As talk of COVID-19 vaccines swept the world in early 2021, a new human rights crisis was already looming: profound disparities in who would receive a life-saving shot and who would face the pandemic unprotected. In the Dominican Republic, this inequity quickly became a reality: on February 16, Dominican President Luis Abinader announced a national …
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On May 31, 2020, disaster struck El Salvador. Tropical Storm Amanda, the first in an extremely active storm season, made landfall. Heavy winds and rain ravaged the country, claiming at least 14 lives country-wide and leaving in its wake some $200 million in damage. The water flooded city streets and careened off hills, carrying with it rocks and mud. Huge and powerful landslides formed and destroyed homes …
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On March 25th, India suddenly announced a strict, severe national lockdown—the largest in the world, affecting nearly 1.4 billion people. People were left scrambling to protect themselves and their families—often with little information about the frightening new disease. Countless questions bubbled to the surface: How would people prevent the virus’s spread without proper health and …
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Across the world, AJWS grantee-partners continue to meet the most desperate needs of their communities: food, protective equipment, life-saving information and more. But simultaneously, they are collaborating with each other, protesting government corruption and marching forward to build a better world. Below, read two such stories from grantee-partners in Guatemala. AJWS will continue to stand …
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The global pandemic COVID-19 lays bare and exacerbates existing inequalities. For adolescent girls and young women in many places, this means that the harmful impacts of patriarchy and gender inequality are magnified and intensified. The coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns heighten the perpetration of gender-based violence; elevate risks of child, early and forced marriage and …
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