ACDI/VOCA Aiding Relief and Recovery Efforts in Haiti |
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A man receives USAID food rations from ACDI/VOCA's distribution site in Tabarre, Port-au-Prince. |
Since the Jan.12th 7.0-magnitude earthquake, ACDI/VOCA has been working with local civil sector agencies, nongovernmental organizations, USAID and U.N. agencies to aid in relief and recovery in Haiti.
The largest-operating international NGO in the Southeast Department, which was hit hard by the quake, ACDI/VOCA is working to support assessments, distribution and relief efforts in Jacmel, Bainet, La Vallée, Belle Anse and Port-au-Prince.
ACDI/VOCA's original project will remain intact because the need for agricultural development is more pronounced than ever.
"In Jacmel, 40 to 50 percent of the buildings in the city were destroyed. We're working hard with our partners to get food rations out to the most vulnerable, in addition to water and sanitation equipment," says Emmet Murphy, ACDI/VOCA-Haiti chief of party. "The situation continues to be challenging, but because of the good coordination between local city offices, USAID, the World Food Programme, the U.S. Army and our other partners in Jacmel, we're making progress."
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Iraqi MFI Milestone: $100 Million in Loans Disbursed
Al-Thiqa, the largest Iraqi-managed microfinance institution in the country, passed a major milestone in December 2009: $100 million in loans disbursed since inception. Since 2004 Al-Thiqa has provided over $100 million in loans to more than 38,000 borrowers, including 6,685 women entrepreneurs and homeowners. Al-Thiqa loans have helped create and maintain over 136,000 jobs, building economic opportunities in Iraq. More.
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New $4 Million Project in India Links Rural Farmers to Urban Markets
 A new $4 million Agribusiness Systems International (ASI) project aims to double the incomes of small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India—including women—using tested techniques that link rural farmers with various market outlets. The three-year project, Sunhara India, which symbolically translates into "prosperous India" in Hindi, will provide a unique blend of farmer support and tailored outreach to women to meet specific marketing demands to increase farmers' competitiveness. The goal: reduced poverty and increased food security in India's most populous state.
"India's flourishing middle class has a growing appetite for higher-quality fresh produce and processed foods – demand that currently is outpacing supply in urban areas," says ASI President Bill Polidoro, who also is the chief operating officer of ACDI/VOCA of which ASI is an affiliate. "If we can increase the productivity and reach of small farmers in poor, rural communities of Uttar Pradesh, we can use the urban markets to create incentives for farmers, bolster livelihoods and cut hunger in a way that reaps benefits for years to come." More.
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Kenyan Farmers' Group to Receive Drip Irrigation Greenhouse Gift
 ACDI/VOCA is pleased to announce that the Kenyan farmers' group Kipchamo Poverty Eradication Program (KIPEP) will receive the drip irrigation-greenhouse package from the Greenest of Gifts campaign. Our Kenya staff selected KIPEP—an umbrella group of 13 farmers' groups—to receive the equipment and training so generously donated by our supporters. KIPEP has a total of 700 members in the Rift Valley, and 11 of its 17 leaders are women.
"KIPEP's progressive attitude and can-do spirit made it an obvious choice for the gift," says Diana Roach, director of volunteer programs. "The group's majority of women leaders also well reflects the prominent role women have in Kenyan agriculture."
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ACDI/VOCA's Guenette Illustrates Threats, Solutions to Global Food Security
 The global food crisis is far from resolved, according to ACDI/VOCA's Paul Guenette at a recent conference organized by the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Society for International Development. "The long-term trend is toward high food prices," says Guenette. "We're going to see climate shocks."
Guenette displayed a map that showed the scale of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, and noted that poor farmers have been hard hit by both environmental and economic factors, such as price volatility. "It's not the absolute price that hurts the farmer, but the volatility," he says. A value chain approach presents a unique method of addressing these concerns, Guenette adds. More.
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IFFCO Wins Global Award for Cooperative Excellence
Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO) has been awarded one of the first Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence given by DotCoop. Winning the category for large cooperatives with more than $50 million in revenues or assets, IFFCO is the largest fertilizer producer in Asia—and one of the largest in the world. ACDI/VOCA was instrumental in launching IFFCO, beginning the groundwork for it in 1965.
ACDI/VOCA President Carl Leonard commended IFFCO's achievement, saying, "It was with great pride that we learned of IFFCO's honor in receiving one of the first-ever DotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence. IFFCO must be very proud of all that it has come to represent to Indian farmers and, now, to the entire worldwide cooperative community. We offer the heartiest congratulations." More.
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Investing in Maternal and Child Health: 100 RUBIES Project Launched in the Philippines
 Less than half of pregnant women receive prenatal care or delivery assistance from a doctor, nurse or midwife in southern Philippines' Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The infant mortality rate hovers around 41 percent and the under-5 mortality rate is 72 percent.
Sustainable Health Improvement through Empowerment and Local Government (SHIELD) project, provides support and training to the midwives on "Caring for Mothers and Newborns in the Community," a package of cost-effective health interventions designed to fit the culture and circumstances of the local communities in Mindanao. ACDI/VOCA also is mobilizing its trained 330-strong community health action team members to provide health education to the communities and promote the 100 RUBIES project's services. More.
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