Climate change, coupled with urbanisation, rapid population growth and environmental degradation, is creating greater risks of disasters. How these are dealt with is largely defined by the frameworks for governmental and local disaster risk reduction (DRR) management and mechanisms. ACT members in Indonesia have been involved in the consultations on the second Hyogo Framework for […]
In August 2013, around the Amur River in the far east of Russia, water levels rose by more than 7.5m, causing severe flooding in 190 villages. Twentyfour thousand people were evacuated and 9,500 houses were damaged. In total, 98,000 people were affected by water damage to their homes and farmlands. One of our members in […]
Violence in the Central African Republic since March 2013 has left millions of people in need of emergency assistance and remains a major hindrance to relief efforts. We have long advocated for security and humanitarian access, and are supporting refugees who are spilling into the neighbouring countries of Chad and the Democratic Republic of the […]
Around 40 per cent of the Guatemalan population is indigenous – mainly Mayan. They suffered most of the 200,000 killings in the 1980s civil war. In 2013, the ACT Guatemala Forum, made up of eight members, commissioned a study about violence against indigenous women, to raise awareness both socially and politically. The study found that […]
The presence of uncontrolled armed groups in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has led to severe insecurity and displacement of people. The terror these groups have unleashed has included sexual violence, killings, arbitrary executions and other gross human rights violations. Tens of thousands of refugees have fled to Uganda to […]
The ACT Alliance Climate Change Award for 2013 was given May 21st to RDRS Bangladesh for best practice in its project, alleviating poverty through disaster risk reduction, which has been implemented in North West part of Bangladesh. Speaking at the award ceremony at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, John Nduna, ACT’s General Secretary said: “As […]
Alarming statistics illustrate the enormous obstacles that remain in the way of eliminating epidemic levels of violence against women and girls. The United Nations indicates that as many as 7 in 10 women in the world report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetimes. In response to these numbers – and to commemorate […]
As the bitter battle for Damascus intensifies and further engulfs the region, ACT Alliance expects that even more than 1.1 million Syrians will seek safety in neighbouring countries before June 1 this year – thereby surpassing the latest United Nations estimates. Nearly 700,000 Syrians have already fled across the border. These refugee numbers come on […]
As their country’s civil war drags on, thousands of Syrian families continue to flee the incessant violence for safety in neighboring countries. Yet in many places where they have taken refuge, the struggle to survive remains a daunting challenge. As of January 17, more than 650,000 Syrian refugees throughout the region had either registered with […]
It looks like any other school yard, any other school day. But it is actually the first school day in Camp Mbere, a refugee camp only a few kilometres from the Malian border in Mauritania. Suddenly a camera attracts the attention and hundreds of children sets of, screaming and laughing. Like any other children. When […]