Grants and Contributions

The project aims to reduce poverty and contribute to closing the gender gap in youth employment by improving the job readiness and employability of 12,000 youth, including 7,200 young women. In Nicaragua, youth aged 15 to 29 are disproportionately affected by unemployment. Young women face additional challenges and are more likely to work informally and under vulnerable conditions.

The project employs a youth-centered model that includes: (1) providing gender sensitive technical and life-skills trainings and raising youth awareness on labour-related issues; (2) providing job search trainings and creating/strengthening networks to increase youth access to job information and/or entrepreneurship opportunities; and (3) increasing youth participation in public space and networks by fostering alliances with the private and public sectors in the search for employment.

As women are under-represented in the labour market and earn significantly less than men (55% of male salaries in urban areas and 24% in rural areas), the project integrates specific actions that address gender-specific barriers in gaining and retaining employment. These actions include among others: gender-sensitive training material and methods, public campaigns and awareness raising sessions for employers, and raising young women’s voices in public space and networks, while engaging men on gender issues.

The project aims to increase the economic empowerment of Indigenous women and youth in Alta Verapaz in Guatemala by strengthening business practices of small-scale enterprises led by Indigenous women and youth, and by developing an enabling environment for those enterprises to grow and prosper. The project contributes to increasing the entrepreneurship skills of Indigenous women and youth’s, as well as their access to resources and to markets. It works to increase the social, economic and political engagement of key stakeholders on issues regarding their rights, leadership, economic empowerment, social justice, and the prevention of gender-based violence. Project activities include: (1) training on business and financial administration, environmentally and climate-resilient production practices, and social responsibility; (2) providing technological innovation packages; (3) delivering awareness-raising sessions to market actors and service providers on gender-sensitive services; (4) developing advocacy plans with women’s rights organizations to influence public policies and programs; and (5) delivering awareness-raising campaigns and workshops to key community and economic stakeholders, and local authorities to improve policies and programs in support of Indigenous women and youth’s economic empowerment, rights, and environmental sustainability.

The project aims to transform gender and age group relations in Senegal in order to improve the status of women, young women and young men, as well as their influence and decision making power within their households, communities and farming organizations. It aims to increase access to economic opportunities that are adapted to climate change in irrigated crop sectors. The project also aims to increase the ability of women and young adults to control agricultural resources. It facilitates cooperation among stakeholders of integrated management processes for water resources through irrigated crops adapted to climate change. Project activities include: 1) developing training modules for emerging women and youth leaders on rights, leadership, and gender and intergenerational issues; 2) analyzing markets in target sectors to identify cost-effective and innovative opportunities based on adaptation priorities; and 3) identifying common adaptation strategies for climate variability and the resources available to address climate risks..

The project seeks to conduct a field-based analysis in Lebanon in order to better understand how multi-year planning and funding impacts field realities and beneficiary populations in regards to humanitarian assistance. Also, this analysis examines best practices and challenges faced by the humanitarian organizations and donors involved through their direct experience. This project also aims to explore the conditions under which multi-year humanitarian funding (MYF) maximizes gender-responsive humanitarian action, including the extent to which gender considerations are integrated into the design and implementation of multi-year humanitarian responses.

Project activities include: (1) gathering data and empirical evidence to map out multi-year funding in Lebanon; (2) consulting stakeholders to identify challenges and good practices for multi-year humanitarian funding; and (3) supporting the logistics and organization of a global workshop with key stakeholders on multi-year humanitarian funding.

March 2019 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provides international protection and assistance to the world’s refugees, stateless persons, asylum seekers, and in some instances, internally-displaced persons. The UNHCR searches for lasting solutions to their situations. With the support of GAC and other donors, the project provides assistance and protection to refugees, internally-displaced persons and other persons of concern in twenty countries across the world.

Project activities include: (1) providing shelter, clothing and other essential non-food items; (2) providing adequate water, sanitation and health services, including in reproductive health; (3) providing opportunities for education and livelihoods support; (4) providing protection, including against sexual and gender-based violence, child protection and working with governments to register asylum seekers and refugees, and help issue identity documents; (5) working with governments to support refugee self-reliance and forge peaceful relations between refugees and local citizens; and (6) expanding opportunities for durable solutions for people of concern.

March 2019 - Severe food shortages and record hyperinflation have put buying food and medicine out of reach for many Venezuelans and has heavily impacted their ability to meet basic needs. Over 3.3 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, many of whom are currently residing in neighbouring countries such as Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. As the situation continues to deteriorate in Venezuela, vulnerable and crisis-affected populations are in need of critical assistance including basic health support, food security and nutrition, protection, and water and sanitation assistance.

With GAC’s support, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is working in ODA- eligible countries in the Americas to help support the response to the Venezuela refugee and migrant situation in the region.

Project activities include: (1) providing emergency shelter kits, non-food items and multi-purpose cash; (2) coordinating camp management for IDPs in United Nations bases; (3) deploying mobile teams to remote locations where affected populations lack water, sanitation and hygiene services; (4) providing emergency water, sanitation and hygiene; (5) supporting humanitarian organizations by: (i) establishing lightweight camps in deep field locations, heavy base camps and national NGO support centres; and (ii) providing cargo transport services; (6) data collection that includes mapping of vulnerable populations at points of entry, and at the district and community levels for enhanced targeting and delivery of assistance; and (7) protection and gender mainstreaming across humanitarian response activities for extremely vulnerable individuals, including unaccompanied migrant children, and single women and adolescent girls.

March 2019 - This grant represents Canada's support to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in seven countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Sudan. IOM provides humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, migrants, and host communities. IOM provides assistance in multiple sectors, including protection, shelter, emergency non-food items, water, sanitation and hygiene services, livelihoods and camp coordination and management.

With the support of Canada and other donors, IOM is facilitating access to essential relief items and adequate living conditions for crisis-affected populations, including IDPs, refugees, migrants, returnees, and host communities.

Project activities include: (1) providing emergency shelter kits, non-food items and multi-purpose cash; (2) coordinating camp management for IDPs in United Nations bases; (3) deploying mobile teams to remote locations where affected populations lack water, sanitation and hygiene services; (4) providing emergency water, sanitation and hygiene; (5) supporting humanitarian organizations by: establishing lightweight camps in deep field locations, heavy base camps and national NGO support centres, and providing cargo transport services; (6) data collection that includes mapping of vulnerable populations at points of entry, and at the district and community levels for enhanced targeting and delivery of assistance; and (7) protection and gender mainstreaming across humanitarian response activities for extremely vulnerable individuals, including unaccompanied migrant children, and single women and adolescent girls.

March 2019 – The Africa region continues to accommodate the largest population of concern to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) worldwide, with more than 24 million people of concern. The Asia and Pacific region is home to nearly 9.5 million people of concern to the UNHCR, and the Americas includes close to 10 million persons of concern. The UNHCR provides international protection and assistance to the world’s refugees, stateless persons, asylum seekers, and in some instances, internally-displaced persons and searches for lasting solutions to their situations.

With the support of GAC and other donors, UNCHR is helping provide assistance and protection to refugees, internally-displaced persons and other persons of concern in Africa, the Americas and Asia in ODA-eligible countries. Project activities include: (1) providing shelter, clothing and other essential non-food items; (2) providing adequate water, sanitation and health services, including reproductive health; (3) providing opportunities for education and livelihoods support; (4) providing protection against sexual and gender-based violence, and for children; (5) working with governments to register asylum seekers and refugees, and helping issue identity documents; (6) working with governments to support refugee self-reliance and forge peaceful relations between refugees and local citizens; and (7) expanding opportunities for durable solutions for people of concern.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) primary mandate is to oversee the coordination of international humanitarian responses, in partnership with national and international actors, in order to achieve more coherent and effective humanitarian action. This grant represents Canada’s support to OCHA in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

With the support of Canada and other donors, OCHA fulfills its mandate by: (1) strengthening humanitarian leadership; (2) establishing and overseeing coordination systems; (3) monitoring and reporting on humanitarian situations; (4) advocating on behalf of affected people; (5) supporting the assessment and prioritization of humanitarian needs and strategic planning; (6) promoting emergency preparedness; and (7) mobilizing funding for humanitarian assistance.

March 2019 - Over 3.3 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, many of whom are currently residing in neighbouring countries such as Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In addition to hosting over 1 million Venezuelans, Colombia continues to suffer from the effects of longstanding violence and armed conflict between armed groups and criminal gangs. Crisis-affected people, including those in host communities, are in need of basic health assistance, food and nutrition assistance, protection services, shelter, and water and sanitation.

With GAC’s support, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is helping address the basic health and protection needs of up to 5,100 crisis-affected people in the department of Norte de Santander in Colombia. Project activities include: (1) providing quality prenatal and postnatal care to up to 1,300 women and adolescent girls; (2) offering other sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning services and clinical care for vulnerable people and/or survivors of sexual and gender-based violence; (3) improving access to emergency care for up to 200 girls and boys under the age of five; (4) providing psychosocial services to crisis-affected people; (5) providing a safe space for up to 1,000 women and adolescent girls; and (6) providing emergency cash-based transfers to vulnerable households.