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.

Michael Elliott, President and CEO of ONE, issued the following statement on the new G8 food security plan announced at the Camp David Summit.

Washington, DC— On the eve of the G8 Summit, international agency Oxfam called on world leaders heading to Camp David to make predictable, measureable funding and policy commitments that will help 50 million people lift themselves out of poverty through sustainable, small-scale agriculture by 2015.

InterAction President Samuel A. Worthington issued the following statement today in response to the funding bill approved by the House Appropriations State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Wednesday.

After two earthquakes – measuring magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 respectively – sparked fears of a tsunami in Indonesia and across the Indian Ocean, Concern Worldwide calls for the international community and first responders to remain vigilant in monitoring for aftershocks and preparing to respond if needed. 

Freedom from Hunger, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, and Oikocredit, one of the largest social investors in microfinance, are partnering with six microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ecuador and Peru, to replicate Freedom from Hunger’s integrated approach to microfinance and health protection for poor families in the Andes.

Concern Worldwide U.S. Operations Director and Co-chair of the Humanitarian Policy and Practice Committee, Dominic MacSorley OBE, was recognized last night by the Northern Ireland All Party Group on International Development (APGID) for his outstanding contribution to international humanitarianism over the past 30 years.

Counterpart International wins Nonprofit PR award for Best Video and/or Podcast Program for a community-run tourism program in rural Guatemala.

PASSA is a participatory method of awareness-raising around safe shelters. Its purpose is to provide communities with tools for improving their living environments, offering a step-by-step method for building safer housing. It was developed by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the British Red Cross, and has been tested in Uganda, Bangladesh and Haiti.

The Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) program of the University of Texas, in partnership with AidData, released an interactive mapping dashboard of climate change vulnerability and conflict events in Africa,

(Washington, D.C.) — In Seeking Refuge: The Chin People of Mizoram State, India, the report authors and a coalition of supporting coalitions, faith based groups, and refugee and humanitarian organizations, encourage the central government of India and Mizoram State to respond to the protection and humanitarian crisis of up to 100,000 Chins in Mizoram State, India.

Learn how our Haitian partners are empowering young people to take leadership roles in ongoing earthquake recovery efforts, and how a committed group of youngsters in Wyoming doubled the impact of their spaghetti dinner fundraiser.

President and CEO of InterAction, Sam Worthington states that NGOs unfairly get the brunt of the blame for slow progress in Haiti, NGOs cannot be the only face of recovery.

InterAction CEO, Samuel Worthington addresses the progress of funding for Haiti aid two years after the quake.

Episcopal Relief & Development's 2012 Lenten Meditations are available in English and in Spanish, both in print and electronically.  Orders for print booklets should be placed with the Episcopal Media Center by February 10 for delivery by Ash Wednesday, February 22.  Online booklets and

The Rev. Canon E. Mark Stevenson (Louisiana), Meredith A. Brown (Long Island), Lindsay Coates (Washington) and Judith Morrison (Washington) begin their terms effective January 1, 2012.  The Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls (Ex Officio) began his Board term in September 2011, upon the retirement of the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Episcopal Church, Linda Watt.

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.

Judith Hermanson, an accomplished NGO senior executive with over 17 years of hands-on experience directing and growing nonprofit organizations, will join the Pan American Development Foundation as its new Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer effective February 1, 2012.

InterAction is mentioned in a clip about how best to donate to disaster victims.

http://www.thedailyreporter.com/brandedcontent?articleID=8060220101&categoryID=432

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

La Agencia Episcopal de Alivio y Desarrollo y el Fondo de Inspiración NetsforLife^®  se complacen en ofrecer una selección de materiales educativos en español para invitar una mayor participación en la campaña de la Iglesia Episcopal que busca apoyar la lucha contra la malaria. 

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and Lions Clubs International today committed to planting 1.5 million trees in Kenya by June 2012. The United Nations has declared 2011 the International Year of Forests.

Episcopal Relief & Development and Pura Vida are offering four boxes this year, with combinations of Fair Trade and organic coffees, teas and chocolates.

Integrated Approaches: the Future of Development

Janine Schooley, MPH

PCI (Project Concern International)

September 2011

Read about flood recovery in Minot, North Dakota, and athletes in Wisconsin, Hawai'i and Oregon who raised awareness and support for Episcopal Relief & Development.
 

USAID and the AdCouncil have launched a campaign to raise awareness about the drought in the Horn of Africa where more than 13.3 million people are in crisis.

Members of Episcopal Relief & Development's Partners in Response team will travel to the flood-affected dioceses of Vermont and Albany, to visit impacted congregations and support recovery planning.

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

This PowerPoint presentation highlights Global Links' work in Haiti.

During the first day of InterAction's 2011 Forum, InterAction was joined by the UN's Valerie Amos and USAID's Don Steinberg at a media roundtable on the Horn of Africa.

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.

CARE and The World Wildlife Fund released a joint statement in applauding Senator John Kerry's inclusion of language linking conservation and development in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2012-2013.   

Famine has been declared in parts of Middle Shabelle, IDP settlements along the Afgooye Corridor, parts of Mogadishu hosting IDPs, Lower

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?

On July 21, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed H.R.2583, the FY2012 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, on a party-line vote of 23-20. The mark-up, which clocked in at over 30 hours, was thoroughly partisan with very few substantive bipartisan amendments adopted.

Hundreds of thousands of Somali children are severely and acutely malnourished inside Somalia and are in dire need of help, Save the Children warned after the UN declared a famine in parts of the drought-afflicted nation.

Los Angeles-based International relief agency Operation USA announced today that it will send emergency aid to East Africa as part of relief efforts responding to the worst drought to hit East Africa in 60 years.

The worst drought in 60 years has hit East Africa, leaving 11 million people malnourished and sick.

War forced tens of thousands of Somalis to flee their capital, Mogadishu. Famine is bringing them back.

Hungry and sick Somalis are trekking from their homes in famine-struck southern areas in search of food, water and medicine. More than 50,000, by a July 18 United Nations count, have arrived in Mogadishu, a city destroyed by two decades of conflict.

Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), a relief and development organization based in the D.C. metropolitan area, announced the launch of its East Africa Crisis Appeal. 

International Medical Corps is deploying an Emergency Response Team (ERT) to the Somali Region of eastern Ethiopia where the worst drought crisis in 60 years has prompted a dramatic increase in the number of Somali refugees streaming across the border in search of shelter and basic resources.

As the humanitarian community declares famine in parts of southern Somalia, increasing numbers of Somalis affected by the drought in East Africa are fleeing across the country’s borders in search of food, clean water and shelter.  

It has been an achingly difficult year in the Eastern Horn of Africa – 2011 has been the driest period in the region since 1995, with the lowest level of rainfall in 60 years.

CRWRC is grateful for the opportunity to respond to the urgent needs of people in Kenya both with food and by helping them recognize their own potential for combating drought conditions and aims to work with more communities to achieve successful results like those seen in Atir. 

Previously planning a $4 million response, the agency now has a goal of distributing $7 million in emergency aid between August and December 2011. 

Hunger and the threat of malnutrition are becoming the daily reality for millions of people in East Africa.

CARE scales up response, urges donors to ease restrictions on aid delivery.

More than 10 million people in East Africa are in dire need of humanitarian aid as a result of diminishing food sources stemming from the recent rise in food prices and severe drought that has overwhelmed the region. 

As a severe food crisis sweeps across the Greater Horn of Africa, an estimated 10 million people are faced with food shortages, mass livestock losses, and protracted drought-like conditions. 

With life-threatening conditions reaching catastrophic levels in parts of Eastern Africa, the United Nations took the extraordinary step of declaring famine in parts of Somalia, a classification defined by mortality rates greater than two people per 10,000 per day across a specific region, along with skyrocketing rates of deadly malnutrition (above 30% for children under five), among other indi

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos discuss the findings of the Mid-Year Review of the Humanitarian Appeals to Member States. The Mid-Year Review highlights the needs and priorities for the second half of 2011 and draws attention to the gaps in funding that require urgent attetion. 

A statement by the Somalia NGO Consortium from July 20, 2011, on the UN's declaration of the first famine of the 21st century, in two regions in southern Somalia.

Read about clean water and sanitation work in Nicaragua, and a bake sale in California that raised money to help with the Japan earthquake and tsunami response. 

Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting disaster-impacted dioceses as they transition from emergency relief to long-term recovery. 

When representatives of the Florida Marlins and Waste Management walked into Inspiration Village in Malfety, Haiti, last week, the residents greeted them with marching bands, dancers and words of deep gratitude. Hundreds of men, women, and children gathered in front of the community center to thank the team that raised funds and awareness to build much-needed housing.

Arthur Keys, President and CEO of IRD stated today: "I was concerned when reading a Washington Post article by its Afghanistan reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran which inaccurately portrayed the situation on the ground in Afghanistan with c

Yesterday, the compromise FY2011 full-year appropriations bill (HR 1473) passed through Congress, with a 260-117 vote in the House of Representatives and an 81-19 vote in the Senate. President Obama will sign the bill sometime today.

On April 14, 2011, InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. His testimony, below, championed the importance and value of the poverty-focused development and humanitarian accounts administered by USAID and the State Department.

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

Updated information is available on InterAction member projects and education sector activities in Haiti as of March 2011.

Blog on Reuters AlertNet by InterAction president and CEO, Samuel A. Worthington, on why giving either restricted or unrestricted funds during a disaster helps. The article is in response to a Reuters blog advocating unrestricted giving only.

March 18, 2011 - Joel Charny, InterAction's vice president of humanitarian policy and practices, joins other aid workers on air to discuss the humanitarian relief effort taking place in Japan one week after the devastating 9.0 earthquake and resultant tsunami -- and in the shadow of a potential nuclear disaster.

Health sector information on Haiti updated as of March 17, 2011.

The images we have seen from Japan are as horrifying as those from the earthquake that devastated Haiti more than a year ago. Once again, TV news stations in Philadelphia and across the country have promoted relief efforts in their newscasts and many even held telethons.

Cash allows relief organizations to get exactly what they need quickly without having to worry about transportation, staff time, and warehouse space. 

Our thoughts are with those in Japan and other countries across the Pacific Ocean that have been affected by the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami. InterAction member organizations have strong partnerships with civil society groups in Japan that are responding.

International Medical Corps is responding to the situation in Japan and tsunami-warning areas, following an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan’s coast, triggering a tsunami that devastated northern parts of the country and put a tsunami warning in effect for much of the Pacific.

InterAction statement on crisis in Libya, March 1, 2011

InterAction member CARE's statement on the FY2011 Continuing Resolution.

Press release by InterAction member ChildFund International on its partnership with InterAction member Physicians for Peace on disability work in Haiti a year after the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

Save the Children's assessment of Pakistan six months after the flooding.

Article from the Huffington Post one year after the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. InterAction's president and CEO, Samuel A. Worthington, was interviewed.

The campaign proposes a Ten-point checklist of Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient to serve as a guide for commitment by Mayors.

One year progress report from InterAction member Solar Cookers International on work done in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Article from Scientific American on the health sector in Haiti one year after the January 12, 2010, earthquake, including discussion on NGOs' impact.

Progress report by InterAction member Medical Teams International on their work in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

InterAction member IRD's report on activities they've completed in Haiti in the year since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

The $20,744,144 Food For The Poor raised for Haiti emergency earthquake relief had been spent entirely on those efforts by the end of October. The funds were used for purchasing food and other critical items that were not donated, as well as for shipping containers of relief to the country.  

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.

InterAction member Catholic Relief Services' one-year report on their work since the earthquake on January 12, 2010, in Haiti.

A March 2010 report from InterAction member Oxfam on re-envisioning Haiti with "equity, fairness, and opportunity" after the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

An article from NPR's website exploring both sides of the debate on the funds NGOs in Haiti have raised since the January 12, 2010, earthquake compared to how much they have spent.

An article from the Associated Press (AP) on some of the hurdles facing Haiti's reconstruction after the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Agence France Presse (AFP) article in the Montreal Gazette exploring both sides of the debate on NGOs in Haiti.

The Sphere Project is a programme of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) and InterAction with VOICE and ICVA. The project was launched in 1997 to develop a set of universal minimum standards in core areas of humanitarian assistance.

Report from InterAction member World Concern on Haiti one year after the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Article published in the Wichita Eagle in Kansas on money donated to Haiti after the January 12, 2010, earthquake. InterAction's president and CEO, Samuel A. Worthington, was interviewed.

One year progress report from InterAction member the International Rescue Committee (IRC) after the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

InterAction member EDC's one year progress report after the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

One year after Haiti earthquake, Habitat’s recovery program has benefited nearly 24,000 families through emergency, transitional and permanent housing solutions. Work continues toward serving 50,000 families over next five years.

InterAction member World Vision's one-year report on the response to the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

This report offers international agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media, the U.S. government, and the public an overview of the humanitarian and development assistance being provided to the people of Pakistan by InterAction member agencies.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled the final report of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). The report provides a blueprint for elevating American "civilian power" to better advance national interests and to be a better partner to the U.S. military.

The worst flood to hit Pakistan in 80 years has left at least three million people in need of emergency assistance.

Concern Worldwide has been working in Haiti for 16 years with currently close to 400 staff.

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington testifies before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere on Thursday, July 29, 2010.

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake struck Haiti, devastating the nation’s capital and creating one of the most complex urban disasters in decades. More than 220,000 persons were killed and 330,000 injured. An estimated 3 million men, women and children – one in three Haitians  were affected.

Oxfam had been working in Haiti for 32 years when the quake struck. For the past six months, our programs have scaled up to provide water and sanitation, public health education, and ensuring people have access to food and basic needs through cash-for-work and cash grants programs. We are currently helping over 440,000 people through our relief and recovery programs.

Six months on, the dramatic destruction caused by the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti is still synonymous with unbelievable stress for over three million people1, including 1.6 million living in 1,342 spontaneous settlements, of which 800,000 are estimated to be children.

The IRC launched programs in Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the January 12 earthquake.

JDC, the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization, is proud to be using its expertise to bring ongoing relief to the people of Haiti in their time of need. As the process of recovery in Haiti begins, JDC is addressing the physical and psychological rehabilitation needs of those most devastated by the disaster.

Six months after the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake, life is slowly resuming for families in Haiti, but it is a new post-earthquake life of rebuilding communities and coming to terms with a new “normal.” The new normal includes some being able to return to homes that have been repaired. For others, it means having to find a new home - often with a relative or neighbor.

On an overcast and rainy May 25, CHF completed a payroll in Petit-Goave for 740 laborers in its ongoing cash-for-work program. Workers had spent the past two weeks demolishing crumbled buildings and removing rubble in support of the USAID-funded CLEARS program. At the payroll, CHF paid workers salaries totaling more than US$47,000, accounting for almost US$62 per person.

AMURT’s mission is to help improve the quality of life for the poor and disadvantaged people of the world, and to assist those affected by calamity and conflict. We believe that the best assistance is that which encourages and enables all people to develop themselves.

JUNE 2010 marks 6 months since a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti…While the recovery process has begun, devastation in Port-au- Prince, and many areas beyond, remains without precedent. As many as 3 million people were affected by the quake, 1 million left homeless, 300,000 injured, and over 220,000 killed.

To continue supporting Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake on January 12, Giving Children Hope is transitioning from an immediate recovery response to a season of long-term reconstruction.  To date, Giving Children Hope has distributed over $7 million worth of life-saving medicines, medical supplies and other relief items.

On the six-month anniversary of Haiti's deadly earthquake, President Barack Obama said a rapid international response saved lives but the recovery effort must continue.

Long before the crippling earthquake of January 12, 2010, Jesuit Refugee
Service had a grassroots presence in Haiti, providing humanitarian assistance
to displaced Haitians both in the town of Ouanaminthe on the northeastern
border with the Dominican Republic, and in the Dominican Republic itself. JRS

Tents fill every open space in Port-au-Prince: public parks, empty lots, even traffic
medians. For thousands of earthquake survivors, these crowded camps are the only
housing option.

Just six months after the earthquake, Habitat is:

FACTS AT A GLANCE:
The global Red Cross network is providing:

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.

On January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti causing the largest urban disaster in a developing country in decades. The American people responded with a generous outpouring of donations and a desire to help the Haitian people.

In the aftermath of the January earthquake, the massive displacement of over a million people and the profound disruption of every aspect of daily life have greatly exacerbated the protection risks for women and girls in Haiti.

Letter signed by 33 InterAction members to the Speaker of the House, House and Senate Majority Leaders and Ranking members urging them to give immediate priority to the FY10 supplemental funding measure.

Almost a year since more than three million people fled fighting in Pakistan’s Swat valley and surrounding areas, the crisis is far from over. Over a million people are displaced, more are being forced into displacement every day, and two million are struggling to rebuild their lives after returning to their homes to find their villages destroyed.

This is a PowerPoint presentation of UNISDR's 2010-2011 World Disaster Reduction Campaign.

 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.  

Letter from InterAction's President & CEO Samuel A. Worthington to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittees on InterAction's recommendations for the anticipated FY2010 supplemental funding measure.

Letter from InterAction's President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah regarding the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance's announcement that it would reduce funding across all regions to make room for its massive response in Haiti

A regularly updated list of agencies responding to the crisis in Haiti is available at: http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti

A progress report on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Preventing Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

Statement from Rev. David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World, on the Faith Leaders Summit, convening in Pittsburgh in advance of the G-20 Summit.

A New Online Course on Gender and Humanitarian Action.

World Vision will distribute Vestergaard Frandsen’s next-generation anti-malaria bed nets in Zambia beginning next month to better protect households in malaria-endemic communities where the mosquito-borne disease is a top killer of children.

International Medical Corps is expanding its response to the displacement crisis in Pakistan with early recovery activities for Buner District, an area affected by the recent fighting in the Northwest Frontier Province. The organization is the first to help the displaced return to their homes in Buner after the conflict that began on May 3.