Smallholder farmers are not just food producers; they are the pillars of rural food systems and guardians of our biodiversity.
Smallholder farmers are often excluded from the formal economy, essential agricultural value chains, and access to markets in the rural economy. Investing in their success is both a moral obligation and a sound survival strategy.
Climate Change affects smallholder farmers as they rely on natural livelihood systems and are sensitive to rain, sun, and winds variations. Unless urgent action is taken, ensuring the food security of a growing world population will not be possible under a changing climate. Climate Change multiplies existing threats to food security.
Our Farmers’ Clubs programme works with smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable farming and adapt to Climate Change. We support smallholder farmers with organisation, knowledge and new farming methods. Farmers’ Clubs place farmers and their families at the centre of farming activities. Farmers meet, learn and support one another in finding common solutions to their challenges. The clubs develop ethical, sustainable production and regenerative farming practices that farmers can implement together in their communities in harmony with nature.
Smallholder farmers need to adopt sustainable farming practices, and in the process, they will create employment opportunities and rural development. Not only for their own sake but for all of us.
Farmers’ Clubs are found in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. They have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of small-holder farmers and their families.
| Find out more about the Farmers' Clubs programme |
|
Farmers' Clubs Each Farmers’ Club is organised around 50 or so members, men and women, who jointly make decisions and take actions The Clubs are further broken into core groups of 10, led by a step-up farmer. Within each core group, farmers access training, strengthen their cooperation, solve challenges, and develop sound ethical practices that are in harmony with nature.  Clubs can be informal or formally registered and they also have opportunities to create co-operatives or join other farmers’ organisations, which means they can benefit from shared structures and financing opportunities. The Farming Instructors live amongst the farmers, facilitate weekly training, and they are part of the community and work with the farmers and the clubs. Farmers' Clubs are a way for farmers to get together and share their knowledge and experiences. They work together in demonstration fields, have meetings and lessons, and arrange field days and agricultural shows, sharing with the whole community. Protecting the environment is a matter of course for Farmers’ Clubs, as they depend on nature for their survival. Collectively, farmers organise the sale of their produce at local markets and further afar, formalise land ownership, and invest in technology for irrigation and processing. The clubs strengthen the relationship between farmers’ groups and public and private agricultural institutions in the local area through two-way knowledge sharing and long-term collaboration. The Farmers’ Clubs are also linked to local government structures, which add expertise and help extend the project’s impact beyond its time. Farmers’ Clubs extend into the social and cultural lives of the farmers and their families. They improve women's participation, care for health and nutrition, disease prevention and sanitation, and protection of land rights. It’s a programme, which is flexible and adaptable to local climatic, cultural and financial conditions. |
| Read less |
Communities are where we create and live our lives. When people come together to pursue local development under organised structures with clear leadership and functional democratic spaces, communities can unleash their capabilities.
The family is the key unit of the community, being the most direct agent with the capacity to push the development frontiers. Families have the experience of supporting each other and their individual members; on the ground, here and now.
We support people and communities across the globe to build strength, help them organise in local democratic structures, and gain the skills, knowledge, and understanding they need to make changes together.
In our Community Development projects in rural areas in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the local Action Group is a main structure. In rural areas, they are Village Action Groups, and in urban settings, similar Action Groups are created with appropriate names.
Action Groups are community-based structures led by the local people that can stay for the long haul and build sustainability. The Action Group coordinates and creates spaces for people to engage each other and take action. In these spaces, a cascade of actions takes shape: sharing knowledge, skills training, support to entrepreneurship, women empowerment, protection of child rights, climate actions, support to the orphans and disabled, to mention a few examples.
Our Community Development projects align with local development needs. People in the community are involved in assessing their specific needs. A project typically runs for three to five years, long enough to create lasting impact and sustainability.
| Find out more about the Child Aid programme |
|
Child Aid Programme Child Aid is our approach to integrated community development. Child Aid supports children, parents and the whole community to work together to improve living conditions for children, creating opportunities for them - not only for survival but for developing their full potential. Child Aid is community-driven and places the control of development processes and decision-making into the hands of those who are affected. 
The Village Action Group is the fundamental organizational structure in Child Aid. We value the Village Group with its frame which gives people an opportunity to create a forum to hold discussions, plan common tasks, acquire new knowledge, identify challenges, and find and implement solutions together. Activities contribute to an improvement of food security, promote good health, solve basic water and sanitation problems, create better education conditions, and organise care for the sick or children in difficult situations. They form local savings and lending clubs to support family economies. It is essential to form alliances with children themselves, as they are a force of development in their families. Our Child Aid programme works closely with children, supporting them to know their rights, so they take an active role in safeguarding and upholding them. Child Aid supports children and families to secure birth certificates; children without parents are enrolled in schools and monitored so they do not drop out; and children affected by HIV and AIDS and other illnesses receive support in accessing medical treatment. The Project Leader often resides in the community and plays a key role in making it all happen. Child Aid can easily be adapted to suit different situations and contexts facing a community. It is often a starting point for further development programmes, from tackling the spread of communicable diseases to building education and income generation projects. |
| Read less |
In Humana People to People, we know that impact starts with the people. We improve health by strengthening communities to lead, decide on their own matters, and turn hope into action across the countries where our members operate.
Communities are increasingly seeking self-reliance in health, and we support them in taking control of their community health, setting priorities, and managing resources, ensuring continuity of care even in challenging situations.
With our people-to-people approach, we help organise communities to lead the fight against HIV, TB, malaria, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and nutrition issues. Through the Total Control of the Epidemic (TCE) model, pioneered in 2000, community volunteers, peer educators, and local organisations mobilise people, reduce stigma, and promote testing and adherence to treatment through TRIOs – family- and friend-led support groups, thereby strengthening prevention, care and adherence efforts. We train and organise health personnel to work directly in the communities. Our experience shows that when people are informed, organised, and supported, entire communities make progress.
Our members work in close partnership with ministries of health, local authorities and partners to support public health systems, some of them being multi-sectoral health programmes that integrate health, education, agriculture and climate resilience. By strengthening local health governance and connecting people to quality health services, Humana People to People stands with communities to end epidemics as public health threats by 2030 and to make health for all a reality.
Global solidarity remains crucial, but it must reinforce rather than replace local leadership. Sustainable progress happens when communities take the lead, and health systems respond.
| Find out more about on how we respond the health issues: |
|
HIV and TB International Advocacy In 2025, Humana People to People brought one consistent message to the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), the World Conference on Lung Health, and the STOP TB Partnership Awards: communities must lead, and health systems must support them. At ICASA, we pushed for African-led, sustainably financed HIV responses rooted in local resource mobilisation and strong community systems. We highlighted the importance of prevention and long-term investment in people. At the World Conference on Lung Health 2025 in Copenhagen, we joined more than 3,000 TB fighters united by one reality: tuberculosis remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, yet it is preventable, diagnosable, and curable. The gap is not in knowledge; it is in investment, political will, and community involvement. Our team delivered nine presentations and shared lessons from over two decades of Total Control of the Epidemic (TCE) programmes. The strong interest in our TRIO model confirmed that when people support one another, treatment adherence improves, and stigma decreases. At the STOP TB Awards, we celebrated community resilience and reinforced our call for stronger community voices because communities are not an add-on to the response; they are the delivery system. TB elimination requires community involvement, with communities taking the lead, as epidemics can end only when communities do that. In the TRIO system, developed by Humana People to People, a TRIO consists of three people: the person on treatment and two supporters (often family members or friends). Why is a TRIO needed? The answer is simple. Silence, stigma, and fear of discrimination are the main challenges that the TRIO faces. The TRIO reduces number of cases, the likelihood of defaulting, and secures optimal treatment success. The TRIO system is based on a simple human act: communicating, sharing, and supporting each other in daily life. The TRIO sticks together and becomes knowledgeable about TB drug management, nutrition and Positive Living with TB and HIV. For different reasons, a person on treatment of HIV or TB may have a challenge in maintaining adherence to treatment. When this happens, the person on treatment can put their own health at risk and may newly infect others. After a period in a TRIO and proof of good adherence to treatment measured by viral load suppression, the person may enroll in a Community Adherence Group if needed. This becomes an organised community support structure.
Leah’s Transformative Journey I kept asking myself, “Why me?” I felt ashamed around my friends and siblings
Development Aid from People to People Zambia carries out the TCE Programme with Zambia’s Ministry of Health, mobilising communities to prevent HIV and TB, strengthen treatment adherence, reduce stigma, and build TRIOs with over 72,100 TRIOs formed in four provinces in Zambia to support retention and viral load suppression. Here is one of the many stories that show how the TCE Programme transforms lives. “When I was told I am HIV positive, my world fell apart. I kept asking myself, “Why me?” I felt ashamed around my friends and siblings, and even threw away my medicine because I did not understand its importance. Soon, sores appeared on my body, and my health began to weaken. A TCE field officer visited our home and patiently explained HIV to my mother and me. That is when we formed a TRIO: my mother, my aunt and me. Through this support system and by joining the teens club, I began to accept my condition. Speaking openly was frightening, but it helped me fight self-stigma and realise I am not alone. Today, I take my medication every day. My viral load is suppressed, and I feel strong again.” Leah’s journey is one among thousands across Zambia, where families stand together. DAPP Zambia’s HIV and TB programmes continue to extend care to those most often left behind. Leah was 15 years old at the time of the interview. |
| Read less |
Education is the foundation for peace, solidarity, inclusiveness and sustainable development.
Education must be inclusive, engaging, and participatory in its methods, relevant and purposeful in its content to develop students' knowledge, understanding, and agency to address 21st-century challenges.
We seek to inspire and complement public education so that teachers, students, parents, education institutions, education officials and Ministries of Education can draw from direct and indirect collaboration with the Humana People to People education institutions and projects.
Our approach to students and learners of all ages is to create the conditions for them to learn the basics and encourage them to develop into agents of change.
In our programmes of primary education, teacher education and technical and vocational training, as well as informal education, we see that students, regardless of their background, are willing and able to build their knowledge and understanding and use it for taking action, when the kind of programme they need is established.
We engage students to address real-life issues together, using abundant interactive study methods, action research, group work, and practical activities. This has proven to be a solid foundation for lifelong learning.
Through our education projects, we support people’s vision and capacity to contribute to development, for themselves, their communities and the nation.
Our education programmes encompass children’s education for the marginalised and those living in difficult circumstances; empowerment of girls and women through education; vocational training programmes, including formal and short skills training courses, promoting socio-economic development.
| Find out more about the Teacher Training programme, TVET and ECD |
|
Teacher Training Since 1993, Humana People to People has trained more than 69,900 dedicated teachers to work in public primary schools across Mozambique, Angola, Malawi, Guinea Bissau, Zambia, D. R. Congo, and India. Training lasts between one and three years, and schools are mainly boarding schools, with the exception of those in India.  Humana People to People pedagogy is practised across schools and training programmes, in 82 educational institutions and 337 other teaching and learning projects. Our teacher training programmes target rural and peri-urban communities across Africa and Asia, educating teachers committed to overcoming barriers to meaningful education. The training combines academic studies with practical experiences in local primary schools, and enriching study trips to explore the diverse society they will serve. The Teacher Training College prioritises the students’ independence, integrity and cooperation in learning. They use these experiences, sharing them with their learners in school, and they involve parents and colleagues, making the school a true centre in the community. After graduation, teachers can join the Graduated Teachers Network to collaborate and share experiences to better respond to the many daily challenges in their work. Here, they focus on teaching quality and promote campaigns on health, culture, gender, sports, and environmental protection. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Skills Development Humana People to People operates 16 TVET colleges across eight African countries, training young people in various fields, including agriculture, civil construction, business administration, hospitality, tourism, electricity, and others, to secure sustainable employment by meeting evolving job market demands, build self-reliance, and contribute to economic and social progress in their communities.  The programmes are inclusive and promote gender equity. Our TVET schools have the capacity to enrol more than 2700 youths annually. Here, students learn vocational skills and add a broader view of life and the world to become better equipped to form their future and prepare themselves to take up a meaningful and productive place in society. Since our first Vocational School started in 1981, over 36,000 young people have been trained to contribute positively to their communities. Early Childhood Development (ECD) The Early Childhood Development Programme was established to provide affordable preschool education, giving children in rural areas a good foundation when starting primary school and later in life. Humana People to People carries out Early Childhood Development programmes through specific training programmes and community-based initiatives, aiming to give young children the support they need during their early years.  Our approach focuses on practical learning through play, developing enthusiasm, nurturing curiosity and critical thinking from an early age. By working closely with parents, caregivers, and local communities, we support people in creating inclusive and supportive learning environments that give children, regardless of their background, the opportunity to thrive. Committees and parents support the teachers in running the ECD centres. Parents participate in training sessions and events, such as “Children’s Day,” as well as classroom improvement actions. |
| Read less |
For more than forty years we’ve collected, sorted and sold second-hand clothes. This gives good clothes a longer lifespan and the sales proceeds support development projects across Africa, Asia and Central and South America.
Our second-hand clothes collection contributes to the reduction of waste, saves precious resources through reuse, provides affordable clothing to people in both hemispheres, and ultimately enables us to undertake invaluable development work.
Our goal is to ensure that all clothing and footwear are used in a way that benefits both people and the environment.
Our second-hand clothes system is a people-to-people system. The sorting centres in Europe and the clothes sales projects in Africa are in close contact.
In 2025, we generated 23.1% of the funding for social projects from our Humana People to People second-hand clothes trade.
| Why second-hand clothes industry matters and Humana People to People's approach |
 Collection and Sales of Secondhand Clothes We collect second-hand clothes through shops and collection bins in high footfall locations. The reasons people get rid of clothes vary – mainly, changes in size, fashion, or need. Many appreciate that their unwanted clothes may hold great value for someone else. In 2025, 140,000 tonnes of clothes were collected, 19.9 million donated clothes, and 31.8 million bought second-hand clothes in the USA, Europe, Africa and Central America. 853,000 tonnes of Carbon dioxide were saved. We collect clothes that people no longer want but deem usable for others. After professional sorting, our network achieves reuse percentages of 75 or higher. Each item is carefully evaluated for quality and its appropriate future market. Depending on specific market criteria, the clothes are sold for reuse in the Global North or South. Shops, sorting centres and wholesale outlets are respectful and well-organised, ensuring the dignity of staff and customers, be it in the Global North or South. People feel dignity and pride when they can access good quality, affordable clothing and choose the style they like. This supports the fundamental human right to clothing for millions of households in low-income countries. Jobs and income created in the reuse business are fulfilling for the thousands of people directly employed and many millions more across the Global South who rely on selling clothes to the next customers. The clothing is sorted and assessed in dedicated sorting centres and sold in second-hand shops in Europe, North America, Africa, and Central America, including Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Belize. The contributions of the Humana People to People network in the second-hand clothing industry far exceed the direct impact of sustaining and transforming lives to ensure decency and dignity. Humana People to People recognises the strategic importance of used clothing in sustaining the livelihoods of millions living in some of the world’s most economically challenged regions. In 2025, 31.8 million people bought second-hand clothing from our shops across Europe, the USA, Africa and Central America. People turn to second-hand clothes to help protect the planet and create decent lives. The second-hand clothes sector is more than just a market for used clothes. It is vital for employment in the circular economy. The Humana People to People network creates more than 8,000 formal jobs directly with its members and 116,200 informal jobs in logistics, sorting and sales throughout Africa and Central America. Both formal and informal employment sustain economic development. Over 50% of discarded garments in Europe end up in landfills or incinerators, a figure that rises to 85% in the USA. In 2025, Humana People to People members contributed to sustainability by repurposing 140,000 tonnes of used clothing in the USA and Europe. In 2025, Humana People to People’s second-hand clothes operation saved 853,000 tonnes of CO2. |
The challenges in humanitarian work today include adapting to the complexities of modern crises such as climate change, wars, and conflicts, as well as improving coordination and collaboration between organisations to be more cost-efficient and of higher quality in localised approaches that empower communities. Climate change is now occurring so rapidly that vulnerable communities barely have time to recover before facing the next disaster, and these challenges rarely emerge in isolation; they constantly overlap, disrupting lives and threatening development gains.
The members of the Federation have mandated the Spanish member organisation Humana Fundación Pueblo para Pueblo to become accredited by the European Union’s humanitarian aid agency ECHO on behalf of all members. With this, our members all count on the expertise and the capacity to adhere to the very solid and principled standards which are demanded from this accreditation.
Humana People to People believes in the power of local structures and community cohesion, so when a disaster strikes, communities mobilise collectively, support each other, and take decisive action to drive their own recovery. Our integrated approach to humanitarian action combines humanitarian, development, and often peacebuilding efforts to address the root causes of crises and build long-term resilience, while at the same time delivering short-term relief. Throughout our history, and still today, we have engaged with local communities by listening to their needs, learning from their experiences, and incorporating their perspectives into our programmes. This practice informs and directs us, also in humanitarian action. Our practice has also built the capacity to act with speed and ensure, together with the relevant authorities and organisations, that all established procedures are followed in the event of a crisis.
Humana People to People has been engaged in humanitarian action since the early 80-ies. Through our presence in conflict zones such as Angola and Mozambique, response to floodings and droughts in too many countries, education of refugees of all ages in the DRC, Angola, Zambia and Malawi, just to mention a few examples – our members have drawn on their close cooperation with people in the communities, and combined their experiences with responses to local emergencies. There are now strong, dedicated teams in several countries, such as Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, focused on coordination, disaster preparedness, and rapid response to build resilience in the face of disasters.
In Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, we implement quick-response initiatives to address the disaster's impact, focusing on immediate relief and long-term sustainability. Our emergency relief efforts provide essential items, including food, hygiene kits, clothing, water treatment kits, and safe shelter to communities heavily affected by floods, cyclones, and other disasters. Special attention is given to communities with high HIV and TB prevalence, so as to continue to deliver prevention and treatment services for HIV and TB patients, recognising that affected individuals face an increased risk of health deterioration.
Beyond immediate needs, we rehabilitate the infrastructures of affected schools to restore educational services, ensuring children can return to safe learning environments. In drought-prone areas, farmers become self-reliant by practising effective coping mechanisms. This integrated approach aims to provide rapid relief while fostering resilience and sustainability in disaster-affected communities.