Ukrainian peacebuilder Nina Potarska sails to challenge illegal blockade of Gaza
Nina Potarska, a member of the ICAN-spearheaded Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership, is currently at sea with the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian-led mission organized with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, en route to Gaza.
The Odd Couple: Women Peacebuilders and Security Actors Bridging Positions, Building Trust
The WPS agenda has proven a vital entry point for women peacebuilders to engage with the security sector and build trust within affected communities. These efforts—often invisible—are contributing to the reform of the sector, reshaping local security environments and mitigating violence.
The War Against Ourselves: Afghan Women Peacebuilders’ Response to the Mental Health Crisis in Afghanistan
This case study describes the drivers of the mental health crisis in Afghanistan, its gendered and cultural dimensions, and the strategies used by Afghan women-led peacebuilding organizations to provide solutions. The authors conducted interviews with representatives of Afghan women-led peacebuilding organizations and thematic experts, which were complemented by a desk review of project documentation and […]
Home»Our Stories»
ICAN Partner Food4Humanity: The Frontlines of Yemen’s COVID-19 Response
ICAN Partner Food4Humanity: The Frontlines of Yemen’s COVID-19 Response
18 October 2022
* The original version of this article was first published in July 2021 in ICAN’s Annual Report 2020.
As the deadly war continues in Yemen, the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in 2020 threatened to exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation. Ongoing clashes between armed groups on the ground and continued aerial bombings put immense strain on weak medical services, making it dangerous and difficult for humanitarian organizations to respond or deliver aid. Despite being underfunded and excluded from decision-making, women-led peacebuilding organizations fill the gaps left by the state and international organizations in reaching the frontlines of the war and the country’s remote areas, while also advocating strongly for a ceasefire, and an end to international support for the warring parties.
Established in 2015, ICAN partner, Food4Humanity is one of Yemen’s first women-led non-profit civil society organizations. The organization was founded by Yemeni women volunteers working on the ground in the areas most affected by famine, humanitarian crises and violent extremism. In addition to humanitarian aid, Food4Humanity strives to strengthen community resilience against radicalization and support livelihood initiatives. It also conducts advocacy work calling for the cessation of hostilities in Yemen and an inclusive peace with equal participation and representation in the peace process.
With their knowledge of humanitarian corridors, ability to negotiate access, and understanding of the real needs of the Yemeni population, Food4Humanity was well-positioned to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a special COVID-19 grant issued by ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund (IPF) of $27,900, Food4Humanity pivoted their work to:
Provide humanitarian response and localize the COVID-19 prevention guidelines;
Carry out a digital and print awareness campaign;
Establish a women-led health and awareness center in Taiz;
Conduct training for women living in high-risk slums on virus prevention and;
Provide the trainees with tools for sharing the information with their communities.
As an immediate response, Food4Humanity provided 200 households with food parcels, trained a total of 50 women on COVID-19 prevention, and distributed full PPE gear to 80 doctors and nurses in Sanaa, as well as 200 masks to medical staff in Aden and Hodeidah. For the long-term, Food4Humanity’s interventions in communities has earned them trust and provided opportunities to access new groups for their peacebuilding interventions. Their project opened new channels of communication between the organization and government offices, security officials and other entities in Sana’a and elsewhere. These new relationships have improved the safety of volunteers.
Food4Humanity’s mediation efforts have also benefitted as they are perceived as a positive actor in communities. The increased trust and credibility have created new avenues for the participation of the organization’s Founder and Chair, Muna Luqman, in security dialogues related to the conflict on national scale and to local community security conflicts in the city of Taiz.
It is with immense grief and shock that we share the tragic news that our dear sister, friend and colleague, Sureya Roble Hersi passed away on Friday October 25, 2024, in Mombasa, Kenya.
El proyecto "Voces femeninas para la paz" de Conciudadanía, que cuenta con el apoyo del Mecanismo de Respuesta Rápida del WPHF y de ICAN, promueve la participación política de las mujeres y sensibiliza sobre los problemas, intereses y necesidades de las mujeres del departamento de Antioquia, en el noroccidente colombiano.
Supported by the WPHF Rapid Response Window and ICAN, Conciudadanía's “Female Voices for Peace” project promotes women’s political participation and raises awareness about the issues, interests, and needs of women in the department of Antioquia in northwestern Colombia.
ICAN, in partnership with the Permanent Missions of Norway, Sweden, and Canada, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (UKFCDO), the Ministry of Gender, Child and Welfare of South Sudan, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and the National Transformational Leadership Institute (NTLI), convened a 1.5-day workshop to discuss how to strengthen community security as a localized, transformative approach for sustainable peace.
Allamin FoundationAWAPSAAWAWCIASECoACTExclude from RSSGEN MyanmarICAN FeaturedICAN UpdatesMobaderoonPAIMANPCIDPolicy AdvocacyWomen's Alliance for Security Leadership
On Sunday, February 4, 2024, our dear friend, partner, and colleague, Enass Muzamel, Co-Founder of the Sudanese peacebuilding organization Madaniya, passed away due to a sudden illness. We express our deepest sympathies to Enass’ family, friends, and colleagues in Sudan and around the world. Together with them, we are in deep shock and mourning for […]
With support from the Rapid Response Window of the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund in partnership with the International Civil Society Action Network, Women Relief Aid, a South Sudanese women-led NGO and member of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership, is making remarkable strides to improve realities for women in the country.
Exclude from RSSICAN LatestICAN UpdatesOur StoriesStoriesWomen Relief Aid
On November 22, 2023, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)—in partnership with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), and Karama hosted a high-level dialogue to reimagine partnerships and coordination between women peacebuilders, international mediation, humanitarian, and development actors in crises and conflict settings.
ICAN was invited to attend the Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy Conference at the World Forum in The Hague from November 1-2, 2023. Organized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the conference welcomed more than 750 participants from over 40 countries.
On the first day of the conference, ICAN hosted a side event titled: No Feminist Foreign Policy Without Feminist Funding, in partnership with GPPAC.
Today, over 1 billion people still lack access to clean water and electricity. Environmental and climate change exacerbates this problem and exposes fragile and conflict-affected communities to further risk and insecurity. While the link between resource scarcity and conflict is well understood, the potential for natural resource governance to facilitate peacebuilding is less well researched.
On Thursday, October 5, 2023, ICAN welcomed Bas Berends, Co-founder and Chief Partnership Officer at OffGridBox, to join our WASL community call.
Exclude from RSSG&E SummariesICAN UpdatesWASL UpdatesWomen's Alliance for Security Leadership
