Actionaid Usa

ACTIONAID IS AN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK BUILDING A JUST, EQUITABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE WORLD IN SOLIDARITY WITH COMMUNITIES ON THE FRONTLINES OF POVERTY AND INJUSTICE.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS: IN 2021, ACTIONAID PARTNERED WITH THE FEMINIST HUMANITARIAN NETWORK (FHN) TO CARRY OUT TARGETED ADVOCACY BUILDING ON THE WORK OF FHN MEMBERS RESPONDING TO COVID-19 IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH, WHERE MEMBERS CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO URGENT HUMANITARIAN NEEDS. IN MAY 2021, THE FHN HELD A MAJOR ONLINE GLOBAL EVENT TO LAUNCH ITS RESEARCH, "WOMEN'S HUMANITARIAN VOICES: COVID-19 THROUGH A FEMINIST LENS," LED BY FHN MEMBERS IN EIGHT COUNTRIES: NEPAL, BANGLADESH, PALESTINE, LEBANON, NIGERIA, LIBERIA, KENYA AND SOUTH AFRICA. THE EVENT WAS MODERATED BY ZAHRA VIENEUVE, FHN STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER AND REPRESENTATIVE OF FHN MEMBER, GLOBAL FUND FOR WOMEN. FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH EVENT, SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH KEY ADVOCACY TARGETS, PRIMARILY DONOR GOVERNMENTS, WERE ORGANIZED WITH THE SUPPORT OF FHN MEMBERS. THE FHN ALSO HOSTED TWO "ADVOCACY HUDDLES," WHICH BROUGHT TOGETHER ORGANIZATIONS WITH ALIGNED OBJECTIVES OR THOSE WHO HAD PRODUCED RESEARCH WITH SIMILAR FINDINGS DURING COVID-19, TO STRATEGIZE TOGETHER AND ESTABLISH AND STRENGTHEN ALLIANCES.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE: FURTHERING OUR DEMANDS TO INVEST IN FAMILY FARMS, WE SUPPORTED THE GLOBAL AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM (GAFSP) IN THEIR SIXTH CALL FOR PROPOSALS. FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH IN MAY 2021, THE GAFSP STEERING COMMITTEE APPROVED TWELVE PROJECTS FOR A TOTAL OF $30 MILLION IN DECEMBER, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, THESE PROJECTS ARE LED BY PRODUCER ORGANIZATIONS. NINE COUNTRY PROPOSALS WITH AN ALLOCATION OF $121 MILLION WERE ALSO APPROVED. THE NEW PROJECTS AIM TO SUPPORT COUNTRIES AND PRODUCERS' ORGANIZATIONS IN THEIR MEDIUM TO LONG-TERM COVID-19 RESPONSE EFFORTS FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE, INCLUSIVE, AND RESILIENT RECOVERY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE. WE ALSO JOINED A GLOBAL BOYCOTT OF THE UNITED NATIONS FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT. THE SUMMIT HAD BEEN TAKEN OVER BY CORPORATE INTERESTS AND FAILED TO INCLUDE VOICES OF THOSE WHO PRODUCE MOST OF THE WORLD'S FOOD, PARTICULARLY SMALL-SCALE FOOD PRODUCERS, INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, AND WOMEN IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ALLIED ORGANIZATIONS, WE MOBILIZED SUPPORTERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO SHARE OUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE CORPORATIZATION OF THE WORLD'S FOOD SYSTEM. WE ALSO SUPPORTED AND PROMOTED THE "PEOPLE'S KITCHEN COUNTER-MOBILIZATION: FOOD SYSTEM TAKE-BACK" WHERE WE ELEVATED THE VOICES AND CONCERNS OF THOSE WHOSE HANDS PUT FOOD ON OUR COLLECTIVE TABLES.

LAND RIGHTS AND BIOFUELS: IN 2021, ACTIONAID USA PARTNERED WITH UNIVERSITY OF IOWA STAFF AND STUDENTS AND OTHER ALLIES, SUCH AS THE NATIONAL FAMILY FARM COALITION, TO BUILD A CASE AGAINST TIAA'S CLAIMS OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. IN A RESOLUTION WHICH WAS BROUGHT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA STAFF COUNCIL AND FACULTY SENATE, WE DEMANDED TIAA BE FULLY TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE DETAILS OF ALL ITS LAND ACQUISITIONS AND THAT THE COMPANY TAKE SERIOUS ACTION TO ADDRESS THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, DEFORESTATION, AND NEGATIVE IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES AS A RESULT OF LOSING LAND, WATER, OR FOREST. WE ALSO CALLED ON TIAA TO ALLOW ITS CLIENTS TO KEEP INVESTMENTS CAUSING DEFORESTATION AND LAND GRABBING OUT OF THEIR PORTFOLIOS, WHICH IS CURRENTLY NOT POSSIBLE AND SOMETHING THE COMPANY RESISTS DOING. THE STAFF COUNCIL, WHICH REPRESENTS 7,500 EMPLOYEES, AND THE FACULTY SENATE, WHICH REPRESENTS OVER 1,600 PROFESSORS, BOTH VOTED OVERWHELMINGLY TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION. THIS RESOLUTION IS JUST THE LATEST IN A WAVE OF FACULTY AND STAFF RESOLUTIONS AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY OPPOSING TIAA'S ACQUISITIONS OF GLOBAL FARMLAND AND HOLDING THE COMPANY ACCOUNTABLE TO PROMISING FUTURES FOR THEIR CLIENTS WITHOUT TAKING AWAY THE FUTURES OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.

THE REMAINING PROGRAMS INCLUDE CLIMATE & TAX, EDUCATION, AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE.