‘I plan to use this grant money to buy a sack of rice for my family,” said Lim Ean (79), from Cambodia. ACT members provide CASH transfer in several emergency responses. Photo: Paul Jeffrey

A group of mostly elderly women in Zinga village in Tanzania tell me what it’s like to receive cash transfers from Tanzania’s flagship social protection programme the Productive Social Safety Net. Since the cash transfer is targeted to the “poorest of the poor” (about 10 percent of the village), I ask what reactions they get from neighbours who do not get the transfer. The reply is that some of their neighbours say “they are only getting the cash because they are old and useless women”.

There has been a great deal of talk about social protection in Agenda 2030. Five of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goals explicitly highlight social protection as a tool for reaching them. Yet, social protection is still a fuzzy concept to many. Access to health care and education, perhaps, sound more familiar. Or pensions and child grants. All of these make up social protection. Things like cash transfers, free school lunches and free access to child care, schools and clinics. Most importantly, social protection is a human right which guarantees a minimum standard of living for all.[1]

Cash-in-hand in particular has proven to be one of the most efficient forms of poverty eradication, and is also rapidly gaining attention in humanitarian work. It rests on the assumption that people living in poverty know best for themselves what they and their families need, therefore they should have the choice on how to spend the money rather than development agencies.

It is when we combine poverty eradication with reducing inequalities that social protection gets really powerful. This means advocating for public social protection as a part of economic justice and fair redistribution of wealth. It includes stopping illicit financial flows and tax dodging by multinational companies, and calling for transparency in government spending as a necessity to make funds for social protection sustainable.

What stake do churches have in this? Religious actors of all faiths have a long tradition of discussing the issues brought out by high inequality – both in terms of the necessity to share with the poor, but also possibly the problematic sides of wealth. Churches and faith based organisations are often providers of social services and assist people living in poverty through diaconal activities. Churches have also many times, as parts of civil society, played an important role in calls for social justice. This gives faith based actors a voice in the discussion about inequality and social protection.

Two ACT Alliance members have initiated a collaboration on social protection as a tool to fight inequality: Church of Sweden, which works extensively with promotion of social protection as a rights-based tool for poverty eradication, and Norwegian Church Aid, which addresses the issue of global inequality through campaigning against tax evasion and capital flight from developing countries.

Back in Zinga village, at a workshop on tax funded social protection with partner organisations, we learnt that there is also another role for faith based actors to play in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.

Because it is not just to give out cash transfers anyhow that does the trick. Many social protection programmes that are funded by development partners, such as the one in Tanzania, are targeted to the very poorest. Not only does such a programme design bring challenges in terms of accuracy and costly poverty assessments. It also goes against the human rights approach to social protection – to receive a benefit not because you are considered as “old, poor and useless” but because you are a human being entitled to social and economic rights.

Guided by the belief that every human being has the right to a life with dignity, faith based actors should speak up for rights-based social protection initiatives that leave no one behind, and compromises  no-one’s dignity.

To end poverty and reduce inequality with everyone’s dignity preserved all the way, that is what I hope that faith based actors will advocate for during this year’s High Level Political Forum underway this week in New York, and onwards to 2030.

__________

[1] Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 22), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 9, 10).

Gunilla Palm is a policy adviser for social protection and sustainable livelihoods at Church of Sweden, a member of the ACT Alliance. Her background is within human rights and conflict research. She tweets @GunillaPalm.

‘I plan to use this grant money to buy a sack of rice for my family,” said Lim Ean (79), from Cambodia. ACT members provide CASH transfer in several emergency responses. Photo: Paul Jeffrey

A group of mostly elderly women in Zinga village in Tanzania tell me what it’s like to receive cash transfers from Tanzania’s flagship social protection programme the Productive Social Safety Net. Since the cash transfer is targeted to the “poorest of the poor” (about 10 percent of the village), I ask what reactions they get from neighbours who do not get the transfer. The reply is that some of their neighbours say “they are only getting the cash because they are old and useless women”.

There has been a great deal of talk about social protection in Agenda 2030. Five of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goals explicitly highlight social protection as a tool for reaching them. Yet, social protection is still a fuzzy concept to many. Access to health care and education, perhaps, sound more familiar. Or pensions and child grants. All of these make up social protection. Things like cash transfers, free school lunches and free access to child care, schools and clinics. Most importantly, social protection is a human right which guarantees a minimum standard of living for all.[1]

Cash-in-hand in particular has proven to be one of the most efficient forms of poverty eradication, and is also rapidly gaining attention in humanitarian work. It rests on the assumption that people living in poverty know best for themselves what they and their families need, therefore they should have the choice on how to spend the money rather than development agencies.

It is when we combine poverty eradication with reducing inequalities that social protection gets really powerful. This means advocating for public social protection as a part of economic justice and fair redistribution of wealth. It includes stopping illicit financial flows and tax dodging by multinational companies, and calling for transparency in government spending as a necessity to make funds for social protection sustainable.

What stake do churches have in this? Religious actors of all faiths have a long tradition of discussing the issues brought out by high inequality – both in terms of the necessity to share with the poor, but also possibly the problematic sides of wealth. Churches and faith based organisations are often providers of social services and assist people living in poverty through diaconal activities. Churches have also many times, as parts of civil society, played an important role in calls for social justice. This gives faith based actors a voice in the discussion about inequality and social protection.

Two ACT Alliance members have initiated a collaboration on social protection as a tool to fight inequality: Church of Sweden, which works extensively with promotion of social protection as a rights-based tool for poverty eradication, and Norwegian Church Aid, which addresses the issue of global inequality through campaigning against tax evasion and capital flight from developing countries.

Back in Zinga village, at a workshop on tax funded social protection with partner organisations, we learnt that there is also another role for faith based actors to play in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.

Because it is not just to give out cash transfers anyhow that does the trick. Many social protection programmes that are funded by development partners, such as the one in Tanzania, are targeted to the very poorest. Not only does such a programme design bring challenges in terms of accuracy and costly poverty assessments. It also goes against the human rights approach to social protection – to receive a benefit not because you are considered as “old, poor and useless” but because you are a human being entitled to social and economic rights.

Guided by the belief that every human being has the right to a life with dignity, faith based actors should speak up for rights-based social protection initiatives that leave no one behind, and compromises  no-one’s dignity.

To end poverty and reduce inequality with everyone’s dignity preserved all the way, that is what I hope that faith based actors will advocate for during this year’s High Level Political Forum underway this week in New York, and onwards to 2030.

__________

[1] Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 22), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 9, 10).

Gunilla Palm is a policy adviser for social protection and sustainable livelihoods at Church of Sweden, a member of the ACT Alliance. Her background is within human rights and conflict research. She tweets @GunillaPalm.

PRESS RELEASE

The renewed fighting in South Sudan has raised serious concerns around safety and security of the people of the new, and increasingly fragile country. The situation has rapidly deteriorated over the last couple of days, with a reported death toll of nearly 300 people, and armed violence erupting in Juba and surrounding areas.

South Sudan, which has just marked five years of independence has experienced a politically instigated civil war since December 2013, occasioned by a conflict between President Salva Kiir and Vice president Riek Machar. A peace deal was reached in August 2015.

“We are alarmed by the developments and concerned that what was achieved in the last decade and through last year’s peace agreement may be lost in a matter of days,” said Pauliina Parhiala, ACT Alliance Director.

Church leaders and churches in South Sudan have decried the violence and called for its cessation. In a statement the South Sudan Council of Churches, said: “We, the leaders of the Church in South Sudan, are extremely disturbed about the fatal shootings which occurred in Juba on the evenings of 7th and 8th July 2016 and the morning of 10th July. We make no judgement as to how or why they occurred, nor who is to blame, but we note with concern that there have been a number of incidents recently, and that tension is increasing.”

“We condemn all acts of violence without exception. The time for carrying and using weapons has ended; now is the time to build a peaceful nation,” the statement further said.

With the renewed conflict comes an important humanitarian mandate to protect and safeguard the lives of innocent people in South Sudan, ACT Alliance said.

“While we join our members and the voice of churches in South Sudan to call for peace and immediate end to the violence, we also highlight the absolute need that those resorting to violence and the international community ensure humanitarian access for the sake of the affected populations,” said Parhiala. “International Human Rights Law and humanitarian principles remain sacrosanct and must be upheld without exception, by all.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

1. ACT Alliance is a coalition of 140 churches and faith-based organisations working together in over 100 countries to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of poor and marginalised people regardless of their religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality in keeping with the highest international codes and standards.
2. ACT Alliance is supported by 25,000 staff from member organisations and mobilises about $1.5 billion for its work each year in the areas of humanitarian aid, development and advocacy.
3. For more information contact Estelle Marais at esm@actalliance.org , tel: +41 79 358 3171 or visit actalliance.org

Joint NGO statement ahead of the European Council of 28-29 June 2016

At the upcoming European Council, European Union (EU) leaders will discuss the European Commission’s Communication on a new Partnership Framework with third countries. The Communication proposes an approach which aims to leverage existing EU and Member States’ external cooperation instruments and tools in order to stem migration to Europe. The undersigned organisations express their grave concern about the direction the EU is taking by making deterrence and return the main objective of the Union’s relationship with third countries. More broadly, this new Partnership Framework risks cementing a shift towards a foreign policy that serves one single objective, to curb migration, at the expense of European credibility and leverage in defence of fundamental values and human rights.

The proposed approach is inspired by the EU-Turkey deal which although touted as a successful example of cooperation, has actually left thousands people stranded in Greece in inhumane and degrading conditions. This has particularly affected children, with the result that hundreds of unaccompanied children have been held in closed detention facilities on the islands or forced to sleep in police cells on the Greek mainland. The wider repercussions of this should not be underestimated. It is hard to see how Europe can ask partner countries to keep their doors open, to host large-scale refugee populations and prevent further movements while at the same time Member States refuse to shoulder their fair share of responsibility for protecting people who flee their homes. The right to asylum is being significantly undermined, and it will become more and more challenging for civilians in conflict zones to seek international protection.

The Commission’s proposal ignores all the evidence on the ineffectiveness of deterrence strategies aimed at stopping migration. This approach will not only fail to “break the business-model” of smugglers but increase human suffering as people are forced into taking more dangerous routes. Moreover, despite the stated commitment to respect the principle of non-refoulement, there are no safeguards envisaged to ensure that human rights, rule of law standards and protection mechanisms are in place.  As a result, people risk being deported to countries where their rights are not safeguarded.  Responsibility and liability for human rights violations do not end at Europe’s borders.

We are disappointed to see that once again the emphasis on deterrence leaves no clear commitments to open up safe and regular channels to Europe for those in need of international protection and for other migrants, e.g. through resettlement, humanitarian admission schemes, family reunification, educational visas, labour mobility and visa liberalisation. Resettlement, labour migration and visa liberalisation are only mentioned as possible leverage with partner countries in a quid pro quo approach.

Another major concern is the financing of the proposed Partnership Framework which would represent a wholesale re-orientation of Europe’s development programming towards stopping migration. This is an unacceptable contradiction to the commitment to use development cooperation with the aim to eradicate poverty, as enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty. Aid is for the benefit of people in need, and should not be used as a leverage for migration control.  EU funding should be transparent and adhere to clearly established principles, such as the Busan principles on effectiveness and the Paris principles of ownership by and alignment to partner countries’ strategies. In addition, striking ‘migration management’ agreements with countries where grave human rights violations are committed will be counter-productive in the longer term – undermining human rights around the globe and perpetuating the cycle of abuse and repression that causes people to flee.

Migration has many drivers; people may be on the move in search of new livelihood opportunities, an education or to reunite with family, while conflict and violence, human rights violations, climate change, poverty and unemployment can all trigger migration and forced displacement. Any cooperation to manage migration should take into consideration this complex and multi-faceted reality, be evidence and needs-based, and ensure that the benefits of migration are maximised and the risks are mitigated.

If the EU wants to call for more global solidarity, it needs to set the right example. The EU, a project built on the rubble of a devastating war, is about to embark on a dark chapter of its history. We urge EU leaders to choose a rights-based system to manage migration, based on a viable long-term strategic vision, rather than pursuing an unattainable and inhumane deterrence objective and thereby abandoning its core founding principles.

As human rights, humanitarian, medical, migration and development agencies, and key implementing partners of development programmes in third countries, we call on European leaders to:

1. Reject the current Commission Communication and develop a sustainable long-term and evidence-based strategy for migration management, in consultation with civil society and experts.
2. Facilitate safe mobility by opening and strengthening safe and regular channels to Europe both for those in need of international protection and other migrants including through resettlement, humanitarian admission and humanitarian visas, family reunification, worker mobility across skill levels and student visas. Member States must commit to clear benchmarks and appropriate timelines for implementing a migration framework that meets the needs of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, their families, as well as the needs and obligations of Member States.
3. Exclude any conditionality based on migration control indicators in the allocation of development aid to third countries. Development aid is a tool to fight poverty and inequality, not to manage migration. Vulnerable populations should not be punished because of concerns that are largely political.
4. Stop any readmissions or removals of people by the EU to a third country that violate – or risk violating – fundamental rights and rule of law, including the principle of non-refoulement. Ensure access to protection, justice and effective remedy for all people in migration and asylum procedures.
5. Ensure transparency in the development of any instruments to manage migration and accountability for human rights violations resulting from EU migration policies.
6. Commit to a foreign policy and action focused on preventing and unlocking protracted crises. While the Communication mentions the need to address root causes of displacement in the long term, it does not include engagement to prevent and manage crises.

Signatories

PRESS RELEASE

Governments must act now to address economic and social inequalities that divide people and countries, benefiting only a few and forcing the many into cycles of poverty, vulnerability and marginalization, international humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

Commenting as the World Wealth Report from CapGemini was released today, ACT Alliance said that there is an urgent need for governments to close the gap by promoting policies known to lower income and wealth disparities.

“Ending inequalities between countries and between people represents addressing issues of justice, issues of human rights, and issues that speak to the kind of society that people want to live in,” said John Nduna, ACT Alliance General Secretary.

Questioning the existing economic model, Nduna said: “We need a new paradigm that addresses the root causes of poverty, and policies that offer pathways to progressive taxation and greater wealth distribution.”

While there is an unprecedented trend in increasing income inequality within countries for the benefit of a few mega rich individuals, ACT Alliance highlighted that social protection programmes, progressive taxation and equity based structural policies such as the introduction of a minimum wage could play a significant role in reducing the growing gap between rich and poor.

ACT Alliance is a coalition of 140 churches and faith-based organisations working together in over 100 countries to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of people in need. ACT works through faith-based networks and communities to help inform and influence justice and rights-based policies at all levels that seek to address the existing gaps in income and other forms of inequality.

“Action today could mean that specific targets for equity could be achieved,” said Nduna. “For example, enhanced use of progressive taxation on business, foreign investments, income and wealth, or securing full and productive decent work for all, could have rapid impacts on people most in need. Closing these gaps requires intentional commitments by political leaders, business leaders and ambitious policies from governments at all levels. Without this, there will be no end to the broken economic system that makes a few rich and the majority poor.”

ACT Alliance is part of the Fight Inequality Alliance a group of organisations including ActionAid, Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Femnet, Focus on the Global South, Greenpeace, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Oxfam.

ENDS

Note to Editors

1. ACT Alliance is a coalition of 140 churches and faith-based organisations working together in over 100 countries to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of people in need regardless of their religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality in keeping with the highest international codes and standards.
2. ACT Alliance is supported by 25,000 staff from member organisations and mobilises about $1.5 billion for its work each year in the areas of humanitarian aid, development and advocacy.
3. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at esm@actalliance.org, tel: +41 79 358 3171 or visitwww.actalliance.org

The ACT online security induction course is a useful tool for introducing new staff to some of the safety & security issues they may face in their work with the aid sector.

The course which is online on the ACT Safety & Security Community of Practice (SSCP) website features twelve modules consisting of a short video presentation and series of questions that must be answered by the user to proceed to the next topic. The course is set up so that if a user has to stop, or loses internet connection, their progress is saved for their next log in.

On completing the course, the user and their line manager receive an email informing them of the successful completion. The ACT Safety & Security Community of Practice (SSCP) encourages all ACT Members to make use of the course, and all our other security tools, to fulfil their duty of care and keep their staff safe as we do our valuable work around the world. 

To: His Excellency Prak Sokhonn,
Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia

We, the undersigned international NGOs, recognise the Royal Government of Cambodia’s commitment to global agreements and frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We note that the quest for sustainable development is reflected in policy documents such as the 2014 – 2018 National Strategic Development Plan and the “Rectangular Strategy” of the Royal Government of Cambodia.

We share the commitment and belief that progress in achieving SDGs and other social, economic, environmental or political goals requires strong social systems through which citizens interact with each other and with their government.

Recent events, however, lead us to believe that a number of civil society organisations that promote accountability and transparency have been con­sidered by the government as a threat to the stability of Cambodia .

We believe these organisations make important contributions to human development, and a stable society ready for growth and prosperity. We believe that the international charters to which Cambodia is a signatory (such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) recognise democratic values including the freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial. We also believe that the Constitution of Cambodia simi­larly provides a framework for protection and respect of rights.

While maintaining a spirit of partnership and cooperation, we appeal to the Royal Government of Cambodia to:

• Promote, protect, and respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of Cambodian people enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenants to which Cambodia is a party.
• Ensure Cambodian citizens are not arrested where their actions have not contravened law and where their actions are the expression of their rights.
• Ensure there is no judicial harassment against Cambodian citizens who are working to protect people’s rights.
• Ensure there is space for democratic participation, advancement of human rights and development processes.

This statement is endorsed by:

1. ACT Alliance
2. ActionAid International
3. Aide et Action Cambodia
4. Asian Legal Resource Center (AHRC -Asia)
5. Union Aid Abroad -APHEDA
6. Bread for the World
7. CAFOD
8. Christian Aid
9. Church World Service
10. CIVICUS
11. Cord
12. DanChurchAid
13. Dan mission
14. Diakonia
15. The Finish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM)
16. Fin Church Aid
17. Forum Asia
18. Forum Syd
19. Franciscans International
20. HEKS/EPER
21. Henrich Boll Foundation
22. ICCO Cooperation
23. International Relief and Development Cambodia
24. Johanniter International Assistance
25. Kepa
26. Mekong Plus Cambodia
27. Mennonite Central Committee
28. MISEREOR
29. Mission Alliance
30. MARYKNOLL
31. Norwegian People’s Aid
32. OT Watch Mongolia
33. Oxfam
34. Pact
35. People in Need
36. Southeast Asia Development Program
37. TROCAIRE
38. Welthungerhilfe
39. World Renew
40. WWF
41. Zo Indigenous Forum

PRESS RELEASE

Cecilia Richard, 33, harvests millet in Captain, a village in southern Malawi that has been hard hit by drought in recent years, leading to chronic food insecurity, especially during the “hunger season,” when farmers are waiting for the harvest. ACT Alliance has worked with farmers in this village to switch to alternative, drought-resistant crops, such as millet, as well as using irrigation and other improved techniques to increase agricultural yields. Photo: Paul Jeffrey

Much more focus is needed to tackle climate change and specifically workplace heat as people from emerging economies daily face the challenges of dealing with the impact of climate change at work, international humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

Speaking as the 105^th session of the International Labour Conference gets underway today in Geneva, ACT Alliance said that the Paris climate change agreement adopted last year and signed by a majority of governments sets a new momentum requiring governments to take more ambitious and urgent action to address climate change because of its devastating impacts on people’s lives.

ACT Alliance, an international faith-based network of 140 members working in over 100 countries and embedded in the communities they serve, has long been advocating for climate justice and more ambitious action by governments and other stakeholders at all levels.

The alliance contributed to a report released last month jointly with the Climate Vulnerable Forum, UNDP, ILO, IOM, the International Organization of Employers (IOE), UNI Global Union and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), titled “Climate Change and Labour: Impacts of Heat in the Workplace”, which found that by the mid-1990s heavily exposed countries had lost an estimated 1-3 percent of the entirety of available daylight work hours due to heat extremes – a trend which the report said is set to increase due to future climate change.

The report states: “Even if the current commitments of the world governments to combat climate change are realized, losses by the end of this century to most vulnerable economies of all available daylight work hours will double or triple.”

ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna said: “We are pleased to see the commitment of so many world leaders to combatting the impacts of climate change, and we hope that the ambition shown in the 2015 Paris agreement will be even further strengthened as it is implemented in countries across the world.”

“As an alliance we work with communities that are daily facing the impacts of climate change,” Nduna continued. “In Central America alone, for example, the drought is one of the most severe in the region’s history with more than 2 million people in need of immediate food assistance, health care, nutritional support and recovery of livelihoods, reaching levels of humanitarian crisis and highlighting the extreme vulnerability of subsistence farmers, labourers and low-income families to the impacts of climate change.”

ACT Alliance members are on the ground working with communities to combat the many impacts of climate change, and has released an appeal to respond to the food crisis in Central America caused by the El Niño drought, which can be found here: http://bit.ly/24wqjMM

ENDS

Notes to the editor:

1. “Climate Change and Labour: Impacts of Heat in the Workplace” made with the 43-nation Climate Vulnerable Forum, ACT Alliance, International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Organization of Employers (IOE), UNI Global Union, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The report can be fund here: https://actalliance.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/05/Climate-and-Labour-Issue-Paper_28-April-2016_v1_lowres.pdf
2. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at Estelle.marais@actalliance.org tel: +41 79 358 3171 or visit www.actalliance.org

PRESS RELEASE

A volunteer for ACT Alliance member DanChurchAid explains to neighbours their options for constructing houses to replace the homes they lost in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Photo Credit: ACT/Paul Jeffrey

The World Humanitarian Summit has identified key opportunities that exist for more effective collaboration among diverse stakeholders but clear implementation strategies are now needed if we are to better deliver to affected populations in crises, ACT Alliance has said.

The alliance, an international faith-based humanitarian and development network of 140 members working in over 100 countries, had a strong delegation of attendees at the Summit which took place on 23-24 May in Istanbul.

ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna, welcomed the many statements from member states, fellow NGOs and other stakeholders and at the Summit echoing the commitments the alliance has made towards improved humanitarian response, particularly those relating to increasing the involvement of local and national responders in crises.

“We are pleased that the WHS has seen such support and leadership particularly around the Grand Bargain which saw commitment to increasing funding to local and national responders as directly as possible, and a real understanding of the importance of cash based systems in meeting people’s needs,” said Nduna. “Local and national responders are the parties that have the closest access to communities, and as ACT Alliance we have also committed to significantly increasing the proportion of our members’ humanitarian funding that goes directly to local and national members and their partners, for both humanitarian response and emergency preparedness.”

“The Summit has highlighted the opportunities for collaboration among actors for a more effective humanitarian response, and now we as an international community must transform the discussions at this event beyond words into action, in the form of clear implementation and monitoring strategies.”

ACT Alliance, which through its global membership responds to around 25 emergency situations around the world each year from natural disasters to conflict-related crises, also welcomed views across stakeholders at the Summit supporting the preservation of humanitarian principles and International Humanitarian Law, with Nduna saying: “The WHS has highlighted the importance of maintaining humanitarian action and recognising the uniqueness of humanitarian action in and of itself.”

1. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at Estelle.marais@actalliance.org tel: +41 79 358 3171

PRESS RELEASE

23 May 2016 – Moving from delivering aid to ending need requires more participation of local and national organisations in policy and decision-making processes, international faith-based humanitarian and development network ACT Alliance has said.

Speaking at the World Humanitarian Summit’s High Level Leaders Round Table on ‘Changing People’s Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need’ this morning, ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna echoed NGO calls that only a humanitarian system that ensures stronger participation of local and national organisations in relevant policy and decision-making fora, would bring the much needed ecosystem of diverse local, national and international organisations necessary to end need.

“As an alliance committed to the accompaniment of local and national actors, more than 70 percent of our membership are local and national responders rooted in communities before, during, and after crises,” Nduna said. “We are part of the communities we seek to assist, and are emboldened to see commitments which aspire to reinforce local systems, increase genuine community engagement, and enhance complementarity among local, national and international responders.”

ACT Alliance represents 140 churches and faith-based organisations engaging in humanitarian, development and advocacy work in more than 100 countries. It responds to around 25 emergency situations around the world each year, including the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the ongoing drought in Ethiopia, providing lifesaving relief to populations in crisis.

As part of the alliance’s contributions to furthering the Agenda for Humanity, it has committed to revising and reforming its humanitarian response mechanisms in line with the direction set out in the UN Secretary General’s Agenda for Humanity, and to supporting empowerment of people impacted by emergencies in addressing their self-determined needs.

“We aim to strengthen local capacities by reforming our ACT Rapid Response Fund so that it is targeted exclusively for national and local members because we believe the empowerment of local actors, who are often first responders, must include efforts to improve local and national NGOs’ access to funding opportunities,” Nduna said. “We will incentivise greater investment in emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction and resilience. We will work with communities to prepare for crises and not just react.”

Notes to Editors:

1. For more information contact Estelle Marais, Head of Communications at Estelle.marais@actalliance.org, tel: +41 79 358 3171 or visit www.actalliance.org