Author: sHq_LoGiNz

Published by Action Against Hunger.

May 22, 2025

While the influx of flour has allowed some bakeries to reopen in southern Gaza—an important step towards curbing malnutrition among children and pregnant and lactating women—stocks of nutritional food for children under five are close to running out. Action Against Hunger’s stock of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) will run out in less than a week in the south and in about 10 days in the north.

The sanitary situation is also critical: the entry of chlorine to make water drinkable remains unauthorized. In addition, the lack of gas and electricity cuts prevent cooking; a 1kg gas cylinder costs $200, an unaffordable price.

Nevertheless, Action Against Hunger teams continue to operate on the ground. “Our colleagues in Gaza are going through the same daily difficulties as the rest of the population, but they still insist on continuing their activities every day.”

Saving the lives of people in Gaza has become a race against time. “Currently, only six days have been authorized for the entry of trucks with humanitarian aid, without allowing NGOs to load essential supplies,” says Action Against Hunger’s head of Middle East operations, Natalia Anguera, who continues: “Flour has come in and some bakeries in the south have resumed operations, which is a vital step forward in combating malnutrition among children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, but specific nutritional supplies reserves for children under five are about to run out in the same area.” Even if bakeries now have flour, the lack of fuel, energy, and safe water supplies prevents these facilities from being fully operational.

Our teams on the ground report that there are less than seven days’ supply of therapeutic food, essential to prevent acute malnutrition in children aged 6 months to 5 years, in southern Gaza and 10 days in the north. There is still a lack of gas and continuous power cuts. Families can barely cook, except by burning leftovers in the streets, and a 1kg canister of gas costs $200, a price that is completely unaffordable for any family.

The entry of chlorine for water purification remains unauthorized. Our water trucking is critically dependent on the availability of petrol, which is also in short supply.

How We Are Working to Save Children’s Lives in Gaza

The latest UN analysis, in which Action Against Hunger is involved, is stark: 71,000 cases of acute malnutrition are expected among children under five, of whom 14,100 could die if they do not receive urgent assistance. In the face of this unprecedented humanitarian emergency, our teams on the ground are pouring all available resources into protecting children and their mothers.

The urgency is paramount. As one of our breastfeeding counsellors in Gaza tells us: “Every visit confirms my worst fears: there is no end to this crisis. The situation is becoming increasingly catastrophic, and the acute shortage of aid and assistance is becoming more and more alarming”.

At Action Against Hunger, we are developing essential programmes to prevent and treat malnutrition. We distribute nutritional supplements to children aged 6–59 months, as well as pregnant and lactating women, to strengthen their health before malnutrition sets in.

We provide specific care for those who already suffer malnutrition, tailoring treatments to individual needs. For babies aged 6–23 months, we provide safe and appropriate complementary foods, essential for their development in an environment where there are few viable alternatives. Early detection is key: we assess children and women by measuring their arm circumference, a simple but vital technique for early action.

We also implement our specific programme for pregnant or breastfeeding women who are already suffering from malnutrition, offering a nutritional reinforcement adapted to their needs. In addition, we care for and treat children who are acutely malnourished, both severely and moderately.

May 22, 2025 /3BL/ – Women entrepreneurs in emerging markets face considerable barriers that hinder their long-term success. While difficulties accessing small business credit and training are frequently cited challenges by small business owners, CARE’s latest Strive Women report—based on the experiences of nearly 2,500 businesswomen in Pakistan, Peru, and Vietnam—highlights that access to finance during a crisis, digital tools, and support networks are equally crucial factors for woman entrepreneurs’ business growth. The report uncovers how business outcomes for women are deeply tied to four interconnected factors: financial resilience, business management and growth, confidence and control, and quality of life.

Strive Women, a four-year program led by CARE and supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, is aimed at strengthening the financial health of women-led small businesses. Women entrepreneurs are vital to economic growth, yet systemic barriers continue to undermine their overall financial health. To better capture the realities that drive or hinder their success, Strive Women has developed a comprehensive Financial Health Framework—grounded in research and designed to reflect the full scope of women business owner’s lived experiences.

Using this Framework to inform the research, the analysis reveals key insights: women often rely on personal savings to manage business shocks, limiting the potential for long-term business growth and stability. While 96% feel confident in growing their businesses, their progress is often held back by limited access to finance, digital tools, and strong support networks. The research also highlights the complex role of household dynamics—where spousal support can ease stress and boost resilience, even as caregiving demands continue to restrict the time and energy available for business growth.

“Even as a businesswoman, I come home to cooking, cleaning, and caregiving—there’s no pause,” says Rosario Del Pozo, a Peruvian entrepreneur. “For many women I work with, especially those without education or support at home, it’s even harder. The biggest barrier we face isn’t ambition—it’s the huge number of responsibilities.”

Key findings

• Financial Insecurity in Crises: While 80% of entrepreneurs save for their business, only 16% would use business savings to recover from a crisis. Others instead rely on household savings or borrowing, which may limit the ability of the business to recover in the long-term.
• Limited Access to Credit: 27% of women entrepreneurs lack the financial resources needed to grow. High interest rates (49%), low loan amounts (23%), and short loan terms (14%) create barriers to formal financing, and debt stress remains particularly high in Pakistan, where 94% of borrowers are “very concerned” about repayment.
• Digital Divides: While 94% of respondents own a smartphone, only 51% use digital tools for their business. Access to digital upskilling remains a challenge, limiting women’s ability to tap into online financial services and expand into new markets.
• Satisfied but Stressed: While many cite satisfaction with the state of their business, households, and finances, this may come at the cost of high levels of stress. However, when spouses were involved in decision-making, women were 27 percentage points less likely to “always worry” about their business and 23 percentage points less likely to “always worry” about their household.
• Disconnected from Support Networks: One-third (34%) of women entrepreneurs lack access to networks like peer groups and mentors for business advice.

These findings uncover reality: women entrepreneurs want to grow their businesses– but they need systems that work with their realities, not against them.

“This research highlights how financial health is about much more than income or confidence—it’s about navigating complex systems, balancing roles, and accessing the right mix of resources,” said Rathi Mani-Kandt, Director of Women’s Entrepreneurship at CARE. “When we listen to women and design systems that match their realities, we don’t just improve business outcomes—we build more resilient economies.”

“These insights reinforce that unlocking women’s economic potential requires programs and systems to see and support the whole person,” said Payal Dalal, executive vice president for global programs at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “Through Strive Women, we are investing in the tools, networks, and insights that can drive lasting impact for women entrepreneurs around the world.”

What needs to change?

The Strive Women research findings call for bold, practical, women-centered interventions. To ensure women entrepreneurs can thrive, CARE is calling for:

• Offering long-term, higher-interest savings accounts with features like automated deposits to help women build emergency funds.
• Financial products tailored to women’s business needs, with larger loan sizes, flexible repayment terms and alternative credit assessments.
• Offering tiered, practical digital literacy programs, from mobile banking basics to advanced tools like e-commerce and AI.
• Creating peer groups and family-inclusive workshops to build networks, mentorship, and shared responsibility at home.
• Innovations that support redistributive care responsibilities, through mechanisms such as subsidized childcare and financial tools designed with caregiving realities in mind.

Looking ahead

As Strive Women programming continues, further research will explore how tailored financial and business support can build long-term resilience, how digital tools support business growth, and how strong networks—both personal and professional—can enhance women’s financial health and overall well-being.

Notes to editors:

Link to Strive Women Baseline Report

Link to Baseline Learning Summary

Press contact: usa.media@care.org

About CARE: Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls. Equipped with the proper resources women and girls have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. In 2023, CARE worked in 109 countries, reaching 167 million people through more than 1,600 projects. To learn more, visit www.care.org.

About the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth: The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise, and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs, and empower a community of thinkers, leaders, and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on LinkedIn, Instagram and subscribe to its newsletter. 

CNH brand, New Holland, launched a new range of tractors and introduced the new T8 with lifetime telemetry at the 30^th edition of Agrishow in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

New T8 with free telemetry

Combining tradition and innovation, the T8 sets a new standard of excellence. In addition to meeting the demands of agriculture, it also transforms activities with efficiency and sustainability. A 100% connected tractor, the T8 has free and lifetime telemetry, Isobus system and PLM Intelligence autopilot, real-time monitoring and total control for more assertive decision-making, ensuring efficient management of operations and less maintenance time.

FPT Cursor 9 engines have new rated power ranges that offer high torque to maximize performance in any type of task. This allows the use of larger implements, optimizing productivity with lower fuel consumption.

T7.300 Auto Command CVT

Another New Holland attraction at this year’s Agrishow was the T7.300 Auto Command CVT, an innovative product that redefines the standard of efficiency and comfort.

A highlight of the T7.300 Auto Command CVT is the new 260hp nominal engine, which reduces pollutant emissions without compromising power and torque, ensuring greater productivity in the field, and the new Auto Command CVT transmission, which offers high efficiency and uniformity during operations. With a continuously variable transmission, it provides better control, higher operating efficiency and fuel economy, even in the most severe operations.

To read more, click here.

Preparing for stormy weather is what we do at Entergy. As part of our extensive year-round focus on incident preparation, Entergy employees recently participated in an annual tropical storm exercise.

During the exercise, a mock Category 4 storm made a simulated landfall near the Bolivar Peninsula located in Southwest Texas. Employees across our four-state service area tested and role-played how they would respond, including their restoration efforts, operations, logistics, communications and customer service responses.

Representatives from Tulane University’s Emergency and Security Studies program observed Entergy employees’ and shared insights on how the organization trains for its response efforts.

“Oftentimes in an exercise folks will rely heavily on assumptions about what support or capabilities they can expect. But real-world events are filled with challenges, obstacles, and unexpected factors that rise, which is why we were impressed to see Entergy’s approach to their tropical storm exercise,” said Dr. Rebecca Rouse, professor of practice and associate program director emergency and security studies at Tulane. “The various departments tested their plans for weakness versus rigging the scenario to ensure success. They started with vulnerabilities and lessons learned from the past and worked thoroughly through these. This kind of execution effectively reveals gaps in planning so the operators can avoid using precious resources to wrangle these later when the actual storms roll in- a great way to prepare for any emergency.”

The storm exercise gave employees a chance to sharpen their storm-response skills and prepare for this year’s hurricane season that experts predict forecast a total of 17 named storms, nine being hurricanes – four of which are predicted to be major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher. This forecast follows a stormy spring season that brought devastating tornadoes to communities we serve in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“Hurricanes Beryl and Francine caused widespread damage to our Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas service areas. We must remain ready for a variety of threats, which is why are continuing to refine how we train and prepare for storm season.” said Dakin DuBroc, vice president, incident response. “Our team takes training seriously and I am proud of their commitment to being prepared for anything.”

Customers encouraged to prepare now

Entergy remains storm ready and we want you to be ready, too. Our Storm Center features checklists and other helpful information that can be used to create a pre-storm kit and prepare for hurricane season.

MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 22, 2025 /3BL/ – This International Day of Biological Diversity, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and International Paper (IP) are highlighting efforts to improve habitats and bolster wildlife within the Cumberland Plateau — a region that includes eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. It’s globally recognized for its extraordinary biodiversity.

Through the Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund, IP and NFWF are providing vital support to the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy and other project partners who are working in this region, conducting forest habitat restoration and wildlife protection.

“The Cumberland Plateau is one of the most biologically diverse temperate forest regions in the world,” said Will Singleton, Program Director for NFWF, “Home to more than 200 freshwater species—many found nowhere else—this region plays a critical role in protecting the Southeast’s natural heritage.”

The rivers and streams of the Cumberland Plateau support a vast variety of life, including fish, mussels, crayfish, and amphibians. Among them is the Black Warrior waterdog, a rare and elusive salamander that lives only in Alabama’s Black Warrior River Basin.

Often called the “Salamander Capital of the World,” this region supports an astonishing range of amphibians, along with rare plants, birds, and insects uniquely adapted to its shaded forests and clear streams. Beneath the surface, a maze of caves and underground streams provides shelter for rare wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. This rich, connected landscape makes the Cumberland Plateau not just a home for biodiversity, but a powerful place to learn how to protect it.

These species rely on these connected, healthy habitats—but today, many are blocked by aging culverts and degraded forests. That’s where NFWF and IP come in.

By restoring forest habitats and reconnecting waterways, the Forestland Stewards partnership between IP and NFWF is helping freshwater species thrive while contributing to the investment’s broader initiative to restore high-value forest and aquatic ecosystems throughout the Southeast. Whether it’s a well-known forest or a quiet stream few people ever see, these efforts are giving biodiversity the space it needs to thrive.

“Our entire business model depends on the sustainability of forests,” said Jeremy Poirier, senior manager of fiber certification and sustainability at International Paper. “And our longstanding partnership with NFWF enables us to contribute to forest conservation efforts at scale.”

Find out more about how International Paper connects with nature and biodiversity in our TNFD report at www.internationalpaper.com/reports.

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About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP; LSE: IPC) is the global leader in sustainable packaging solutions. With company headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters in London, UK, we employ more than 65,000 team members and serve customers around the world with operations in more than 30 countries. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Net sales for 2024 were $18.6 billion. In 2025, International Paper acquired DS Smith creating an industry leader focused on the attractive and growing North American and EMEA regions. Additional information can be found by visiting internationalpaper.com

About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) works with partners to foster sustainable and impactful conservation solutions so that people and nature thrive together. Chartered by Congress in 1984, NFWF has grown to become the nation’s largest conservation foundation. Since its founding, NFWF has funded more than 22,100 projects that have generated a total conservation impact of more than $10 billion. Learn more at nfwf.org.

For our most recent Career Spotlight, Tapestry interviewed Eric Chavous, Senior Manager, Counsel. We learned about his role – which includes managing brand ambassador contracts and walkthroughs with the Intellectual Property team – and how it helps shape the final product you see in stores.

Q: Can you share your role, how long you’ve been at Tapestry and a few details about what your team oversees? I am Sr. Manager, Counsel and have worked at Tapestry for a little over four years. I started as an independent contractor and was converted to full time about five months later. Currently, I support both the Contracts team that oversees all agreements entered across Tapestry and its brands in NA and the Intellectual Property team responsible for managing Tapestry’s global IP portfolio and clearing designs, artwork, and names for brand design and merchandise teams.

Q: What is your proudest moment/achievement at Tapestry? I am blessed to be able to truthfully say I have had numerous proud moments at Tapestry. The moment that sticks out the most at this time is the opportunity I had to give a presentation on NFTs to our Executive Committee with one of my colleagues. Not many lawyers at my career level can claim they have personally presented to the entire Executive Committee of a multi-billion dollar public company.

Q: What words would you use to describe our culture? Innovative. Fast. Inclusive.

AEG’s LA Galaxy, hosted a fireside chat with team Defender and former captain of the Japanese National Team, Maya Yoshida, designed to inspire local Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth about career paths with the sports industry.

The event was held at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA, on May 1, 2025 in collaboration with the Little Tokyo Service Center and Terasaki Budokan, as part of API Desi Heritage Month.

The discussion centered on the role that cultural identity plays in shaping careers and personal journeys, particularly within the high-performance world of Major League Soccer.

Yoshida, who joined the Galaxy in 2023, shared insights into his experience representing Japan on the international stage, navigating cultural expectations, and the importance of representation for young athletes of AANHPI descent.

“This event is about creating a space where AANHPI youth can see themselves reflected in sports—on the field and behind the scenes,” said Yoshida. “I and the LA Galaxy are proud to honor and uplift my community by sharing these stories.”

Following the fireside chat, attendees participated in a dynamic soccer clinic at Galaxy Park in Carson, CA, where they had the opportunity to train with Galaxy coaches and play alongside their peers.

The event is part of the LA Galaxy’s ongoing commitment to celebrating the diverse communities that make up the fabric of Southern California, and to providing meaningful opportunities for youth engagement, cultural appreciation, and community building.

For more information about LA Galaxy’s community initiatives, visit www.lagalaxy.com/community.