The second edition of Professional Standards for Protection Work reflects recommendations of humanitarian and human rights agencies (UN, NGOs and Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) led by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Leading NGO alliance InterAction supports efforts to reform food assistance programs and urges U.S. lawmakers to retain the focus of these programs on reaching the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. 

Leading international NGOs lay out their policy guidelines in a global health briefing book, which will be launched Monday, April 8 on Capitol Hill.  

This month’s Power of Partn

Foreign assistance saves lives, stabilizes countries, opens markets and helps those in need. Yet under sequestration – automatic spending cuts taking effect this March – poverty-focused development and humanitarian accounts are being slashed by 5 percent.  This translates into real human suffering.  

Three global NGO consortia – InterAction, ICVA and VOICE – are dismayed at the Security Council’s decision for all UN functions in Somalia to be integrated under one UN umbrella. The NGO consortia believe this decision will jeopardize the delivery of impartial humanitarian assistance in the country.

NGO alliance InterAction urged members of Congress and the administration to restore support for life-saving foreign assistance programs in continued budget negotiations, warning that sequestration cuts that take effect today will cost lives.

A summary of the progress made by G8 countries towards achieving specific committments as reported in the 2012 Camp David Accountability Report. This progress is measured, where applicable, against recommendations made by the U.S. G8/G20 Advocacy Alliance prior to the summits. 

NGO alliance InterAction congratulates Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) on his confirmation Tuesday as the next U.S. Secretary of State.

The Basic Education Coalition (BEC) announces the release of its recommendations to shape a new set of global education goals.  In Each Child Learning, Every Student a Graduate, the Coalition stresses that education must remain a priority of any new global strategy.  

NGO alliance InterAction welcomes provisions included in legislation introduced  today by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) that will help modernize the delivery and effectiveness of foreign assistance. 

Plan International USA and the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) have entered into a formal asset acquisition agreement. In this innovative transaction, CEDPA will join talents and projects with Plan to strengthen existing programs and more effectively protect and promote the rights of women and children around the world.

This document, researched and developed by Mercy Corps, shows the differences in the House and Senate FY2013 spending plans for the International Affairs Budget's development assistance accounts.

NGO alliance InterAction commends the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for convening a hearing yesterday on the progress and future of U.S. food security and agricultural development policy and for recognizing the critical role of NGOs and local civil society organizations in tackling global hunger.

InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs, announced the Best Practices and Innovations (BPI) award winners on Thursday.  ACDI/VOCA, Alliance to End Hunger and Lutheran World Relief received the awards, which focus on building the capacity of local implementing pa

On October 22, 2012, U.S. presidential candidates will hold their third and final public debate – this time focusing on foreign policy. CBS moderator Bob Schieffer is expected to ask the candidates about their views on issues ranging from the recent events in Libya and the conflict in Syria to America’s role in the world and what constitutes effective U.S. foreign assistance.

Joel Charny, Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice, is interviewed about the balance of humanitarian and technical assistance in the aftermath of the crisis in the Sahel. 

Procurement for Country Ownership and Better Results: Recommendations for Improving USAID's Implementation and Procurement Reform (IPR) was prepared by InterAction's CEO Task Force. It is intended as a constructive critique of USAID’s IPR.

As organizations working to end poverty and respond to emergencies around the world, we write to strongly urge you to support the Senate’s fiscal year 2013 overall funding level for the International Affairs Budget in order to protect its poverty-focused accounts throughout all upcoming budget negotiations, including negotiations to avert or delay the sequester.

A summary of the specific committments made by G20 countries in the 2012 Leaders Declaration. Notations are made where specific reports or actions are pledged. Comparisons are also made, where relevant, to recommendations made by the InterAction G8/G20 NGO Task Force prior to the summit. 

This report is produced by the OCHA Mali office in collaboration with humanitarian partners and is issued by OCHA Headquarters in New York. It covers the period from 11 to 25 July 2012.

Samuel A. Worthington, president and CEO, wrote blog for Huffington Post on the Olympics.

Humanitarian groups partner with UPS to increasing their efforts to curb a recent outbreak of cholera in Mali, an area already devastated by drought, fighting, and food shortages.

Since 2009 the United States has shown remarkable leadership in the fight against poverty, hunger, and malnutrition through agriculture-led growth. The leadership of President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Administrator Shah, Senators Leahy and Graham, and Congresswomen Granger and Lowey has helped reverse two decades of declining investments in agriculture and nutrition worldwide.

As the food crisis in the Sahel continues, Mali is experiencing an IDP crisis. As of June 26, donors have only contributed 37 percent of the funds needed to aid the crisis. Currently, the World Food Program is supplying food assistance for residents of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has released report that highlights the growing food crisis in the Sahel. Currently, locusts are threatening crops, the arrival of rainy season means a high risk of cholera and low rain predictions later in the season could threaten crops further. In the meantime, assisting Northern Mali remains a logistical difficulty.

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington tells members of thr G8 why they should support food security ahead of the 2012 summit.

InterAction CEO Samuel A. Worthington comments on the Sahel crisis and the importance of strategic partnerships and sustained funding.

Conflict continues in Mali, where there are currently over 158,000 internally displaced people and 181,742 refugees in neighboring countries. Thus far, 37 percent of the required $213 million has been met and the WFP continues to distribute food to high-need areas in Mali.

The World Food Program is attempting to scale-up their aid activities in the Sahel region, where families are facing growing food insecurity in addition to the upcoming rainy season. WFP is especially concerned about the status of adolescent girls, children and young mothers, who are disproportionately affected by a lack of food and poor nutrition.&n

InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based NGOs, announces the Best Practices and Innovations (BPI) award winners on Wednesday.  Mercy Corps and Heifer International received the awards, which focus on building the capacity of local implementing partners working in food security and agriculture. 

The NGO alliance InterAction welcomes the G20’s inclusion of development issues; however, these words of support are not accompanied by concrete steps, action plans, or benchmarks for completion.

Members of the G8/G20 Task Force released the following quotes on the Task Force Recommendations of the B20, which met in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico from June 16-17.  InterAction’s G8/G20 Task Force has over 30 InterAction members and allies working to influence G8 and G20 outcomes.

On Wednesday, the forum began with a session on the future of development assistance. Panelists from the government, private sector, and academia answered questions regarding the changing nature of development. Topics open for discussion included aid effectiveness, the appropriate use of limited resources, recent successes in development, and public-private partnerships.  

This Tuesday afternoon session focused on the varied factors that impact food security including climate change, natural resource degradation, and population growth. Panelists discussed the changing role of agriculture in the broader development context. Increased funding and leadership have made food security an important development topic.

One of the final sessions of the forum explored the increasingly diverse group of participants in development issues. The panel consisted of four speakers—Barbara Bush, Mandy Moore, Kay Warren, and Jim Kolbe.

"The June 18-19 summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies in the Mexican resort of Los Cabos is expected to be dominated by discussions on resolving the Eurozone’s crippling debt crisis and restoring global growth."

As a food crisis intensifies across the semi-arid Sahel region of West Africa, millions of farming and herding families are struggling to get enough to eat.  

UNICEF urgently requires US$ 67 million to address the immediate needs of children and women affected by the Sahel nutrition crisis in the first half of 2012, which is part of UNICEF’s total 2012 requirements of US$ 120 million.

Report looks at countries' donations to the Sahel.  As of May 2012, there is a 42 percent gap in funding needs.

A joint report from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) looks that the food crisis in the Sahel.

The Sahel region of West and Central Africa is in the grip of a food crisis. Already, families in hard-hit areas are employing desperate measures to find food, like foraging in anthills for bits of edible grain.

This week's update includes analysis of the latest news on the McGovern Dole Food for Peace Program and the FY2012 federal appropriations outlook; a summary of a hearing on waste and fraud in Afghanistan; and a list of upcoming hearings and a selection of recommended articles.

G-8 leaders urged to end child malnutrition in order to stimulate long-term economic development and greater progress against hunger and poverty

President Obama's speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' annual symposium, where he announced the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

The Leaders of the Group of Eight, met at Camp David on May 18 and 19, 2012 to address major global economic and political challenges.

ActionAid today called the just released 2012 G8 Accountability a big step forward for accountability and transparency, but cautioned that the large unfinished agenda outlined in the report stood in stark contrast to the inadequate new initiatives taken by the G8 at this year’s summit.

Over the course of this weekend’s G8 Summit, President Obama and the other G8 leaders took real strides to improve food security and nutrition for children around the world; the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition set an important target of bringing 50 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years.

ActionAid USA offered to the following reaction to the food security section of the communique of the 2012 G8 summit. 

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, delivered a speech on food scurity at an annual symposium hosted by the Chicago Council on May 18, 2012.

Members of the U.S.-based NGO alliance InterAction released the following quotes on President Obama’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.

Leading NGO alliance InterAction welcomes an announcement by President Barack Obama on Friday that the Group of Eight  nations will commit to a new food security alliance during talks in Camp David this weekend and  urges G8 nations to follow through on previous promises.

DATE: Monday, May 14th, 10 am to 5 pm

LOCATION: Fordham University at Lincoln Center, 113 West 60th Street, New York, NY 10023, Lowenstein Building, 12th floor lounge

RSVP: iiha@fordham.edu

Today's edition of the Weekly Update includes a write-up on Rep.

On March 1, 2012 AKF USA and the Mott Foundation hosted an event with 45 philanthro

Learn how the "Give a Goat" Coffee House is empowering families to provide for themselves, and how the Church of Guatemala's micro-finance program is helping small businesses grow.

Identified as a key principle of effective development, country ownership has become an ever-present part of the foreign assistance reform debate. While the Obama administration has embraced country ownership in the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development (PPD) and other executive initiatives, it remains unclear how to put this principle into practice on the ground.

Written by Tawana Jacobs, InterAction's Associate Director of Public Relations.

Country ownership empowers and supports effective states and citizens to take responsibility for their own development, using local systems and resources to build capacity and create change in communities that they are committed to sustaining.

Read about water wells, vegetable gardens and multilateral cooperation in the Philippines, and about a congregation in Tennessee calling members to act for social justice through their first U2charist.

InterAction news release:

International leaders meeting in Bonn on Monday to discuss the future of Afghanistan should expand their focus from short-term stabilization efforts  to longer term development work that will have a lasting impact on the country.

InterAction and Oxfam were mentioned in news clip about G20 outcomes.

http://www.haixiainfo.com.tw/166004.html

Sam Worthington quoted in article.

Sam Worthington quoted. Members ONE and Oxfam were also quoted.

Bill Gates has urged politicians to use the proceeds from a financial transaction tax to fight poverty and disease

Sam Worthington quoted.

The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, had planned to use his leadership of the G20 this year to highlight some of the needs of the developing world. Instead, the focus of G20 summit in Cannes has been on the threat of a Greek default and destabilization of the eurozone.

Sam Worthington quoted in G-20 photo gallery.

''The fact that it takes a report from Bill Gates to get development back on the agenda speaks volumes about how the G20 needs to shift its focus in the future from not only being in crisis mode but towards building a more inclusive, sustainable global economy"

Sam Worthington quoted in news story published by multiple media outlets including Germany's Greenpeace magazine.

InterAction and Oxfam (Mexico) are quoted in this article.

Sam Worthington quoted in Chinese news clip.

http://news.china.com.cn/2011-11/02/content_23799833.htm

Sam Worthington quoted in article

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global development groups on Friday called on G20 leaders to step up to their commitments to tackle global food security and come up with new ways to boost world growth that also benefit the poorest.

Late last week, the Obama administration announced that it has sent a “small number of U.S. military advisors” to central Africa to assist forces in the region that are pursuing the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

After a nearly month-long recess, Congress—and thus, InterAction’s Weekly Update—rolled back into town this week.

Results, indicators, metrics, evaluation, accountability, transparency, cost-benefit analysis – these seemed to be the buzzwords this week as more than 1,000 international aid agency representatives gathered in the nation’s capital to discuss the theme of “Investing in Common Solutions” to the world’s most pressing problems.

InterAction continues to monitor the situation in the Horn of Africa and advocate for the needs of the over 12 million people who have been affected by the drought that has engulfed the region.

With the onset of the earthquake in Haiti in last year, the use of technology in information sharing has been widely discussed within the international development and humanitarian community, and rightfully so. Three seemingly simple questions often come up. People want to know “Who is doing what? Where?

Read how atoll permaculture in the Solomon Islands is helping to secure the food supply in spite of rising sea levels, and about the 150-year-strong Eight O’May luncheon that benefits organizations including Episcopal Relief &

The United Nations is expected to officially declare famine in parts of southern Somalia tomorrow (Wednesday, July 20), marking a new phase in a crisis that has affected the East Africa region.

On Capitol Hill next week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a markup hearing of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2012 on Wednesday, July 20 at 10:00am in room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Check for other upcoming hearings in the Update below.

Samuel A. Worthington writes about the prospective 2012 U.S. presidential candidates who want to limit our engagement abroad and  those lawmakers who propose  cuts to the 2012 foreign affairs budget have forgotten a basic budgeting rule.

InterAction watched with interest this week President Obama’s speech on troop levels in Afghanistan. With much of the attention centered on the aspects of the security transition, the face of long-term development in Afghanistan remains to be seen. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that the U.S.

G8 Deauville Declaration outlines commitments made by world leaders on May 6-27, 2011.

A new USAID program allows companies of all sizes including large corporations, to send professionals abroad to local governments and groups in developing nations. Sam Worthington is quoted in a MSNBC article saying that a partnership of government, corporations and non-profits is essential for achieving the Millennium Dvelopment Goals.

InterAction’s G8/G20 Task Force urges G8 leaders to implement the following recommendations at the May 26-27 summit in Deauville, France.

The G8 is committed to aid effectiveness in the areas of global health and food security. Food security is central in the G8's development concerns as the countries focus on financial aid as well as research. The G8 has also mobilized over 40 percent of the $60 billion that was pledged towards global health in 2007.

ONE's 2011 DATA Report is about how donor funding up to 2010 has not matched the amount agreed to by G8 nations at the 2005 Summit in Gleneagles.

INTERACTION STATEMENT: With food prices at record levels, financial leaders meeting in Washington this week must urge their governments to follow through on pledges they made two years ago to improve food security. 

Facts and figures to support the 2011 Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response.

InterAction is continuing to monitor the humanitarian situation in West Africa resulting from post-electoral violence in the Ivory Coast.

In past years, the State Department and foreign operations appropriation bill has passed with strong bipartisan support, often by an overwhelming margin. Members of both parties have understood how important diplomacy and development are—not only to U.S.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force released its 2011 G8 Summit Policy Paper entitled U.S. Leadership at the May G8 Summit late last week.

An entry on USA Today's "Kindness" blog about projects that have been ongoing in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake, and ways that people can still help.

Blog on AlertNet on the media's criticism of the humanitarian response in Haiti, and why it's simultaneously incomplete, appropriate and constructive.

U.S. Department of State fact sheet on an agreement to develop the North Industrial Park in Haiti to create 20,000 permanent jobs.

Transcript of an interview of InterAction's president and CEO, Sam Worthington, and the State Department's Special Coordinator for Haiti, Thomas Adams, on the way forward in Haiti after the one year anniversary of the earthquake on January 12, 2010.

A report released by InterAction member Oxfam on agricultural work to be done in Haiti since the January 12, 2010 earthquake.

Chapter Two of Bread for the World's 2011 Hunger Report examines country-led development and advocates for the United States to incorporate this principle into all of its foreign aid programs, as it has with the Feed the Future Initiative. 

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC)’s strategic plan for the remainder of its mandate. Report issued December 2010.

John Ruthrauff, InterAction’s International Advocacy Director, is quoted in this article about the World Bank’s International Development Association agreeing to boost funding for low-income countries.

Bond, InterAction’s United Kingdom counterpart coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in international development and humanitarian relief, released Seoul G20 Summit: UK NGO Briefing Paper on Tuesday, November 9.

With funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), InterAction aims to dramatically improve current efforts to gather data from the field, generate partnerships and inform resource allocation by supporting the display of InterAction member activities by location.

Originally developed as part of InterAction's Africa Liaison Program Inititiative (ALPI) to foster relationships between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and nongovernmental organizations in the U.S.

InterAction’s G8/G20 Task Force welcomes the establishment of a G20 Development Working Group with its mandate to produce a development agenda and multi-year action

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington, in representative of the alliance of U.S. NGOs applauds the President Obama’s new global development policy.InterAction looks forward to co-work with the Administration to turn the policy framework into results.

InterAction applauds for President Obama’s action of announcing his MDG plan on July 30-over a month prior to the U.N. MDG Summit in September. Meanwhile, we strongly urges the Administration to consider the following key recommendations on each of the eight MDGs as the plan is finalized.

The June 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

Six months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, there is still much to be done, however, the communities Plant With Purpose works with have made significant progress by planting trees, constructing soil conservation barriers, and providing incomes to support their families through our “Cash for Work” program.

A summary of recommendations from InterAction's G8/G20 Coordination Group policy briefs on global health; climate change; food, hunger, and agriculture; accountability; global safe drinking water and sanitation; global economic crisis and;  basic education.

This policy brief, published by Save the Children in May, 2010, explores how to support local ownership and build national capacity by applying a flexible and country-based approach to aid instruments.

Agricultural extension or ‘farmer advisory services’ can play a key role in enabling smallholder farmers to become more productive and to participate more profitably in agricultural markets and value chains. To achieve that goal, farmer advisory services must be reoriented and restructured.

We applaud the efforts of the international community to address the critical condition of hunger. We urge meaningful civil society engagement as decisive to successful sustainable food security. Families and communities are on the front lines of this struggle. Long-term food security depends on meeting communities and households needs by:

 Notes from the "Consultation with the Global NGO Community on Building Back Better in Haiti" which occurred on March 25, 2010 in New York City.  The event was co-hosted by the European Union, InterAction, and the U.N. Office of the Special Envoy to Haiti.  

In response to the administration’s December 2009 Pakistan Assistance Strategy Report, InterAction members applaud the U.S.

This brief, published by Save the Children in 2010, explores issues for policymakers and practitioners to consider as part of a renewed emphasis on stakeholder participation in development programs. 

A progress report about the Millennium Challenge Corporation and its full funding request since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about transformational diplomacy's the "F" process and returning budget authority to a USAID administrator since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on U.S. development assistance funding trends since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about Sudan and the need to ensure access to those who require assistance since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Sudan and engaging international partners in the Darfur conflict since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about the naming of a special U.S. envoy in Sudan since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Agricultural Development for Reducing Hunger and Rural Poverty since publication of InterAction’s

2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Agricultural Development for Reducing Hunger and Rural Poverty since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

Report of InterAction member organizations' activities in Afghanistan for 2009.

Response on the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative's strategy for strengthening and expanding global food security and recommendations on its implementation.

The Global Food Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 3077) was introduced on June 26, 2009 by Representative Betty McCollum.  The Global Food Security Act calls for the creation of a comprehensive food security strategy, a White House Coordinator to develop and oversee the strategy and authorizes agricultural development measures critical to addressing long-term hunger.  The House ver

This document outlines The Global Food Security Act of 2009 (H.R.3077) introduced by Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN).  The bill calls for a coordinated and comprehensive U.S. global food security strategy that leverages bilateral and multilateral investments and creates partnerships with the private sector, NGOs, and universities.

The document briefly summarizes the Roadmap to End Hunger and Promote Food Security Act of 2009 introduced on June 11, 2009 by Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO).  The bill outlines a comprehensive U.S. strategy to effectively address world hunger and improve food security and the mechanisms necessary to coordinate the strategy.

To learn more about the Best Practices and Innovations (BPI) Initiative, please visit: www.interaction.org/best-practices-innovations.

Report on public dialogue hosted by InterAction and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on country-led development and partnerships in fighting global poverty

Response from InterAction to the 2009 G8 Summit Declaration and Preliminary Accountability Report

This document, published by the Millennium Challenge Corporation in February, 2009, is designed to provide eligible country partners with an overview of how consultations are inte­grated into compact development and implementation, and to explain MCC’s expectations with regard to manage­ment and reporting on this process.

InterAction’s G8 NGO Coordination Group urges the U.S. Executive branch to take a strong leadership role at the 2009 G8 Summit and build on their 2008 commitments on food, hunger and agriculture.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

This policy brief is part of a larger series in InterAction’s 2009 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

Critical Problems, Recommendations, and actions for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress

In this issue, we explore the role of NGOs in major development initiatives. From Presidential programs to global efforts, we will look at how NGOs have helped to achieve results in some areas and how we can be better engaged in others.

In this issue of Monday Developments, we have allowed ourselves the luxury of a deliberately ambitious goal: to invite practitioners from within and outside our community to share with us their take on happenings that are consistent and frequent enough to be considered trends.

 The Position Statement on Demonstrating NGO Effectiveness provides a common foundation of principles and standards for the InterAction community. It was prepared by InterAction’s Working Group on Evaluation and Program Effectiveness and approved by the InterAction Board of Directors on September 20, 2005.

This document, published by the OECD (1998), explores the role, history and traditions of civil society in order to improve international development and peace-building efforts.