We are making a difference
Advancing gender equality, climate resilience, & community well-being
2025: Our Impact at a Glance
Progress in Action
In 2025, supported by our donors and our members, we expanded our national coalition for gender-based violence (GBV) awareness and advocacy, forged a partnership with the government for a purpose-built domestic violence shelter for women, mobilised local communities and volunteers to improve biodiversity conservation and protect coastal ecosystems, and amplified the voice of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on the global stage.
Towards Gender Equality
On International Women’s Day, we mobilised over 2,400 people in our second annual national Stop Gender-Based Violence Walk (2% of the population; up from 1% in 2024). We brought together 28+ civil society groups following a two-month national awareness campaign that reached over 10,000 people and educated more than 200 youth. In October, after months of lobbying, IHO and the Directorate of Gender Affairs (DoGA) secured government approval for a lease of 5 acres of land for the landmark domestic violence shelter to be established as a sustainable women-led social enterprise.
Prioritising Biodiversity Conservation
This year, we strengthened protected areas like Antigua & Barbuda’s NEMMA, where, in 2025, we completed a World Bank-funded project on biodiversity conservation. We empowered communities to actively hold government accountable for biodiversity conservation through social accountability approaches. We trained the nation’s first cohort of 13 volunteer Litter Prevention Wardens, built a partnership with the waste management authority to reduce wetland pollution, and improved biodiversity education for hundreds of young people through the inclusion of biodiversity conservation in the Grade Six Social Studies curriculum.
Adapting to Climate Change
In Nelson's Dockyard National Park, we are building climate resilience in vulnerable communities through programs in beekeeping, eco-tourism, and crafts, with over 100 participants. We are working with the Park’s authority to strengthen marine ecosystem management and restoration in relation to habitats like coral reefs and mangrove wetlands. Our AgroTech pilot project, meanwhile, is assisting a dozen women farmers to be climate-resilient through new technology and beekeeper training.
Advocating for SIDS & Civil Society
IHO’s advocacy for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is growing. In 2025, we brought civil society voices to the UN SIDS Civil Society Engagement Forum, the 55th OAS General Assembly, and the COP30 Climate Summit. We recognise the urgency of confronting gender inequality, adapting to climate change, and protecting the most vulnerable and marginalised. Together with partners and communities, we are building resilient, equitable societies across SIDS, believing that sustainable development must be inclusive, gender-responsive, and rooted in community action.
2025 Impact Report
Thank you donors and members for making IHO's work possible. Let us continue working for a just and sustainable future for all.
Gender equality is essential for inclusive development, empowering all members of the community, and ensuring sustainable progress.
Protecting ecology and biodiversity supports livelihoods, and preserves natural resources for climate resilience.
By working with youth people, we empower them to address inequality, enhance climate resilience, and support sustainable outcomes.
Involving communities in helps to ensure that solutions are people-focused, culturally relevant, and ultimately sustainable.
