- AFS-funded projects
This International Women’s Day, we recognise the leadership, resilience and agency of Syrian women who shape their communities and are paving the way for the country’s recovery. To date, AFS programmes have reached 3.2 million women across Syria through interventions ranging from protection services and livelihoods support to initiatives that expand women’s access to information and opportunities. As part of AFS’s localisation commitment, the Fund has supported 22 women‑led organisations (WLOs) to lead locally driven responses that address women’s priorities and strengthen community resilience.
Under Regular Allocation 3 (RA3), AFS awarded a US$ 1.4 million grant to Anchor Organisation CARE International to strengthen the role of WLOs in Aleppo and Idleb governorates. Through this project, CARE is working with and supporting 12 WLOs with close ties to their communities and strong awareness of the needs of local women and girls, providing them with structured technical trainings to build their institutional capacity enabling them to work effectively and efficiently to deliver protection, psychosocial support, GBV case management and legal counselling services in their communities. So far, CARE has provided 19 trainings to WLO personnel on topics including financial management, human resources, project management and safeguarding. CARE also supports these organisations to engage in coordination platforms such as the UN’s GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR), strengthening their voice and participation in the humanitarian response.
Nesma, Programme Manager at Women Now for Development – one of the WLOs that CARE is working with, adds: “Amid escalating crises and declining humanitarian funding in Syria, safe spaces for women and girls are no longer a luxury but a vital necessity for protection and support. At Women Now for Development, we continue our commitment to responding to these urgent needs and doing everything we can to ensure that these spaces remain supportive and safe for women, enabling them to overcome crises and build greater safety and independence in their lives”.