Category: Humanitarian Partnership

IDDC 2023 General Assembly in Høje-Taastrup: Promoting Accessibility and Inclusion
Ruth and Tabeth attended the 2023 IDDC General Assembly in Høje-Taastrup, just outside Copenhagen, Denmark. The event, co-hosted by DPOD (Disability People’s Organizations Denmark), took place at the House of Disability Organisations, hailed as the world’s most accessible house.

The House of Disability Organisations: A Revolutionary Approach to Accessibility

The House of Disability Organisations in Denmark is built according to the principles of universal design. It describes itself as the first office building in the world to strive for 100 per cent accessibility, ensuring that people of all abilities can navigate its spaces. The house serves as a testament to the importance of incorporating accessibility from the outset of architectural planning, eliminating the need for costly retrofitting in the future. With over 17 disability organisations housed within its walls, the building showcases a vision of inclusivity in working life and society.

IDDC’s New Strategy

At the General Assembly, the members of IDDC approved a new strategy to take us forward as a consortium around three priorities:
1. Be propositional for a fully-disability inclusive global framework beyond Agenda 2030 while continuing to support disability inclusiveness in the current Sustainable Development Goals.
2. Better leverage our expertise, profile and access to key political structures and moments and deepen our connections to further support and influence the implementation of disability rights at the national, regional and global levels.
3. Prioritise meaningful participation of persons with disabilities and OPDs in IDDC by addressing power dynamics that hinder such participation and committing to consultation and alignment where possible with OPDs and their networks in advocacy and policy work.
You can read more about the framework, also summarised in an infographic, on the IDDC website: https://www.iddcconsortium.net/blog/3-strategic-priorities-to-shape-post-2023-iddc-activities/

Workshop segment ‘Achieving Health Equity for All in Global Development.’

IDDC and DPOD co-hosted a workshop titled ‘Achieving Health Equity for All in Global Development’, based on the recent WHO Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities.

The IDDC-DPOD Conference aimed to identify actions to increase health equity for persons with disabilities in global development and humanitarian actions. The event emphasised the importance of learning and forming new partnerships to address persisting challenges and build more inclusive societies.

An estimated 1.3 billion people – or 16% of the global population worldwide – experience a significant disability today. Persons with disabilities have the right to the highest attainable standard of health as those without disabilities. However, the WHO Global report on health equity for persons with disabilities demonstrates that while some progress has been made in recent years, the world is still far from realizing this right for many persons with disabilities who continue to die earlier, have poorer health, and experience more limitations in everyday functioning than others. These poor health outcomes are due to unfair conditions faced by persons with disabilities in all facets of life, including in the health system itself. Countries have an obligation under international human rights law to address the health inequities faced by persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goals and global health priorities will not progress without ensuring health for all.

As part of the conference, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its commitment to protecting disability rights and addressed several areas relevant to its strategic goals. These areas included addressing health inequalities faced by persons with disabilities during crises, considering climate change impacts on persons with disabilities, and ensuring meaningful engagement and leadership of organisations of persons with disabilities.

In the afternoon, smaller groups discussed the intersection between health equity and persons with disabilities in the frame of the climate crisis, the peace-development-humanitarian nexus, and sexual and reproductive health rights and gender-based violence.

Ruth comments,

Moderating the session on health equity in the peace-development-humanitarian nexus, I was struck that while a lot has been done at a policy level and through mechanisms such as the Sphere Guidelines and the IASC guideline on inlcusion of persons with disability, the humanitarian system is still failing people with disabilities, and we need to have some honest conversations as to why this is the case. There are opportunities for IDDC to reach out to those who are driving the humanitarian system to find a real way forward.
Ruth Faber

22 May 2023

Advocacy Hub, Humanitarian Partnership

disability inclusion, humanitarian
Working with community values to change behaviours and improve outcomes

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Esther Lehmann-Sow is a consultant who joined us at the Faith in Action Forum in Canterbury last November. Esther has extensive experience with programme implementation in West Africa. She brings experiences working in communities to improve outcomes through understanding and working with local values to change behaviours.

I still wonder why for years, I had not seen the obvious.

Our teams and partners had tried to address high maternal and infant mortality levels in an area through projects which improved health infrastructure, trained nurses, provided sensitization to mothers, etc. There were improvements, but they were incremental and didn’t match the level of investment. Unhelpful behaviours persisted in spite of improved knowledge and opportunities.

And one-day things changed. People suddenly really listened to the information shared in the health center. They used medical support in the early stages of sickness, not as a last resort. And they now followed the advice they received from health workers. It was as if a switch had been flipped and an inner resistance broken.

We soon found out what happened.

A project worker had sat with the men of the local faith community and had discussed the project and answered the many questions they had: What were the real motives and objectives of the donors in providing this project? Is the vaccination campaign not aiming at reducing their fertility? Would newborns not get weak if they only received breast milk? Would certain treatments not violate their religious laws? As their questions were answered, the suspicion was overcome, and they agreed that the project would be beneficial for their people.

The leader of the faith community called a meeting and explained the situation to them: what problem the project was addressing, how following the advice of the medical staff will help them and that it was their religious duty to care for the health of mothers and infants. With the endorsement of the spiritual authority, men and women now made full use of the services provided to them through the project. The result: malnutrition and mortality rates dropped impressively over the next 2-3 years.

We had implemented activities, provided information and opportunities. But the internal switch flipped when the people felt alignment with their social and spiritual values. Before, they rather took the risk of suffering sickness than getting estranged from their (faith) community by going against social traditions. The risk of not following a nurse’s guidance was lesser than the ramifications for not adhering to the religious behavior norms. And who can know if you can trust the health workers who are paid to say what she says, compared to the local leaders who are known and part of the community.

The initial project design was like a car without an engine – you had to push it in order to move. Social and behavior science has shown the importance of values and beliefs to enable behavior change. If we engage people at the level of their emotions, their beliefs and values, and leverage the power of social influence, it creates a strong enough motivation to sustainably change patterns of behavior.

Today, before designing a project I would explore questions such as ‘How do spiritual beliefs, values or norms affect the health of boys and girls/men and women?’, analyze common and divergent themes and then use them in the development of the project.

Nowadays, the humanitarian community acknowledges that understanding faith aspects and involving faith communities is key to creating lasting positive change for the most disadvantaged. If you would like to read more, you might find this document interesting which UNICEF, Joined Learning Initiative and Religions for Peace have published after joint research: Faith and Positive Change for Children, Families and Communities.

The fact that the majority of the world’s population identifies with faith values provides a massive opportunity for faith-based humanitarians to boost social and behavior change.

Esther will lead a webinar for EU-CORD members on 23rd March to further explore this topic. Members and their partners can register here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Ruth Faber

10 March 2023

Faith in Action, Funding & Partnerships, Humanitarian Partnership
Why including women in discussions about water resources is key

Ahead of the European Humanitarian Forum, Florien van Weerelt and Isabella Olsson from LM International explain how water diplomacy across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus has the potential to contribute to meet urgent needs as well as equitable, peaceful and sustainable solutions.

Access to safe water and sanitation has been recognized as both a human right under international law and an important objective for the international community through its inclusion in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Equitable access to water contributes to the achievement of key objectives, including gender equality, climate resilience, and peace and security.

In order to ensure access to water and sanitation for all, discussions and decisions on the safeguarding and management of water resources must be inclusive and representative. For LM International, this means working from a bottom-up approach and acknowledging that women have differentiated knowledge that is vital to sustainable resource management, as well as differing responsibilities, priorities, and needs around water use and management.

The Global Water Crisis

Water related challenges constitute some of the biggest challenges the world is facing today, with over two billion people lacking access to safely managed drinking water at home. Yet, the global water crisis is not gender neutral, and women and girls are disproportionately impacted by water and sanitation shortages. Supporting this, UN data reveals that in 80 percent of households lacking in-home water access, women and girls bear the primary responsibility for water collection. The long distances they travel to collect water often keeps them out of school and exposes them to an increased risk of sexual violence.

A significant challenge to the equitable and sustainable management of water resources is the fact that many water resources are shared between communities and countries, With over two billion people relying on groundwater sources from transboundary aquifers and an estimated 40 percent of the world’s population depending on transboundary river basins. Moreover, with UNICEF predicting that half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025, climate change may contribute to increased competition for, and conflict over, shared water resources.

Recognizing these challenges, water diplomacy, defined as cooperation over the management and safeguarding of shared water resources, has the potential to contribute to equitable, peaceful and sustainable solutions. However, in order to be effective, water diplomacy must be inclusive, and persistent barriers to women’s participation must be addressed.

Supporting Inclusive Water Diplomacy

LM International strives to promote gender equality at all levels of water diplomacy. At a local level, this includes working from the understanding that water serves many purposes and must be managed in an integrated manner as well as the establishment of Water Management Committees, with representatives from diverse tribes and genders, to direct and oversee our water and sanitation projects. When included in water diplomacy processes, women can actively help ensure that the priorities of women and children are actually captured in daily service delivery, and that changes in service provision and resource access not negatively affect women and children in the communities they serve. This can make water projects up to 6 or 7 times more effective.

Operating in countries impacted by both climate change and armed conflict, including Sudan, South Sudan, Niger and Chad, we recognize that inclusive local water diplomacy plays a central role in the promotion of both climate resilience as well as peace and security. For example, women hold unique knowledge and experiences around water that often prove key in climate adaptation strategies. Likewise, making up nearly half of the global agricultural labor force, women’s participation in water diplomacy processes can contribute to increased conservation efforts as well as food security.

Furthermore, by creating spaces for dialogue and negotiation on the management of shared water resources, our water and sanitation projects have contributed to improved relations between several communities, including the Falat and Masaleet ethnic groups in Gereida, southern Darfur in Sudan. Bottom-up, community-led initiatives are imperative to promoting social cohesion and, in this context, cultural and religious leaders have a central role to play.

At a more global level, LM International is a strategic partner to the Women in Water Diplomacy Network, which aims to promote women’s leadership in high-level decision-making in transboundary water basins. We recently supported the Network’s engagements at World Water Week 2022, including the convention of the first ever Global Network Forum, which brought together more than 70 participants from across the world to catalyze collective actions on inclusive water diplomacy, as well as the launch of the Network’s Global Strategy – ‘A Path Forward for Women, Water, Peace and Security ‘. Acting as a roadmap for the advancement of the Network’s mission and objectives, the strategy paves the way for meaningful change at a time when urgent political and environmental change is needed.

Approaching 2030

The global water crisis is not gender neutral, and women and girls are both disproportionately impacted by water and sanitation shortages and under-represented in discussions and decisions on the management of water resources. In order to contribute to the realization of human rights, as well as the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, we must continue to advocate for the participation, and leadership, of women in water diplomacy. Indeed, transformative change requires collective action.

LM INTERNATIONAL
LM International is a Swedish non-profit foundation that has, since 1958, worked to eradicate poverty and build long-term development and peace. Guided by their overall vision, Dignified Life – Sustainable World, LM International works along four thematic focus areas, namely: (1) social and economic inclusion, (2) health, (3) education, and (4) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). LM International is present in 25 countries, including across Africa, Latin America, Eastern European and the MENA region, and employs close to 300 people globally. We drive Swedish priorities in line with the Grand Bargain, the Triple Nexus, the grand, green and digital transformation and feminist foreign policy.

Authors: Florien van Weerelt and Isabella Olsson

Florian of Weerelt, Thematic Advisor (WASH) at LM International, holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Lund University/the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. She is particularly interested in the relationship between climate change and human rights, including climate migration and disaster risk reduction.

Isabella Olsson, Head of Global Advocacy, leads the global advocacy work at LM International. She a background from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department for International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian aid. Isabella holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science and International Development from L’Institut studies politiques de Paris (Sciences Po).

Ruth Faber

6 March 2023

Humanitarian Partnership
One year on from Russia’s invasion, how can the EU show solidarity with displaced Ukrainians?

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began one year ago, 13.9 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
More than 17.6 million people inside Ukraine remain in need of humanitarian assistance. Our faith-based humanitarian organisations were among the first responders in this crisis. Our staff and volunteers continue to provide life-saving support.

Yet, as the hostilities become protracted, the risks of donor and volunteer fatigue grow.
To ensure sustainable solidarity with displaced people, we call on the EU to boost support for the inclusion of refugees in Europe and to ensure quality support to local humanitarian actors inside Ukraine.

Volunteers and non-profits need the EU to continue its efforts

In February 2022, more than one million people fled Ukraine in a single week.
In those first days, while international agencies and donors were still formalising their response, churches, synagogues and other congregations leveraged their local knowledge and informal networks to assist Ukrainians arriving in Europe.

As organisations with EU-wide reach, we provided technical and financial support to grassroots actors who found themselves at the forefront of the emergency response.
We continue to help displaced people relocate to safety, or access schools, language classes, work, social services and housing. Our staff and volunteers are committed to supporting refugees, regardless of their faith, background, or ethnicity.
Yet, volunteers and non-profits cannot single-handedly ensure Ukrainians’ social integration in the face of EU-wide housing and labour market challenges.

Both EU and member state efforts are needed to ensure refugee access to accommodation, work and mental health support. The EU’s 10-Point Plan to assist Ukrainians laid out a clear ambition to support “continuity of care and suitable accommodation.” This could take the form of more directly-accessible funds for local actors, structured support for private hosts, or coordination at Member State level on long-term housing solutions.
Community-led welcome is a powerful means of providing refugees with dignity and self-reliance, but only if it can be made sustainable by the backing of national and European actors.

Civilians remain in peril — and not just from bullets and rockets

Twelve months since the full-scale invasion, the humanitarian need inside Ukraine is greater than ever. Civilians continue to fall victim to the war, despite repeated calls for international humanitarian law to be respected.
Women and girls are exposed to gender-based violence. Children and adults alike face long-term physical and psychological trauma.
Some 15 million Ukrainian families report deteriorating mental health, and one in five people are expected to develop depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Mental health and psychosocial support are critical, as is cash assistance to ensure the survival of displaced families. Without diverting humanitarian resources from other crisis countries, Europe must address these needs.
This requires accessible, quality funding for the local humanitarian actors that have borne the brunt of the crisis response.

Helping Ukrainians continues to be the top priority

Too often, the perspectives and needs of Ukrainian civil society have been sidelined in humanitarian decision-making fora. Meaningful participation of affected communities will ensure equitable partnerships between grassroots, national and international civil society.
Further, local and national groups are well-placed to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable groups remaining inside Ukraine — including the elderly, people with disabilities, and internally displaced people — are addressed.

Many of these populations are located in parts of Ukraine that international actors are unable to reach, highlighting the urgent need for productive negotiations on humanitarian access.
Communities of all faiths — both at the grassroots and through the EU-wide NGOs we represent — have played a pivotal role in protecting and welcoming people affected by the war in Ukraine.
Now, with almost five million people registered for temporary protection, the EU and its member states must step up to ensure the societal inclusion of displaced Ukrainians, particularly by responding to housing challenges.

Inside Ukraine, European aid efforts must prioritise the most vulnerable, hardest-to-reach groups.

Ruth Faber

24 February 2023

Humanitarian Partnership

Ukraine
EU-CORD Members Respond to the Turkey/Syria Earthquake
In response to this major earthquake in Syria and Turkey, EU-CORD members have come together to provide much-needed aid and support to those affected.

Hungarian Baptist Aid was one of the first organisations to respond, sending its Rescue24 International Fire and Rescue Team to Turkey to assess the situation and provide assistance.

The special rescuers have to check around two thousand houses in Antakya, a settlement near the Syrian border, where many people may still be trapped under the ruins. The search dogs that arrived with the Baptist team started working four-hour shifts, four at a time. The HUBA Rescue24 International Fire Brigade, Search and Rescue Team and an emergency medical team with 19 specialists and 7 rescue dogs, arrived in Antakya near the Syrian border on Tuesday late afternoon, under the direction of commander László Pavelcze, HBAid’s Emergency Management Director. They set up their base there and immediately began the search based on the coordinates provided by the locals. Stay updated on the Rescue24 Teams efforts: Hungarian Baptist Aid | Facebook

Medair, a Swiss-based humanitarian organization, is responding in Syria, with a particular focus on Aleppo where they have had an office for several years. They are also active in Turkey through their Global Emergency Response Team. Medair will provide aid in WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), shelter, and repairing and equipping clinics.

Dorcas (Netherlands) is present in North-West Syria, Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama. They have already started distributing hot meals to those in need, and their main initial response will include providing food and shelter, health services, and protection.

ZOA (Netherlands) is responding in Syria and is well-positioned to provide aid due to its presence in the country. They will be working in consortia with other organizations to maximize their impact.

Fida (Finland) is responding through Hungarian Baptist Aid and a church in Turkey.

Mission East (Denmark),

The assistance provided by Mission East and its partners is being prioritized to reach the newly displaced and most affected individuals in one of the worst affected governorates, namely Aleppo. Within the already fragile and protracted Syrian crisis, vulnerable sections of the population, such as women, children, youth and the elderly, already made vulnerable by a lack of sustained access to food, healthcare, electricity, education, housing, and viable livelihood opportunities, have been put even more at risk in the aftermath of the earthquake. Mission East’s response to date has been as follows:

Earthquake-affected households in the governorate of Aleppo have been provided with winterization and food assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake;
1. Vulnerable affected households are going to be provided with cash disbursements (Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance – MPCA) for a period of 3 consecutive months. An earthquake-specific Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) was prepared in coordination with the different sectors to account for the disaster, which differs from the pre-emergency MEB. A flexible approach will be ensured to adapt in frequency and/or value of the MPC transfers, in order to be aligned with all actors on the ground. Cash assistance has been adopted as the most appropriate modality in current circumstances, as it will allow affected households to meet their lifesaving needs, while providing them with the dignity of choice and the ability to prioritise what type of relief they need. In areas where cash proves not to be a feasible modality, ME will switch to in-kind support to help households meet their basic needs, in which case food parcels, hygiene kits, etc. (based on Cluster recommendations) will be distributed to targeted households.
Mission East and Implementing Partners:

ME Capacity in Syria: ME, registered in Syria since 2022 and active since 2019, will be responsible for all monitoring, oversight and partner capacity-support (accountability mechanisms and finance), also ensuring compliance with humanitarian principles.

Implementing Partner – Social, Humanitarian, Economic Intervention for Local Development (SHEILD): A regional (Lebanese) actor, SHEILD has been active with a local presence in Syria since 2019. SHEILD is currently ME’s key implementing partner in Syria and Lebanon through the Danish MoFA-funded SPA. SHEILD has extensive experience in humanitarian relief efforts for the Syria crisis, providing food assistance through WFP to Syrian refugees since 2013.

Implementing Partner – Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC): As the national member society for Syria under the International Federation of the Red Cross, SARC has been present in Syria since 1942 with a headquarters in Damascus, 14 branches in the 14 governorates of Syria, and 75 subbranches. SARC’s presence in all governorates supports ME in ensuring timely access to affected communities. ME and SARC signed a Memorandum of Agreement during 2022.

Other EU-CORD members, such as LM International, are looking to support implementing organisations with funding support.

In times of crisis, it is heartening to see organizations come together to provide aid and support to those in need. The efforts of EU-CORD members to respond to this disaster will significantly impact the lives of those affected and help bring some comfort and relief in these difficult times.
Ruth Faber

10 February 2023

Faith in Action, Funding & Partnerships, Humanitarian Partnership
Why Education in Emergencies is critical for communities affected by the protracted crisis in Sudan

By Denis Semakula, Country Director for Sudan at LM International

Education in emergencies (EiE) and conflict areas is the process of teaching and promoting quality education for children, youth, and adults in crisis-affected areas. Such emergency settings include conflicts, pandemics and different kinds of disasters caused by natural hazards.

Sudan has been grappling with protracted civilian displacement since 2003, when the Darfur crisis started, and almost 20 years later, millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are yet to find durable solutions. However, the Sudanese revolution of 2018, which led to the end of the 30 years rule of Mr Bashir on April 11 2019, brought jubilation and hope for a new civilian-led democratic Sudan amongst the population. In addition, it symbolised an end to the isolation from the international community, which for years had negatively impacted the country that was once considered the food basket of the Middle East.

Sudan embarked on a transition to democracy with the formation of the Sovereign Council, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a group of six civilians and four additional military officers. On October 2020, the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) was signed by various conflicting parties laying the foundation towards democratic transition and much-needed economic reforms. The agreement was a key step towards ending a long period of turbulence in conflict-affected Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

Setbacks were experienced on October 25, 2021, when the Sudanese military, led by General Burhan, dissolved the Sovereign Council and took control of the government in a military coup. This created a leadership vacuum, worsening the humanitarian situation for the country that was yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a prolonged dry spell affecting food security, further increased by the Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine.

According to UNICEF, an estimated 535 million children – nearly one in four – live in countries affected by conflict or disaster. When a conflict or natural disaster erupts, education is generally the first service interrupted and the last resumed. Governments are often overwhelmed by the needs, and relief aid traditionally focuses on populations’ basic requirements – food, water, shelter, and protection – with only 2 to 4 per cent of humanitarian funding allocated to education1. Sudan is now faced with various protracted crises forcing millions of children out of school. Nearly 7 million children aged between 6 – 18 years or a third of school-age children – are not in school. The education of a further 12 million children is heavily interrupted by a lack of sufficient teachers, infrastructure, and an enabling learning environment allowing them to reach their full potential. Most children in classrooms have not only fallen behind in their learning, but 70 per cent of 10-year-olds at public schools cannot read a simple sentence.

Sudan has one of the youngest population demographics in the world, with 41 per cent of its total population under the age of 15 and 20 per cent between the ages of 15 and 24. If nothing is done to reverse the current challenges surrounding education with these alarming figures, we have a lost generation on our hands. It will be a catastrophe not only for Sudan as a country but for neighbouring countries, the whole region, and globally.

From 2020 and 2022, LM International Sudan country program implemented the Education in Emergencies project through a partnership with Save the Children International in South Kordofan. The project targeted 16 schools in 4 localities (10 in Dilling and Habila and 6 in Lagawa and Tulushi). Through this project, we increased access to education for 13 060 school-age children while also ensuring a protective environment for children, at home, in the community and in schools. From this project, we know from first-hand experience that;

EiE provides children with a safe place and plays an important role in ensuring that children receive the right support to overcome conflict-related trauma.

EiE is critical when it comes to ensuring the overall health and development of children. For example, in schools, children often receive food, which for many, is the only real meal of the day, and teachers may refer children who need medical attention or psychosocial support.

EiE empowers children with knowledge and skills that enhance their employability and survival skills. This, in turn, plays a vital role vis à vis helping to break the poverty cycle associated with conflict areas.

Education must never be seen as a luxury commodity for children; it is a human right, a must-have for the good of society. Without education, particularly in communities affected by the protracted crisis, youth are exposed to a myriad of risks, including recruitment into armed forces or groups, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, abduction, and child labour, and girls face the additional risks of child marriage and pregnancy.

Quality education for the children of Sudan requires immediate emergency interventions such as temporary learning spaces to accommodate displaced persons due to the protracted crisis.

Ruth Faber

15 December 2022

Advocacy Hub, Humanitarian Partnership
EU-CORD and the triple nexus
Read | Download the study: EU-CORD and the triple nexus

In the network, we have a strong focus on partnership and encouraging close, practical collaboration between our members.

When discussing potential barriers to partnership, the triple nexus kept coming up, with members using nexus-type approaches but having their own definitions and ways of describing the work.

While our purpose wasn’t to pull together a single approach or definition for our members, we did come up with a working definition that integrates the broad approach taken by most EU-CORD members:

Working in partnership with local organisations, faith actors and communities to take advantage of the specificities and minimise the constraints inherent in humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding approaches and how they interrelate to transform communities and build long-term community resilience.

Therefore, the idea of a nexus study came from a desire to understand each other better. As we developed the concept further, it became clear that members also wanted to understand better the evolution of the nexus approach in the EU. It was also important for us to reflect on issues such as the role and value of faith-based organisations, local partner approaches and respect for humanitarian principles. Reflections on these, and more, can be found in the study.

Nexus Webinar Series

We’ve also realised that there are elements that we still need to explore further together which is why we have partnered with ActAlliance EU and Caritas Europa to look at all three aspects of the nexus to explore the role of INGOs to ensure their integration, how this occurs in practice, and the role of context analysis, programming and organisational structuring. These reflections will be based and inspired by the action, framings and experience of local actors and local faith actors, also integrating considerations specific to climate, conflict and gender. A third webinar will address the challenges and learnings linked to nexus operationalisation regarding the respect not only of humanitarian principles, but also of development and peace principles. Moreover, as faith networks, we will also take into account how politics, including faith dynamics, impact on implementing the nexus, and how faith actors and organisations more broadly deal with those. More information on the webinars can be found on the Events page.

Recommendations

Finally, because advocacy is an important area of EU-CORD’s work, we couldn’t resist developing recommendations for members, donors and for EU policymakers.

For members
1. As we build our in-country approaches, the going-in point should be to work with a nexus framework.
2. Members should play to their strengths and work collaboratively and strategically within nexus approaches in different contexts.
3. Strengthened relationships with local actors is paramount to an effective nexus approach, and this should occur by putting local actors at the centre throughout all phases of the programme cycle management.
4. Ensure that engagement with local actors is inclusive of diverse groups, such as organisations or networks of youth, women, people with disabilities, faith actors, and that they are effectively empowered as agents of change in their own communities across the triple nexus.
5. More clarity on the definition of peacebuilding is needed to make sure that the peace component of the nexus is well understood by the organisation and appropriately integrated. At a minimum, a conflict-sensitive approach must become a priority for any attempt at nexus programming, even in non-conflict situations and if peacebuilding activities are not envisaged.
6. Invest in staff training and in restructuring organisational sectors to make them suitable to the nexus.
7. Explore opportunities for flexible funding and multi-donor approaches through strengthened and collaborative donor mapping exercises.
8. As faith-based actors, consider the unique added value that this can bring to programmes, engagement, and partnerships in the operationalisation of the nexus.
For donors
1. Commit to reinventing siloed funding logic by: Recognising that many organisations are multi-mandated and overcoming siloed thinking and financing.
2. Adopting predictable, flexible, multi-year and risk-tolerant financing for all actors across the nexus.
3. Simplifying and harmonising reporting and monitoring requirements for projects that implement the nexus.
4. Include NGOs and local partners in negotiating the financial/action multi-annual and multi-purpose plan.
5. Encourage coordination between actors, for example by facilitating discussion among implementing experts, increasing accountability and impartial assessment of needs, and encouraging multi-level and multi-stakeholder actions.
For the EU
1. It is paramount that the EU contributes to achieving conceptual clarity regarding the peace component: When conceptualising the peace component of the nexus, it is key to prefer ‘little p’ and ‘positive peace’ efforts based upon long-term development cooperation efforts for civilian peacebuilding, conflict prevention, inclusive approaches, and social cohesion efforts.
2. The EU should ensure a higher level of engagement with partners both in member countries and locally for example, by: Conducting joint conflict and context analysis, planning and monitoring exercises throughout which stakeholders from all fields are integrated and represented.
3. Integrating analysis and lessons learned by monitoring implementation of the nexus approach to evaluate the impact of nexus programming.
4. The EU should adopt more long-term and flexible funding to facilitate nexus programming.
5. Lastly, the EU should create more opportunities for interplay between DG ECHO, DG INTPA and theEEAS building on successful examples of cooperation between European institutions.
Ruth Faber

7 September 2022

Advocacy Hub, Faith in Action, Funding & Partnerships, Humanitarian Partnership
Humanitarian Funding: the gap between life and death
At a recent VOICE event where we discussed the humanitarian funding gap, Milward Mwamvni had us reflect on the following question:

Whose life is worth saving?
Milward Mwamvani, LM International (EU-CORD member)

For most, this will be an abstract type of discussion. We might expect a lively debate with someone cracking a joke at the end, and then we all move on.

But it is a very practical question for those at the forefront of humanitarian action.

The European NGO humanitarian network VOICE, of which EU-CORD is a member, recently launched its 2022 policy resolution ‘An urgent call to protect principled humanitarian aid.’

To take a few statistics from the resolution:
- 303 million people are expected to need humanitarian aid in 2022. 29 million more than in 2021.
- 181 million people are expected to reach a crisis level of hunger in 2022 in 41 countries/territories.
- One person is likely to die every 48 seconds from acute hunger in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.
At the same time, most appeals to support humanitarian efforts are significantly underfunded. The Global Humanitarian Overview which is the world’s most comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of humanitarian needs calculates that, in 2022, the humanitarian community has only 20% of the funding it needs.

The humanitarian community has always had to make difficult decisions when assessing whether a community, household or person should receive humanitarian assistance.

With increasing pressure on humanitarian budgets, those decisions get harder. And the impact of those decisions – on those we have to say no to – is leading to acute suffering and, in increasing cases, death.

The amounts needed can sound like a lot, but with the largest 20 public donors contributing 96% of all international humanitarian assistance allocations, there is scope for other actors to contribute. Indeed, we have seen in response to the Ukraine crisis that additional funding can be made available – it just needs to be made available for other situations as well.

This is reflected in the VOICE policy resolution recommendations:

VOICE calls on the EU and its Member States (MS) to consistently uphold principled humanitarian aid worldwide through the adoption of the following set of recommendations:

Principled humanitarian aid

Ensure that the speed and scale of funding generously provided to Ukraine becomes the new normal and is replicated for all important humanitarian crises, current and future

Guarantee humanitarian aid funding allocations prioritise life-saving aid and are not reallocated for any political or economic considerations

Systematically include humanitarian exemptions to all EU and MS sanctions regimes

Funding share and allocation

Substantially increase humanitarian aid funding to cover the increasing and record humanitarian needs

International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

Promote and uphold IHL, protect civilians and support humanitarian access

Whose life is worth saving?

An influential figure was once asked the similarly phrased question ‘who is my neighbour?’ The conclusion that we are asked to draw from the story he gave in answer is everyone – irrespective of country of origin, race, gender, religious affiliation (or none), or status…….

It has been 2,000 years since this principle of assistance based on humanity and impartiality was articulated. In 2022, with all the knowledge and resources available to us, is our ambition to the question ‘whose life is worth saving’ really going to be ‘around 20%?’
Ruth Faber

30 June 2022

Advocacy Hub, Funding & Partnerships, Humanitarian Partnership
Ukraine – this is not an advocacy statement
Ruth Faber, EU-CORD CEO

The war in Ukraine brings the sorrow of conflict already experienced in many parts of the world to Europe’s doorstep. EU-CORD members have mobilised to provide humanitarian assistance to people still in Ukraine and those fleeing the conflict. More on that can be found here.

While these are European non-governmental organisations experienced in humanitarian response, as we have experienced in other parts of the world, much of the work would not be possible, or as responsive, without local civil society (which includes religious institutions and other faith actors) who are often the first responders in any crisis.

We are also part of churches and faith networks praying for peace and reconciliation for this and other conflict situations around the world.

I have been appalled (but perhaps not surprised) by the racial discrimination faced by Asians and Africans trying to escape into the neighbouring countries.

I’ve also been moved by the generosity shown by many European citizens who have offered accommodation or organised material support – food, clothing to Ukrainian refugees arriving in their cities. In Brussels, where I live, some of these will be the same people who responded to the Syrian refugees when our governments were slower to act. We do well to remember that not all European solidarity is driven in response to ‘people like us’ (whatever that means). It is also worth acknowledging the heartfelt public response to funding appeals launched by EU-CORD members will be additional to the regular support that they give.

It is also clear that on a global level, environmental impacts of climate change, covid impacts and the Ukraine conflict is creating the perfect storm of rising food prices and increasing levels of food and fuel insecurity. Prices are rising in Belgium, people are starting to starve in South Sudan, and on-ongoing food security projects are under threat.

Agenda2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals aim to take a global perspective to solve some of the biggest development challenges of our time. While we face numerous challenges in meeting the development goals, sadly, we are quick to experience the global impacts of a seemingly localised conflict.

As much as we collectively do our best, we fail in many areas. People with disabilities, to borrow a phrase from Agenda2030 are literally being left behind; concerns are being raised on the safety of people in institutions, and there are already reports that traffickers are taking advantage of the chaos to traffic vulnerable women, girls and children.

We are also concerned about the impact that the Ukraine crisis will have on work in other countries as donors re-allocate large amounts of funding from their development budgets to support donor refugee costs. Yes, the money has to come from somewhere, but wholesale cuts, which are not well thought through, can have unintended negative impacts.

As I write this, I am working (appropriately distanced) across from EU-CORD’s Advocacy Officer. This was supposed to be an ‘advocacy statement’, but sometimes there is a weariness to repeating the same carefully crafted statements. But just in case you’ve managed to read this far into the article, and you haven’t worked it out for yourself – here are the advocacy points:
1. To properly acknowledge the role of local civil society actors in crisis response and, at the appropriate time, learn from the Ukraine response how to envisage and take forward new humanitarian ways of working and partnership principles.
2. In responding to the Ukraine crisis, governments and other institutional donors must not divert funds and put at risk humanitarian actions in countries such as Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and forgotten crises. These fragile countries are already under considerable pressure.
3. Countries are reminded to respect International Humanitarian Law. In the midst of conflict, it is the main recourse we have to limit the effects of armed conflict for humanitarian reasons.
4. Safe passage needs to be established and protocols respected to enable people to leave areas of conflict for their own safety.
5. Human rights and dignity must be respected. The racial discrimination faced by Asians, Africans, and other people of colour while trying to flee Ukraine and registering as refugees in neighbouring countries is not acceptable.
6. Government and humanitarian actors need to honour commitments to reach and protect those who are most vulnerable, including older people, people with disabilities and vulnerable children and adults living in institutions. Organisations of persons with disabilities are ready to assist.
7. Safe passage and safeguarding don’t end once a border is crossed. There are those who will exploit the desperate and confusing situation that those fleeing the crisis find themselves in for financial gain – especially around the trafficking of women, girls, children and other vulnerable persons.
8. The Ukraine crisis comes at a time when the financial impacts of rising fuel and food prices are being felt by many households, most immediately and severely in vulnerable households. These impacts are escalated when we look at the impact on countries that rely heavily on Ukrainian wheat. There is a real risk of social unrest, and governments, donors and civil society need to work together to support all populations at home and abroad.
Image by Nati, supplied by Pexels
Ruth Faber

18 March 2022

Advocacy Hub, Funding & Partnerships, Humanitarian Partnership
EU-CORD Ukraine Response

Updated 7th March 2022

In light of events in Ukraine, EU-CORD members are mobilising to respond to the emerging humanitarian crisis in a very uncertain and fluid situation.

Hungarian Baptist Aid is already distributing humanitarian aid to people in Brehove, Zakarpathia and their Rescue 24 team; an international special rescue team is on standby.

Dutch agency Dorcas is planning to respond in Ukraine and Moldova as well as considering a response in Romania. Medair (Switzerland) is sending a team to the region to assess their response.

ERIKS Development Partner has launched a relief effort inside Ukraine, to provide supplies and support to children and families who are affected by the war and are forced to hide in shelters. ERIKS’ partners within the country provide food, clothing, blankets and other supplies for people hiding in shelters or are internally displaced in Ukraine. ERIKS also provides psychosocial support and social assistance for affected people, both on the ground and through phone and the internet. All interventions are done through local partner organizations.

ERIKS has for many years been operating in Romania and Moldova, where refugees from Ukraine are now arriving. In Moldova, ERIKS’ partner organization is assisting with psychosocial support and activities for children at reception centers for Ukrainian refugees. Similar efforts are being prepared in Romania.

ERIKS Development Partner has a regional office in Romania where staff is coordinating with other actors and organizations for effective response and support to Ukrainian refugees and based on the needs ERIKS is planning to support more initiatives.

LM International is continuing to support their partner in Ukraine – Lviv – to respond to small scale IDP hosting. They are now focusing on the refugee response in Romania and Moldova through their partner there.

Both LM International and ERIKS Development Partner have partnered with Human Bridge to transport hospital equipment and materials to Kyiv.

EU-CORD members LM International, Mission East and Fida have launched private fundraising campaigns to support local and international partners who are already operational.

Other members assessing their responses are Sign of Hope and PMU.

Our prayers are with all those caught up in this conflict.

For more information, contact:

Ruth Faber, EU-CORD CEO, ruth.faber@eu-cord.org

Ruth Faber

25 February 2022

Funding & Partnerships, Humanitarian Partnership

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Whose life is worth saving?