ActionAid Australia

"The women of Gaza are physically exhausted, psychologically broken."

Buthaina from WEFAQ, one of ActionAid's partners in Gaza, describes the unbearable pressure that are experiencing in right now. Please read her story, and continue to join in solidarity with the women of Gaza.

Email Defence Minister Marles, and call for no arms to Israel: https://actionaid.org.au/actions/tell-your-mp-no-arms-to-israel/

Donate to our Gaza Crisis Appeal: https://gaza.actionaid.org.au/

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/sep/04/gaza-is-hell-for-aid-workers-and-it-is-doubly-difficult-if-you-are-a-woman

Gaza is hell for aid workers – and it is doubly difficult if you are a woman | Buthaina Subeh Gaza is now the world’s deadliest place for aid workers, who are providing urgent care to 1.9 million internally displaced Palestinians. Many have lost loved ones themselves yet continue to support others despite the risk, says Buthaina Subeh of the Wefaq Association for Women and Childcare

Pacific communities are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, and in particular are being impacted the most. That's why we're calling for Australia to step up and support a bold goal, in solidarity with our Pacific neighbours.

As a wealthy country and major polluter, Australia needs to support a global goal of US$1 trillion, and commit to contribute our fair share. Australia's leadership will encourage other rich countries to do the same.

We must ensure Pacific communities have the resources needed to build resilience, and address the growing loss and damage they are already experiencing as a result of the lack of climate action by polluting countries like our own.

You can support the campaign by emailing Minister Bowen: https://actionaid.org.au/actions/pacific-climate-finance/

And you can read more in our new report, by ActionAid Australia along with Oxfam Australia, Climate Action Network Australia, the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network - PICAN, the New Zealand Climate Action Network, and has been endorsed by more than 50 organisations across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific: https://actionaid.org.au/resources/seizing-the-moment/

This week we're sending a clear message to PM Anthony Albanese as he joins other world leaders and the UN Secretary-General in Tonga:

As a major polluter, we're calling on Australia to take some leadership and support a US$1 trillion global goal. This money is needed for low-income countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis, particularly for who are disproportionately impacted by .

You can read our new report here, which was authored by Climate Action Network Australia, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network - PICAN, the New Zealand Climate Action Network, ActionAid Australia and Oxfam Australia and has been endorsed by more than 50 organisations across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific: https://actionaid.org.au/resources/seizing-the-moment/

We want to see:
1️⃣ US$1 trillion in grant or grant-equivalent finance globally
2️⃣ The inclusion of loss and damage, mitigation & adaptation
3️⃣ A commitment to contributing our fair share of the new goal

Today we launched our report that calls for a goal of at least US$1 trillion. This money is needed to support low-income countries that are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, particularly for who are disproportionately impacted by climate change.

We’re launching the report today to coincide with the Leaders Meeting in Tonga. PM Anthony Albanese is there with other Pacific Leaders and the UN Secretary-General. We know that climate finance is on the agenda, and we really need Australia to step up and take leadership by supporting a $1 trillion global climate finance goal.

Australia is a wealthy country and major polluter, and we want to see the government show solidarity with our Pacific neighbours who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.

READ THE REPORT: https://actionaid.org.au/resources/seizing-the-moment/

This report was authored by Climate Action Network Australia, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network - PICAN, the New Zealand Climate Action Network, ActionAid Australia and Oxfam Australia and has been endorsed by more than 50 organisations across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific.

Today is World Humanitarian Day, and it comes at a time when humanitarian aid workers face unprecedented challenges in their line of work.

The climate crisis is forcing humanitarian workers to support communities through more frequent extreme disasters, such as droughts, bushfires, flooding and cyclones. This work is particularly crucial for women and girls in low-income countries who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis and are being hardest hit by its impacts, losing access to food, water, homes and livelihoods.

On top of the climate crisis, conflicts around the world are deepening gender inequalities and creating impossible conditions for humanitarian workers. Gaza is one of the deadliest places for aid workers in the world right now. At least 287 humanitarian aid workers, mostly Palestinians, have been killed since October 2023.

Buthaina (pictured) is director of the Wefaq Association for Women and Childcare, one of our partners in Gaza. She shared with us what it's like being a humanitarian worker in Gaza at the moment: "We face big challenges in our work, especially for us as women, including going out and leaving our homes behind to provide humanitarian aid. In providing these services, we too live in a state of fear and tension. When we leave the house, we entrust our home and our children to God: only God knows if we will be returning to them."

Today we're keeping all humanitarian workers in our thoughts. From Palestine to Vanuatu, Nepal, and all over the world, every humanitarian worker has the right to safety and to return home to their family at the end of the day. Their work is life saving and life changing, and is particularly crucial in supporting the millions of women and girls on the frontlines of injustice around the world.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our lunches this week, along with our ambassadors Tracey Spicer AM GAICD and Claire Hooper . Flora Vano from ActionAid Vanuatu and Sujeeta Mathema from ActionAid Nepal shared their stories of the incredible work being done by women around the world in the face of the climate crisis and rising inequality, and left us all feeling very inspired and hopeful about the power and potential of women leaders in times of crisis.

Huge thanks to our activists who ran for women's rights in the City2Surf in Sydney yesterday to raise money for ActionAid. What an effort! 🏃🏻‍♀️

As women’s rights are going backwards around the world and the climate crisis escalates, this conversation is more important than ever before.

Join us as Angela Priestley from Women's Agenda speaks with Flora Vano from ActionAid Vanuatu, and Sujeeta Mathema from ActionAid Nepal.

RSVP: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qGNBQoNrRDqYYj3jj_Ce9w

People around the world are rising up and demanding decolonisation. ✊🏾✊🏿✊🏼✊🏽

As the IMF passes its 80th birthday, ActionAid International Secretary General Arthur Larok calls out its coercive policy advice and damaging legacy, and makes the case to abolish or retire this "lumbering colonial institution".

Let's abolish the IMF on its 80th birthday From Kenya to Pakistan, protesters want the International Monetary Fund to stop exploiting countries in debt crisis

Threats to our world are intensifying - dangerous weather, increased wars and soaring inequality. That's why ActionAid Australia has joined the Safer World For All campaign.

735 million people face chronic hunger
1/6 children live in a conflict zone
Developing countries face billions of dollars in losses due to weather disaters

If we do nothing, today's challenges will become tomorrow's catastrophes. Decisions made by this generation can put the world back on the path to progress, peace and prosperity.

But it wont happen on its own!

Will you add your voice and call for a safer world for all? Sign up at saferworld.org.au

City2Surf is on in just 2 weeks! Over 80,000 people together will run, jog, walk or stroll from Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach. And out there in bright-red shirts will be a team of ActionAid supporters who are taking on the 14km course to raise funds for women's rights. Will you help them? Become an ActionAid fundraiser or show your support for gender equality with a donation 🏃♡ bit.ly/city2surf-actionaidaustralia

Work with us!

We're looking for a Community Mobiliser to grow activism in Australia to tackle global climate justice and gender equality.

This role will support our Activist Network to mobilise around our campaigns, will build strong partnerships within the sector, and will contribute to the development of our team's strategy - growing a feminist movement in Australia and increasing ActionAid's outreach and impact.

We're after someone who is organised, action-oriented, energetic and committed to our values.

Could this be you?

Apply by 5pm, 18 August, right here: https://ow.ly/oxC250SKCEt

What do we mean by a safer world for all?

OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

Everyone everywhere enjoys peaceful, prosperous and fulfilling lives, thriving in communities and countries that protect human rights, provide an adequate standard of income and where extreme poverty is eradicated.

Opportunity and resources are shared equitably across geographies and for future generations.

RESILIENT PEOPLE AND PLANET

People thrive within the ecologically safe limits of the planet, ensuring the safeguarding of the environment for current and future generations.

People and planet persist, adapt and transform in the face of change, able to withstand and recover from difficulties and challenges.

Learn more about how you can support the Safer World For All campaign: saferworld.org.au

In today's Canberra Times, our very own Head of Campaigns and Policy, Katherine Tu, explains how Australian banks are using policy loopholes to keep pouring billions into the fossil fuel industry. While many banks say they'll no longer fund oil and gas extraction projects, they have continued to provide corporate loans to the companies behind them.

How big is the problem? She says it's a loophole so big you could drive a truck through it, maybe even an oil tanker:

"in the last few years Australia's big four banks provided almost eight times more money to fossil fuel projects in developing countries than the Australian government provided to support these, and other countries to adapt and respond to climate change."

It's time for these banks to put a stop to the smoke and mirrors, and end their fossil fuel financing once and for all.

ActionAid Australia is proud to be one of a group of Australian NGOs in the Safer World for All campaign. We are calling on our nation’s leaders to:

1. Increase investment in Australian Aid
2. Support a fairer global economy
3. Contribute to a safer climate future

Head to saferworld.org.au to find out more!

Check out our full page joint statement in today’s AFR!

Together with 43 organisations across the world, ActionAid is calling on ANZ to be a responsible lender, live up to its commitments and stop funding fossil fuel expansion. We stand with the women and girls on the frontlines of the climate crisis: feminists demand a fossil free future!

If ANZ wants to ‘shape a world where people and communities thrive’ it needs to stop bankrolling climate collapse: marketforces.org.au/anz

UN experts have issued a stark warning that famine is spreading across , with three more children dying from malnutrition. 34 Palestinians have now died from malnutrition, most of them children.

Our partners in Gaza paint a harrowing picture of the current situation, with pregnant women losing their babies because they are so malnourished and desperate mothers struggling to find anything to feed their starving children. The amount of aid entering Gaza and reaching those in need continues to be completely inadequate.

The world cannot sit back and watch any more children die from lack of food. More life-saving aid must be allowed into Gaza immediately. The Australian Government must use every diplomatic lever available to bring about a permanent now.

❗Read the UN statement: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/un-experts-declare-famine-has-spread-throughout-gaza-strip
❗Donate to ActionAid Australia’s Gaza Appeal: https://gaza.actionaid.org.au/

ActionAid has local staff in Gaza and is working with long term trusted partners to provide aid and relief items. To date we have reached over 200,000 displaced people with humanitarian assistance including meeting the urgent needs of women and children. There are numerous challenges delivering aid at the moment, but we are working closely with UN agencies to access and support the distribution of aid. ActionAid continues to call for a permanent ceasefire, which is the only way to ensure humanitarian aid can enter Gaza anywhere close to the enormous scale required.

This is a terrible warning that has to move into a much higher gear.

ActionAid supports women around the world who are leading the fight against climate change in their communities. But this alone is not enough. If we want to avert runaway climate breakdown, the wealthiest polluting countries need to stop fuelling the fire and agree to pay to clean up the havoc that they are unleashing on the rest of the world.

50C heatwaves across the northern hemisphere drive global temps to 1.5 degrees above average Earth hits a concerning climate milestone, with data showing global temperatures at or above the Paris Agreement threshold for 12 months in a row. The year-long streak saw thousands of people across Asia, Europe and America facing extremely high temperatures during June — in some cases, over 50C.

Have you heard about the network of women coming together to respond to climate change in Vanuatu? 🤔

In 2023, when two cyclones hit Vanuatu during the same week, 80% of the island saw damaged infrastructure, water and power shortages, significant home and garden loss.

But on islands like Malo, women who are a part of the ActionAid and supported women-led early warning system, called Women Wetem Weta, quickly rolled up their sleeves and started an emergency response.

Networks like these are proven faster and more effective than waiting for government assessment and aid, as thousands of women in the network share disaster preparedness information and warnings, and coordinate to distribute fresh food.

Learn more about their incredible work in this article by Kristina Stefanova for Women's Agenda 👇

How a 9,000 strong women's network responds to climate change in Vanuatu Thousands of women have formed the Women Wetem Weta (WWW) network in Vanuatu, where they share disaster preparedness information and warnings.

Women leaders across have united to call on the Australian Government to demand justice for the and impacted by the crisis in .

The letter "highlights the sexual and reproductive health catastrophe that has unfolded in Gaza with deliberate targeting of healthcare facilities. It notes that an estimated 50,000 pregnant Palestinian women have faced extreme difficulties accessing prenatal and maternal health services, while living under constant fear of displacement and violence. An unacceptable number of women are giving birth without any form of pain relief and in unsterile conditions.

"The Coalition has also raised alarm at growing reports from UN experts of human rights violations against women and girls in Gaza, including arbitrary detention and executions, severe beatings and sexual assault. It highlights an urgent need for proper investigation and accountability for these acts, as well as reported acts of sexual violence against Israeli women and girls. The open letter calls for immediate and decisive action to hold perpetrators accountable and to prevent further acts of violence."

Read more:

Australian women leaders demand urgent action on dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza Women leaders around the country are united in their call for immediate action to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

🚨Did you know that in 2022-23, Australia spent over 78 times more on the military than on climate finance? 🤯

A just world is possible! It's time for rich countries to their of .

💡Only 33% of the population in Vanuatu has access to grid power. For women, this impacts their lives — affecting their health, access to technology, ability to gain financial independence, and their safety in poorly lit areas.

Together: ActionAid Australia, ActionAid Vanuatu’s Women I TokTok Tugeta (WITTT) network, and PowerWells are partnering with the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Business Partnerships Platform to strengthen women’s control and access to energy, for themselves and their communities.

Women in Vanuatu are switching kerosene, diesel and candles 🔄 to renewable, reliable and sustainable energies.

What will this look like? The partnership will provide lighting and device charging systems to 115 households and five community centres in the remote Lawital community of North Tanna, as well as setting up streetlights in 10 public spaces. A monthly PayGo payment system will be implemented for women to gain ownership of the systems over approximately three years, with payments being reinvested into maintaining the systems, purchasing future renewable systems and improving livelihoods in the community.

Periods don't stop in a crisis! Scraps of clothing, newspaper and even dried leaves are just some of the materials we're hearing women and girls resort to when period products aren't available.

World Menstrual Hygiene Day serves as a crucial reminder that menstrual products, sanitation facilities and hygiene education need to be prioritised — especially for women and girls living through emergencies.

🎒 If you'd like to donate a dignity kit today, please give to help.actionaid.org.au/donate-a-dignity-kit

As a global women’s rights organisation, we welcome a small aid budget increase in the Australian Federal Budget.

But this budget is failing to respond to growing crisis and instability in the world. Here are 5 reasons why international aid continues to be one of the biggest losers in the Federal Budget 👇

1. Even with the small aid increase in the 2024-25 budget, Australia’s aid is still stuck at a very low level compared to our national income.

2. The budget is failing to scale up funding to address some of the critical issues facing women around the world, including climate change, conflict and gender inequality.

3. Women and girls on the frontline of conflicts urgently need increased humanitarian assistance. Communities need more than the small increase in the budget to access lifesaving food, water, and relief.

4. With our current rate of progress, achieving gender equality will take over 300 years. Australia needs a significant increase in targeted gender equality funding to ensure the success of the government’s upcoming International Gender Equality Strategy.

5. Australia’s climate finance commitment is also well below its climate finance fair share. To genuinely support women and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, Australia must put real money on the table for global climate solutions.

For more info, visit: https://actionaid.org.au/resources/2024-25-federal-budget-response/