[New post] Vanuatu’s women battle for their livelihoods against double blow of cyclone and then drought

WordPress.com dailyvanuatu posted: "More than half of Vanuatu's population of more than 270,000 was affected by Cyclone Pam. Around 96% of crops were destroyed, leaving many women without food or produce to sell. In the year after the cyclone, a prolonged El Niño-fuelled drought prevented r" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Vanuatu Daily Digest Vanuatu’s women battle for their livelihoods against double blow of cyclone and then drought by dailyvanuatu More than half of Vanuatu's population of more than 270,000 was affected by Cyclone Pam. Around 96% of crops were destroyed, leaving many women without food or produce to sell. In the year after the cyclone, a prolonged El Niño-fuelled drought prevented replanting, causing months of crop failure, a shortage of water and food and the decimation of the livelihoods of market vendors, the majority of whom are women. UN Women has been working with market vendors, market councils and Vanuatu's provincial and national government and the Australian Government to help women restore women's livelihoods and help build resilience to future external shocks like Cyclone Pam. UN Women through its Markets for Change project helped establish vendor associations in Vanuatu and other Pacific islands.Below are portraits and testimonies of the women who are part of the Silae Vanua Market Vendor Association, which is supported by UN Women. “Breastfeeding is hard when we don’t have much water. I use the salt water and the small amount of freshwater we have for the children.” A trained nurse-aide, Lody Samson, 39, is a mother of three children under 14, including son Solomon Samson who is 8 months old. The coastal village of Koinga where she lives was hit hard by Cyclone Pam, which spoiled their food crops. Now most of the village’s water tanks are empty. Lody and her husband feed people who come to the church, but the lack of water makes it difficult. Photo: UN Women/Murray Lloyd Read more of this post dailyvanuatu | May 26, 2016 at 8:30 am | Tags: cyclone pam, el niño, food security, livelihoods, market vendors, UN Women, Vanuatu, water, women | Categories: Photo Essay | URL: http://wp.me/p2A4RK-17o Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Vanuatu Daily Digest. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://ift.tt/1WUqTVH Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

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