Supporting Humanitarian Initiative for Transformation (SHIFT) in Asia – INO- (Gates)

Description

SHIFT Asia is a two-year initiative implemented by Oxfam in collaboration with local partners in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. The program aims to build a more just and gender-responsive humanitarian system by strengthening women’s leadership at the local level. SHIFT Asia combines network building, leadership training, public campaigns, and policy advocacy to ensure that women’s organizations play a central role in humanitarian response.

The project supports over 130 women’s organizations through capacity building, partnerships, and knowledge documentation. In Indonesia, Penabulu Foundation collaborates with Oxfam Indonesia and LBH APIK Indonesia to strengthen the Women’s Consortium for Humanitarian Response. Through feminist training and regional knowledge exchange, the project fosters cross-border solidarity.

SHIFT Asia focuses on three pillars: building national and regional networks of women’s organizations; enhancing collective action of women in humanitarian systems; and promoting gender-transformative public policies. All activities are supported by a digital knowledge management system enabling cross-country learning and best practice sharing.

Through SHIFT Asia, women and marginalized groups are empowered to be decision-makers in disaster management. The program will produce policies, guidelines, and indicators that support the integration of gender perspectives in humanitarian systems. In Indonesia, the project will develop training modules, policy guidelines, and knowledge-based platforms that support women’s leadership.

Challenges include natural disasters, socio-political conflict, and growing gender conservatism. SHIFT Asia addresses these challenges by creating safe spaces, providing psychosocial support, and strengthening solidarity among women’s organizations. Feminist principles such as power-sharing, care, and inclusivity are foundational to the program’s approach.

To ensure sustainability, SHIFT Asia promotes funding diversification and the strengthening of women’s organizations as central actors. The project also envisions a flexible humanitarian fund and the inclusion of new countries like Nepal and Timor-Leste. These initiatives aim to build the autonomy of women in humanitarian systems.

SHIFT Asia is more than a project; it is a movement for structural transformation of humanitarian systems in Asia. By placing women’s leadership at the center, it fosters a more just, responsive, and sustainable system to address crises and disasters.

Funding

This program is supported by the Gates Foundation through Oxfam America, with a program period from July 8, 2025 to June 30, 2027, and total funding of USD 267,500.