Strategic Impact Article
Programme at a Glance
- European Humanitarian Forum: strong member presence in 2023 and 2024 (Dorcas, Fida, LM International, Mission East, Medair DE, PMU, Tearfund NL, ZOA, Secretariat)
- VOICE Engagement: active role in the FPA Taskforce, Watchgroup, and representation on the VOICE Board, ensuring EU-CORD members’ realities shaped humanitarian policy debates
- Submissions & Hearings: contribution on the M23 crisis in DRC cited in European Parliament resolutions; Secretariat invited to confidential parliamentary hearing and to brief the EU-Africa Assembly delegation
- 3 Action for Impact webinars with 128 participants (46 local partners) on humanitarian narratives, HRBA, and climate justice
- Nexus & Fragility Resources Published:
– EU-CORD and the Triple Nexus (2022)
– Nexus and Fragile States Roundtable Outcome Report (2024)
– Fragile Contexts Nexus Case Studies (2025) - Collaborative study & advocacy: Critical Raw Materials and fragility impact in Zambia (Sign of Hope, Caritas Zambia)
What Happened
Humanitarian engagement in this strategy cycle was deliberately reframed through the lens of fragility and the triple nexus. Members recognised that the boundaries between humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and peacebuilding are increasingly blurred — and that EU-CORD could add value by ensuring faith-based perspectives and evidence from fragile contexts were visible in Brussels.
Positioning members in EU debates
Through the European Humanitarian Forum, VOICE platforms, and CONCORD working groups, EU-CORD members gained visibility in spaces where compliance, localisation, and humanitarian reset were being debated. Active roles in the VOICE FPA Taskforce and Watchgroup, as well as representation on the VOICE Board, meant that the network’s concerns were not just relayed but helped shape common sector positions.
Flagship resources on the nexus
The programme’s contribution went beyond presence: it produced three milestone resources. The EU-CORD and the Triple Nexus report (2022) mapped how members were already operationalising the humanitarian–development–peace (HDP) approach, from disability inclusion in DRC (Fida) to resilience work in Nepal (Mission East). In 2024, EU-CORD co-hosted a high-level Nexus and Fragile States Roundtable with ACT Alliance EU, Caritas Europa, COMECE, and Islamic Relief — generating an outcome report that captured lessons from Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, and Pakistan, and called for more flexible EU funding in fragile states. Building on this, the Fragile Contexts Nexus Case Studies (2025) showcased members like LM International (Uganda) and ZOA (Ethiopia), alongside partners in Myanmar and Ukraine, documenting how faith-based organisations deliver reconciliation, education, and livelihoods under conditions of conflict and displacement.
Direct advocacy on fragility
Alongside these publications, EU-CORD engaged directly on issues of fragility. A joint submission on the M23 crisis in DRC secured uptake in European Parliament debates and resolutions, and the Secretariat was invited to both a confidential parliamentary hearing and a briefing for the EU-Africa Assembly delegation. Research on Critical Raw Materials and fragility in Zambia, presented with Sign of Hope and Caritas Zambia, drew links between EU trade priorities and local vulnerabilities — broadening the humanitarian conversation into the geopolitics of resources.
Narrative and learning spaces
The programme also invested in reshaping humanitarian identity. The Action for Impact webinars convened members and local partners around humanitarian narratives, rights-based approaches, and climate justice, fostering dialogue on how the humanitarian story is told and who has the authority to tell it. These online spaces helped to decentralise participation, with nearly 40% of attendees coming from national organisations.
Why It Matters
The programme’s importance lies in how it combined policy influence, evidence generation, and member learning. For members, it:
- Reinforced credibility in EU policy spaces, ensuring that Christian FBOs were seen not as marginal actors but as central to debates on compliance, localisation, and the nexus.
- Produced resources that captured the lived realities of fragility, giving members practical tools to frame their own advocacy and programme design.
- Connected local experiences with Brussels processes, from the M23 crisis in DRC to fragility linked with EU resource politics in Zambia.
- Created shared learning spaces where members and partners could rethink humanitarian narratives and engage with nexus concepts on their own terms.
By doing so, the programme not only amplified members’ voices but also positioned EU-CORD as a credible contributor to the EU’s ongoing reflection on fragility and integrated approaches.
Reflecting Forward
Member CEOs regard humanitarian and fragility work as an important strand for EU-CORD. They stress the need to make the distinctive role of faith-based actors more visible in Brussels, while also recognising that the nexus is becoming unavoidable — humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding cannot be separated in fragile settings. They also emphasise that EU-CORD should continue to bring evidence from members’ contexts into these debates, ensuring fragility remains on the EU agenda.
