urged Australian-owned companies looking to invest in rapidly changing Myanmar not to be complicit in land grabbing.

Recent political reforms in Myanmar have seen foreign governments including Australia gradually lift sanctions on the nation, yet at the same time there has been an increase in land theft as state agencies and domestic companies promote the country’s potential for commercial agriculture and encourage foreign investment.

Visiting Australia CARE Myanmar Policy and Communication Coordinator and Chair of the Land Core Group, U Shwe Thein, said land theft was pushing already poor rural families deeper into poverty and if left unchecked, had the potential to undermine the country’s progress.   

'Around 70 per cent of Myanmar’s population (around 40 million people) live in rural areas and rely on farmland and forests to survive,' said Mr Thein.

CARE is working with local partners in Myanmar to develop and roll-out land rights training to rural communities and farmers and is advocating for changes to new land laws that facilitate land grabbing and exploitation of farmers’ land.

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On 22 February, Cyclone Haruna made landfall in southwestern Madagascar. The cyclone went across the island over a period of 24 hours, bringing with it extreme winds up to 200 km/h.

John Uniack Davis, Country Director of CARE Madagascar said there had been major crop damage from Morombe to Tulear. 

'Apparently around one-third of food crops is corn and two-thirds rice, and it seems that almost all of the corn in coastal areas had been blown down.'  

'Two days after the cyclone passed, at least two-thirds of rice paddies reamins flooded.  If this does not drain soon, there will be major losses to the rice crop.'

At least one-third of the city of Tulear is still under water, and the whole city is without power. According to the Government of Madagascar, more than 22,00 people are affected by Haruna’s destruction.

The CARE response team saw schools and other public buildings that had lost their roofs.  Many homes were destroyed as well, leaving many families homeless.

'People will certainly need plastic sheeting to quickly repair their houses. As usual in such emergencies, women-headed households, the elderly, and all those without the means or manual labor are most affected since they are often unable to rebuild their homes quickly,' said Davis.

On the day Haruna hit Madagascar, CARE shipped plastic sheeting and other basic relief items to the affected area and quickly started distributing it to the most affected people. 

Help CARE rapidly respond to emergencies like  Cyclone Haruna by donating to our Global Emergency Fund.