Yemen

Enhancing civil society organizations’ capacity to support civic activism and advocate for effective local governance and women’s political participation(1) The aim of the project is to enable poor and marginalised people, especially women, to have greater influence on decisions and policies which affect their lives in order to reduce their poverty. The Yemeni constitution guarantees equality in rights and obligations for both men and women, including the right of political participation and participation in decision-making. Nevertheless, women’s political rights and participation in decision-making processes are yet to be realized. The project will build a solid platform of local people – poor, marginalized, women – to be able to influence government plans and policies. Project activities will include capacity building of civil society organisations, particularly in relation to advocacy campaigns; civic education and awareness-raising; building citizens’ networks; and promoting effective governance by supporting citizen involvement in policy and planning processes. This will improve the level of representation of people who are poor and marginalised by civil society organisations engaging with national government. Progressio will also address key issues around transparency, accountability and responsiveness of local and national governments so as to promote the voices of poor and marginalised people, especially women. Combating discrimination against women in Hodeida(2) The purpose of the project is to increase the capacity of women particularly those who are poor and vulnerable to achieve equality within Yemeni institutions and society. This achieved by removing barriers to access by women to local authority and government line ministry services, through increasing the level of women’s participation in local decision-making processes. The project will also strengthen institutional processes within the police force and judiciary in favour of women and girls in cases of domestic abuse and legal redress. By the end of the project, the social attitudes condoning customs which breach the rights of women and girls will have been challenged, hence increasing women’s participation in political and legal institutions. The primary beneficiaries of this project will be women, girls and marginalised communities. Activities include workshops and meetings to create awareness about the rights of women, media campaigns and dialogues with men to challenge attitudes and norms that marginalise women in society. Strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations in tackling HIV and AIDS in Yemen(3) This project aims to reduce the widespread stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV in Yemen. Progressio provides technical support through Development Workers to build the capacity of CSOs and faith groups to be able to create awareness about HIV and AIDS, provide support to people living with HIV, and reduce stigma and gender discrimination. Widespread HIV/AIDS awareness has been created through training of peer educators, while stigma and discrimination has been reduced through mobilization and training of faith leaders. The project has also strengthened associations with people living with HIV and trained various groups including health workers, journalists, refugees, fishermen, sex workers and other vulnerable groups in HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. The beneficiaries are vulnerable populations including the youth, fishermen, refugees, women and sex workers. Other beneficiaries include local NGOs, people living with HIV and their associations, faith leaders and health workers. Communicating water awareness(4) This project aims to improve the quality of life of poor and marginalised people through increased equitable and sustainable management of natural resources, especially in the light of climate change and resource scarcity. The objectives of the project include: 1: To promote sustainable management of water resources for the benefit of poor and marginalised people in Hodeida Governorate. 2: To develop awareness and advocacy capacity of local councils and the National Water Resources Authority and to link them with regional and national networks to address climate change, resource scarcity and degradation, and water rights; thereby ensuring that beneficiary communities in Hodeida Governorate, especially the poor and marginalized, have sustainable and equitable access to natural resources. ;