GOAL Global

In one community in Uganda, GOAL and the Mastercard Foundation have partnered with local private and public sectors to support community members to access affordable financial services, participate in trainings in agricultural systems and business skills, and access new job opportunities as part of the Covid-19 Resilience and Recovery Program (CRRP).

One community member, Nancy, received training as an agro-input supplier in partnership with a local private sector company. After her initial success, a local bank and partner in the program further provided Nancy with the affordable loan she needed to be more mobile and increase both her customer base and her seasonal income eight-fold. She has since used both what she learned in the program and her increased income to diversify her family's income base through the construction and management of a catfish farm along with her siblings. More information.

Residents of Kinchera Leto saw their new health center wash away nearly 13 years ago, and it was never rebuilt. “We were saddened by the destruction,” says Dinkecha Geda, Chairperson of the village council. “The community was in desperate need of accessible health care service and then when we finally had the service we dreamed of the river came and took everything with it.” Without the resources to rebuild, the loss meant that illness or injury was treated in the home and anyone needing medical attention would have to travel significant distances, sometimes on foot. With the support of the World Health Organization, GOAL assessments identified eight health facilities in the South Western Oromia region in need of assistance, prioritizing the repair of the Kinchera Leto health post and the relaunching of health services. More information.

With the support of EU Humanitarian Aid and Irish Aid, GOAL’s local healthcare unit in Abyei have immunized 934 children against measles, diphtheria and hepatitis B, helping achieve a local immunization rate of 93% in 2021. This success is the result of improved capacity of local healthcare staff and their dedication in implementing the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI). The program is providing vital protection for children and helping to reduce the child mortality rate in this region of South Sudan.

Malual’s training included vaccine management, daily temperature monitoring and tracking immunization coverage. He is also working with Home Health Promoters to motivate people in the community to complete their doses according to their vaccination schedules. Malual receives regular follow up support from GOAL to ensure he can affect the change he wants to see in the community. More information.

In Zimbabwe's Harare region, Covid-19's impacts on food security and limited access to healthcare and nutrition education has had devastating consequences for community health, particularly for children. To complement its Emergency Social Cash Transfer program targeting food insecure and vulnerable households, GOAL partnered with UNICEF and Promobile, a private sector partner, to provide downloadable lifesaving nutritional videos, photos and recipes through WIFI-routers mounted on trucks to help ensure that infants and children from six months to two years benefit from a balanced diet. The preloaded information also encourage visits to local health facilities and share tips on food preservation and gardening. This approach was noted by a local nutritionist to be a different and fun way to inform busy parents and spread nutrition and health information more widely. More information.

Hurricanes Eta and Iota devastated many Honduran communities in late 2020. As German Mejia recalled, “The community thought we were all going to drown. I had a business and I lost it. So many people lost everything.” With support from USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, GOAL collaborated with FIPAH and Water Mission to provide multipurpose cash transfers to nearly 7,000 people, helping them regain livelihoods in the hardest-hit areas of the country. GOAL also worked with authorities and communities to provide temporary shelters for vulnerable families, as well as access to clean water, water filters, latrines, and hygiene kits.

Through collaboration and cash programming, people were not only able to survive but to also determine their recovery needs. German reopened the neighborhood store he had lost, allowing him to again provide for himself, his family, and his community. More information.

The economic collapse in Venezuela led to shortages in work, food, and basic services. Nearly two million Venezuelans have fled to Colombia in recent years to escape instability in Venezuela or to support the families they left behind. Facing the usual and significant challenges of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, Eva is one of several thousand migrants and refugees that found support from GOAL and its Irish Aid-funded humanitarian aid program. In partnership with Terre des Hommes, GOAL reached 850 families living on the border with cash assistance allowing them to prioritize their own needs. Being unable to legally work, Eva used the support she received to start an informal business and support and reunite her family. More Information.

GOAL is one of the largest agencies in NW Syria working on the front line supporting vulnerable communities and families; distributing food to help families on the verge of starvation in conflict areas; screening and treating young children with severe malnutrition; ensuring vulnerable people fleeing conflict have access to fresh, clean drinking water; and providing shelter, blankets, and safe haven to hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and airstrikes.   The conditions in North West Syria are most concerning, with the closure of one of two remaining humanitarian corridors last July; a surge in cases of COVID-19; economic collapse, which has led to a huge hike in the price of food; and the harsh winter conditions. Unless access in this area follows humanitarian needs and not politics, we cannot close our eyes to the imminent fatal consequences. More Information 

In Latin America and the Caribbean, GOAL is working to strengthen the resilience of the Blue Economy across Central America, Haiti, and in the Colombia/Venezuela border region. Marine-coastal areas, and in particular fisheries, are of increasing environmental, social, and economic importance in Latin America and the Caribbean and many other parts of the world. By 2025, an estimated 75% of the world's population will live in coastal zones, resulting in both significant development challenges and opportunities for coastal industries (such as fisheries) to drive economic growth, livelihood creation, and conservation.

A new research report published with support from GOAL (Oct 2020) highlights the need for increased humanitarian assistance for nomadic and semi-nomadic Syrian refugees and migrant seasonal agricultural workers in Turkey. These vulnerable groups face difficulties seeking temporary protection registration and often live in substandard accommodation. The research was undertaken in 2019 and 2020, across 20 neighborhoods in Adana, Gaziantep, and Şanlıurfa. Published by Development Workshop, the report,"Unseen Lives on Migration Routes," makes several recommendations in providing support to nomadic refugee communities, including extending tailored assistance to those in need, developing flexible service models, supporting children's access to education, and working to combat prejudices against groups from nomadic backgrounds. More Information 

GOAL is seeking to implement unconditional cash assistance, cash-for-work, or conditional cash distributions to meet the immediate needs of vulnerable households and address the detrimental impact of COVID-19 on local markets. They are also seeking to support critical food supply chains and maintain businesses open, where feasible. In Honduras, USAID/BHA and GOAL partnered to build capacities of national risk management agencies, social protection funds, and humanitarian actors to use cash-transfer programming for emergency response.