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BUREAU FOR DEVELOPMENT, DEMOCRACY, AND INNOVATION
LOCAL, FAITH, AND TRANSFORMATIVE PARTNERSHIPS HUB
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Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships |
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 Friends and colleagues,
Please find this month’s message from USAID’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships here.
Peace and every good,
ADAM NICHOLAS PHILLIPS
Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
USAID
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World Malaria Day:
Facing Malaria Through Faith and Community
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In Guinea, a local religious leader talks to students about the importance of sleeping under a mosquito net to prevent malaria. Photo Credit: Patrick Adams, StopPalu+
Commemorated each year on April 25th, World Malaria Day is an occasion to recognize global efforts to control malaria and recommit to sustained investments in malaria treatments and prevention. Despite readily available treatments and a steady decline in yearly cases, the global community still has a long way to go in the fight to eradicate malaria. According to the 2022 World Health Organization’s Malaria report, there were an estimated 247 million new cases of malaria in 2021 - the majority occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and the Greater Mekong Subregion of Asia - resulting in over 619,000 lives lost. USAID, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is leading the U.S. Government's efforts to end malaria through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Working in 27 partner countries, PMI delivers cost effective and life-saving malaria interventions alongside technical and operational assistance to empower partner countries to end malaria.
In Malawi, the Ministry of Health, National Malaria Control Program, and the Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association utilized a PMI-designed Malaria Social and Behavior Change Toolkit to train 18 faith leaders on how to talk to their communities about implementing malaria control and prevention tactics into their daily lives. The best practices shared during the training included encouraging the use of insecticide treated nets for sleeping and increasing public knowledge on the symptoms of malaria and critical steps to take within 24 hours of contracting the disease.
“In our communities, the number one source of advice is from faith leaders [that community members] know and trust…,” Alikanjero Kanyemba, a local Chairperson of the Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association and a participant in the training, said. “Faith leaders are very important in assisting communities to take action against malaria through social and behavior change activities”.
Since attending the training, Alikanjero and other participants have shared their knowledge with over 600 faith leaders across Malawi, creating a strong, country-wide network that is educating communities on these live-saving interventions.
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Focus on the Field:
Responding to Flooding and a 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake in Ecuador
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A HIAS team member provides multi-purpose cash assistance to community members affected by the March 18th earthquake in Guayas Province, Ecuador. Photo Credit: HIAS Ecuador
On March 18, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the western coast of Ecaudor’s Guayas Province resulting in 14 deaths, hundreds of injuries, and catastrophic damage to houses, health centers, and schools. In the following weeks, heavy rain and flooding resulted in an additional 21 deaths and significant destruction to vital infrastructure including hospitals, bridges, and roads.
In response, USAID partnered with HIAS, to implement a multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) program in the Pasaje canton for a period of three months. With $100,000 in support from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, HIAS will reach 595 individuals who have had to move due to the earthquake and will work in partnership with Caritas Internationalis to focus its intervention in the Machala and Guabo cantons, also through MPCA Interventions. These distributions are a flexible, simple, and direct method to meet immediate needs, including food, water, shelter and transportation costs, in a community facing unexpected challenges due to the natural disasters.
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USAID Commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day |
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Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is an annual world-wide event that commemorates the six million Jews and millions of others who were murdered in the Holocaust, honors the countless acts of bravery of those who resisted, and provides an opportunity to bear witness to the stories of survivors.
On April 19 USAID’s Jewish Affinity Employee Resource Group (JAG) and Muslim Employee Resource Group (UMERG) co-hosted the Agency’s official commemoration of Yom HaShoah. With the end of Ramadan and Yom HaShoah taking place the same week, the JAG and UMERG partnered for the first time to host an event to demonstrate the importance of cross-cultural and religious unity in the face of bigotry and hatred.
During the virtual event, USAID staff in Washington and across our Missions, from Mogadishu to Mexico, were honored to be joined by Dr. Albert “Al” Muzner, a Holocaust Survivor, who shared his first hand experience of surviving the genocide. Attendees also heard powerful remarks from USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman and representatives of Jewish and Muslim faith traditions, including Imam Mohamed Magid, Executive Imam of All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center, Ron Halber, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, and Rabbi Marc Schneier, Founder and President of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. The speakers reflected on the importance of remembering the Holocaust and the necessity of working across cultural and religious lines in order to achieve a world without persecution, hate speech, and discrimination.
USAID remains committed to condemning anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and distortion, bigotry, and injustice in all forms. USAID stands in solidarity with the Jewish community and other marginalized people around the world and we are proud to continuously advocate for justice and human rights for all people through our programming and policies.
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FBNP meets with Faith Leader Delegation Participating in the Sahel Peace Initiative |
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Director Phillips (center) and Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator Karl Fickenscher (third from right) with the delegation of faith leaders from the Sahel Peace Initiative and Catholic Relief Services staff.
Last month Director Phillips and Karl Fickenscher, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation, met with a delegation of Christian and Muslim leaders from Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso representing the Sahel Peace Initiative and staff from Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a USAID implementing partner. In 2019, CRS helped establish the Sahel Peace Initiative to respond to the devastating levels of violent conflict plaguing the Sahel. The Sahel Peace Initiative prioritizes raising awareness of the conflict and elevating the voices of local communities. The delegation discussed the role of religious leaders in defusing violent conflict, the broader role of religious actors in peacebuilding and humanitarian response efforts, and the risks of the conflict spilling over into other countries if not addressed.
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ICYMI: On April 20, the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, USAID’s Office of Regional Sustainable Development in the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the University of Notre Dame hosted a webinar to present findings from research on the role of faith-based actors in education development in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Watch the recording here. |
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FYI: Do you lead a faith-based or community organization working in development or humanitarian assistance? WorkwithUSAID.org provides resources and tools to organizations seeking to work with USAID. The website includes a partner directory, a pre-engagement assessment tool to explore readiness to partner with USAID, and a suite of curated resources for organizational capacity development. Check out the new sub-opportunities portal to find more information on opportunities to work with contractors and recipients that are currently receiving USAID funding. |
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ICYMI: USAID recently launched its 2023 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy, which provides a vision for the Agency’s work to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment around the world. The Gender Policy identifies four strategic objectives that USAID will advance through investments across all sectors in which it works: reduce gender disparities, strive to eliminate gender-based violence, increase the capability of women and girls to fully exercise their rights, and advance structural changes that address the root causes of gender inequality. |
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Stay Tuned: USAID will soon be accepting applications for fall interns to assist with partnership engagement, communications, and policy development through the Pathways Internship Program which matches qualified candidates through the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Applications will be available in May on usaid.gov/careers. We encourage undergraduate and graduate students interested in faith-based engagement and international development to apply. |
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The Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is part of the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships (LFT) Hub.
The LFT Hub focuses on strengthening USAID’s ability to partner with non-traditional and diverse actors including local, faith-based, and community organizations; schools and hospitals; minority-serving institutions; foundations; diaspora communities; cooperatives; and volunteer organizations. Learn more about how LFT is harnessing the power of partnerships through the following:
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