InterAction members respond to the final communique released at the end of the G8 summit.

The article cites a letter that InterAction members sent to C.I.A. director David Patraeus. 

Leaders from the Group of Eight nations meeting at Camp David on May 18-19 must commit to concrete, time-bound goals on reducing poverty, malnutrition and hunger, and deliver on previous food security pledges, said leading NGO alliance InterAction.

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.

A two-week edition of InterAction's Weekly Public Policy Update, which includes an analysis of the current FY2013 budget situation, a summary on a hearing about terrorist threats in Africa, and a list of recommended articles.

InterAction is pleased the Senate Appropriations Committee, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 17-2, approved spending allocations today that would maintain spending for international diplomacy and development at current FY2012 levels. 

This document provides an overview of the results in the WFDA Commitments Report 2010. The Women, Faith and Development Alliance (WFDA) serves as a global network of partners who are committed to ending poverty. The WFDA Commitments Report showcases the results of a 2008 global summit that mobilized over $1 billion in commitments for empowering women and girls. 

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

Samuel Worthington is quoted in this article about the upcoming raining season and its consequences in Haiti. 

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.

Joel Charny is mentioned in this article recommending that Indian government provide refugee status to the Chin people from western Burma, so they may have access to humanitarian assistance.  

InterAction mourns the loss of Rep. Donald Payne, who died of colon cancer. He was 77 years old. Rep. Payne was awarded the InterAction Congressional Service Award in 2008.

The article quotes letter that Samuel Worthington sent to CIA Director David Petraeus protesting the use of a fake vaccination campaign as cover to collect intelligence in Pakistan.    

With the completion of the U.S. military mission in Iraq, an estimated 1.5 million Iraqis remain displaced within their own country and continue to face serious challenges in restarting their lives. The overall security situation remains unstable, with several violent attacks in recent months.

Joel Charny is quoted in this article donations to the famine in Somalia.  

Audio is available at: http://www.theworld.org/2012/02/us-somalis-trying-to-help-people-back-home/

Women, Faith and Development Alliance—A Short History and Guide for Adaptation

On Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011 over 40 members of the international humanitarian NGO community gathered to discuss impact evaluation in humanitarian action. This is a short summary of the presentations and discussions.

In November 2010, the Protection Working Group at InterAction issued a series of papers documenting an array of issues affecting the lives of Haitians made even more vulnerable by the 2010 earthquake. The papers set forth a number of recommendations calling on interested parties to ensure that all steps taken in rebuilding Haiti would uphold and restore lives with safety, dignity and rights.

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.

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.

The UN’s integration policy requires the close alignment of all objectives and activities of UN entities, including its humanitarian bodies, to achieve political ends. This is fundamentally incompatible with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence -- all essential to operating safely in situations of armed conflict and other political violence.

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.

InterAction News Release

PowerPoint presentation from the December 1st presentation by Tameeza Alibhai, Program Manager of Aga Khan Foundation USA and FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan.

The Busan Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation is the outcome document of the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, held November 29 - December 1, 2011 in Busan, South Korea.

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 News Release:

U.S. NGO alliance InterAction welcomes a new agreement aimed at improving the effectiveness of aid, but said the new rules must be binding for those who endorsed it at a high-level summit in South Korea this week.

InterAction, Oxfam and Save the Children are quoted in the Croatian news publication.

http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/119130/siromasnima-ne-pakovati-krizu

ActionAid today issued the following reactions at the conclusion of the G20 summit in Cannes, France.

“The G20 summit outcomes show progress on tax and banking secrecy but fall far short of what is needed to resolve the world`s food crises,” said Soren Ambrose, Head of Policy for ActionAid.



 

Sam Worthington quoted.

A proposal for a financial transaction tax to raise new new funding for poor countries failed to win the backing of the G20 although France President Nicolas Sarkozy said he planned to still pursue the idea.

Sam Worthington quoted.

Sam Worthington quoted.

CANNES, Nov 4 (IPS) - While the Greek bailout and stimulus package dominated discussion among the Group of 20 (G20) major industrialised and emerging market economies at the high-level summit in Cannes, France, this week, the proposed financial transactions tax (FTT) received meagre attention.

InterAction News Release:

The outcome of the G20 summit in Cannes was mixed, with progress on tax havens but not enough concrete action to ease the burden of the financial crisis on the world’s poor, said InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based NGOs.

Sam Worthington quoted in news story published by multiple international outlets including El Mundo (Spain).

Sam Worthington quoted.

InterAction News Release: G20 leaders meeting in Cannes should heed recommendations by philanthropist Bill Gates today in his innovative funding report and invest in inclusive and sustainable growth, said the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs on Thursday.

John Ruthrauff, InterAction's Director of International Advocacy, was quoted.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) walks with France's President Nicolas Sarkozy as they arrive at the G20 venue where world leaders gather in Cannes, France, November 2, 2011.

InterAction News Release: G20 leaders meeting in Cannes tomorrow must not solve the sovereign debt crisis on the backs of the world’s poor and should take the lead on fulfilling previous commitments, particularly on food and agricultural assistance, said the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs.

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).

Did you know…
… that together, InterAction members and U.S. corporations manage an estimated $19.4 billion in international development program funds? Together, we represent more than half of the total U.S. private investment in developing countries.*

A recent survey of InterAction member CEOs, presidents and executive directors revealed:

Today marks 10 years since major U.S. military operations began in Afghanistan. As the U.S.

This week the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY2012 State, Foreign Operations bill by a 28-2 vote. The bill provided $44.6 billion in discretionary spending, with an additional $8.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).

InterAction and 129 NGOs placed an ad in Roll Call magazine this week.  The ad was an open letter to Congress, asking them to oppose the severe cuts to foreign aid proposed in the current budget.  

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

Read how leadership training in Sierra Leone is improving gender equality, and how one young woman's entrepreneurial spirit is raising awareness and funds for NetsforLife^®.

President and CEO Sam Worthington quoted.

InterAction President and CEO Sam Worthington is quoted in this Horn of Africa story.

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.

When lawmakers in the U.S. Congress began discussing how much foreign aid to give Middle East countries in 2012, their own debt crisis loomed large. Republicans in the House of Representatives proposed big cuts in overall American commitments.

Mark A. Lotwis has been appointed Senior Director of Public Policy at InterAction, a Washington, D.C.-based alliance of U.S.

InterAction President and CEO Sam Worthington is quoted.

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?

This week, the House State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee unveiled its draft bill for FY2012, which contained substantial cuts for humanitarian and poverty-focused development assistance.

InterAction Statement: House Republican appropriators today continued their assault on U.S. international efforts to reduce poverty, address climate change, and respond to famine and other disasters. This comes a week after the House Foreign Affairs Committee also sought to gut core development accounts.

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.

Sam Worthington radio interview: Millions of Somalis are mired in a deep humanitarian crisis that is now driving thousands of refugees over the border to Kenya daily.

Desperate to win hearts and minds in Pakistan, the U.S. has begun pushing aid organizations working in the country's most dangerous region along the Afghan border to advertise that they receive American assistance.

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.

The worst drought in 60 years has hit East Africa, leaving 11 million people malnourished and sick. It’s estimated that 30 to 40 percent of the children are suffering from acute malnutrition. Portland-based Medical Teams International is sending in the first of two teams to help beginning this week.

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.

InterAction News Release: Members of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations working abroad, are responding to the massive humanitarian crisis occurring in the Horn of Africa. The UN is estimating that as many as 10 million people are struggling with food and water shortages, acute malnutrition and mass displacement.

On July 8, the full House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012 by a 336-87 vote, with 12 Republicans and 75 Democrats opposing the spending measure.

InterAction News Release: At a critical juncture in the deficit reduction talks a diverse coalition of over 40 prominent international and domestic NGOs have joined the leaders of dozens of national faith organizations in calling on the Obama administration and congressional leadership to protect programs benefitting poor and hungry people both here and abroad from budget cuts.

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.

Robust foreign assistance helps governments in developing countries build more stable, prosperous societies, and can be a catalyst in pulling a country out of poverty.

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.

Members of the U.S.-based NGO alliance InterAction released the following quotes on the outcome of the G8 summit in Deauville, which ends on Friday.

FOR REPORTERS COVERING THE G8

The following quotes on the Arab Spring and Libya conflict have been released by InterAction, the biggest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs doing relief and humanitarian work abroad:

InterAction News Release: G8 leaders meeting in Deauville this week must break a cycle of broken promises and honor billions of dollars in commitments for food, agricultural and health assistance, said the largest alliance of U.S.-based NGOs.

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.

May 13, 2011 InterAction News Release: InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington said on Friday he was very disappointed with the latest cuts made by U.S. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) in the  2012 foreign operations budget.

Attention this week focused like a laser-beam on U.S. involvement and assistance to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Previously scheduled Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings (summaries in the document below) provided a platform for senators to question experts on the utility of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and whether and how our assistance strategy to Pakistan should change.

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.

InterAction Statement: U.S. NGO alliance InterAction calls on Congress to pass the 2011 spending agreement today and work with the Obama administration to agree on a 2012 budget that invests in building a more stable and prosperous world.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force applauds the work of the G20 leaders to enhance financial inclusion by increasing access to financial services by low-income people. Improving the range and quality of financial services available to previously excluded individuals strengthens their ability to secure and increase their financial assets.

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

NGO alliance InterAction calls on Congress and the Obama administration to think long-term and preserve our government’s 2012 investment in international development, diplomacy and humanitarian assistance.

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

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.

Japan continues to reel from the multiple disasters triggered by last Friday’s massive earthquake near its northeast coast. The media attention following this disaster has brought about a compassionate response from Americans. InterAction has developed guidelines on the most appropriate ways to help those affected by overseas disasters.

New information, as of March 17, 2011, updating the sector and program lists for InterAction members working in Haiti.

As published in the Wall Street Journal on March 17, 2011: InterAction, an umbrella group for U.S. relief agencies active abroad, advises donors to give to agencies with partner organizations in Japan that would be best placed to spend funds wisely. It says there is minimal need at this stage either for donated goods or throngs of foreign volunteers.

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

A massive earthquake has hit Japan triggering a deadly tsunami and raising warnings of more tsunamis across the Pacific basin. Save the Children is mobilizing its global resources to respond to the needs of children and families affected by the earthquake and its aftermath, and an international emergency team has been dispatched to assist staff in Japan.

As the Senate begins debate on the budget for the remainder of fiscal 2011, senators will have to decide what this country’s international priorities are. This article recommends that the U.S. make foreign aid a priority.

InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S. international nongovernmental organizations called on Libya to allow humanitarian access into the tumultuous land.

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.

“In a tough fiscal environment, the Obama administration has presented a responsible and sensible FY 2012 international assistance budget; one that will help save lives, create economic prosperity here and abroad, and reduce future deficits by preventing bigger security outlays in the future.

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.

UNICEF report six months after the 2010 floods in Pakistan.

Save the Children's assessment of the psychosocial problems and needs of children in flood affected areas in Pakistan six month after the floods.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force published a G20 Summit Policy Brief on innovative financing and the elimination of tax havens. The short brief provides information on the potential role a global financial transfer fee (also sometimes called a transfer tax) might play in responding to international crises.

“When I took office a year ago, the development community made clear if the United States was to play a leading role in international development, USAID would have to be strengthened and empowered with certain authorities that have been stripped from the agency over the course of decades. We heard you.”

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.

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.

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

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction was held by decision of the United Nations General Assembly in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan on 18-22 January 20051. It adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA) as a systematic, strategic blueprint to guide national and international efforts to reduce vulnerabilities and risks induced by naturally occurring hazards and human-made processes.

Transcript of a U.S. Department of State Special Briefing on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, from January 7, 2011.

InterAction member Handicap International's one-year report on work done in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

A document released by InterAction member Oxfam in January 2010, after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, with their recommendations on reconstruction.

One-year progress report by InterAction member Action Aid on their work in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

An op-ed in the Miami Herald by UNICEF's Anthony Lake on the progress made in Haiti so far despite the challenges since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

An article on AlertNet about InterAction member Oxfam's criticism of the recovery effort so far from the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction was held from 18 to 22 January 2005 in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, and adopted the present Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (here after referred to as the “Framework for Action”).

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.

Background: The scope of the 2011 Work Plan will focus on humanitarian programming leaving out recovery and development activities. The document will contain the following elements:

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.

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. 

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.

The people of Southern Sudan are a little more than one month away from casting their votes in a referendum on whether to remain part of Sudan or become an independent state. The referendum is the most significant milestone in a six-year interim period that began with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

•Largely unnoticed outside the region, the Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile have begun the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)–mandated process of popular consultation, which permits Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile to either adopt the CPA as the final settlement between the two states and the Government of Sudan (GoS) or renegotiate the CPA to remedy any shortcoming

Sudan’s north-south civil war was the longest conflict in African history and claimed more than two million lives. In 2005, the United States played a critical role in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ending that conflict and setting forth a roadmap for sustainable peace. Despite many lapses and some tragic violence, the agreement has held.

On 24 September 2010, the United Nations Secretary-General convened a high-level meeting on Sudan to mobilize international support for the Sudanese parties’ full and timely implementation of the final phase of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), including the referenda on the self-determination of the people of Southern Sudan and on the status of Abyei, and for the peace processes f

•Many of the post-referendum scenarios in Sudan envisioned by the U.S. Institute of Peace and Clingendael Institute one year ago remain plausible today, less than six months prior to the referendum.

Sudan is at a crossroads and the next 12 months could determine the future of Africa’s largest nation.

The Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) is a coalition of over 75 civil society organizations in all the 10 States of Southern Sudan whose objective is to promote and protect citizens’ participation in electoral and democratic processes.
 

Ambassador Richard Williamson discusses the importance of the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act in testimony before the U.S. House of Representives Subcommittee on International Monteary Policy and Trade on November 30, 2010. 
 

Humanitarian supplies are being prepositioned at key locations in Sudan ahead of an expected referendum in the event of a possible mass movement of southern Sudanese from the north to the south, Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said today.

For the past several years, significant U.S. attention has been focused on the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, in which roughly three hundred thousand have died and nearly three million have been displaced.

In January 2011, after nearly six decades of armed conflict and tenuous peace, Sudan will hold a referendum to determine whether the south will remain united with Sudan or secede to become an independent nation. At the same time, Abyei is to hold a referendum to decide whether to join the South or remain in the North.

The clock is ticking fast towards what might be the most important date in modern Sudanese history – two
referenda in Sudan that are likely to result in the breakup of Africa’s largest state. With six months remaining
until 9 January 2011, the scheduled date of the referenda, the run-up to, and outcome of, the vote must be

InterAction responds to the Obama administration’s recent Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy review by welcoming the long-term commitment to the development needs of the two countries but also highlighting several concerns with the overall assistance strategies in the countries.  

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

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

The capacity to respond to the urgent needs of vulnerable people in emergencies around the world is a central pillar of the U.S. government's foreign assistance portfolio. It should exemplify the impartial outpouring of humanitarian response in the wake of unthinkable tragedy.

Blog by Katie Gresham on the Development Assistance Task Force of the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, November 16-19, 2010.

Haiti is now facing one of the most severe outbreaks of cholera that has been seen in the last century. This outbreak is made more complex by the humanitarian situation which resulted from the 12 January earthquake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people and injured 300,000.

The Department of State, after consultation with the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), submitted this report detailing planned uses of certain funds appropriated for Haiti in the FY 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill passed by Congress on July 27, 2010 and signed by President Obama on July 29, 2010 (HR 4899).

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.

The earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12 was devastating. As with most crises, women and girls were among both the most vulnerable and the most overlooked. Within the first week, reports of sexual violence emerged, as did stories of women and girls struggling to access assistance and living in crowded and unsafe camps.

Norgrove, who worked for the humanitarian agency Development Alternatives International (DAI), was kidnapped by militants before dying in a botched American special forces rescue operation last week. DAI’s six programmes in Afghanistan are run under contract to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Washington, D.C. (October 6, 2010) — InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), has chosen Joel R.

 InterAction suggests that the Administration consider the MDGs as a key issue to the U.S. foreign policy and urges President Obama to take the lead in supporting the MDGs.

InterAction participates in DC MDG rally on Friday, Sept. 17, 2010.

The July 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

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

Senior Fellows Jim Kolbe and Jim Kunder along with Sam Worthington, CEO of InterAction, discuss the current state of U.S. foreign assistance and GMF's Aid & Development Program's latest policy paper, The Roadmap for a Grand Bargain.

Listen to the podcast

Six months after an earthquake devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, Handicap International has made a provisional assessment of the situation, which you can find below along with an outline of its plans for the future. The association has a team of 480 people in Haiti, including 70 expatriate staff. It is the association’s largest ever deployment.

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.

Since January 12, 2010, Medical Teams International has:

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

January 12, 2010 was a day when the world turned its attention to Haiti. A powerful earthquake rocked the country's capital, Port au Prince, killing an estimated 230,000 people. More than 300,000 had been injured and over one million made homeless. It was the worst earthquake in the region in more than 200 years.

A former Haitian resident travels back to the country six months after the earthquake to provide aid.  Though shocked by the continued struggle of the people, he says, "the good thing is that I saw a lot of help from different aid organizations."

The humanitarian community has achieved a great deal in responding to the earthquake that struck Haiti six months ago. This report outlines the accomplishments of the humanitarian organizations represented in the IASC, and the valuable lessons learned through their efforts.

The impacts of the global economic crisis are not happening within a vacuum. As the developing world struggles to protect any economic progress that has been made, it also continues to cope with health, hunger, and climate change issues.

Letter from InterAction's President & CEO Samuel A.

The May 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

The world’s poorest countries had no hand in creating the global economic crisis and yet continue to bear the brunt of its ricochet effects.

 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.  

The Columbus Dispatch (OH)
 
Smaller charities sometimes ill-prepared for relief work
Wednesday,  March 10, 2010 2:49 AM
By Elizabeth Gibson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

This International Women's Day, celebrate the movement that's changing the world one woman at a time with songs and stories inspired by the best-selling book HALF THE SKY.

This is the latest version of InterAction's budget table, which include numbers from the President's FY2011 Budget Request and the FY2010 Supplemental Request.

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. 

An InterAction Viewpoint on President Obama's announced strategy for Afghanistan.

Samuel A. Worthington, InterAction's President & CEO, gave the keynote speech at the U.S. Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) 24th Annual Briefing: Confronting Global Risk. Sam's talking points for the speech, entitled "NGO Security: Managing Risk in a Changing World," are attached.

A letter to Senators Lugar, Casey, and Durbin from InterAction and 26 member organizations applauding the Congressmen's leadership in promoting global food security with the introduction of the Global Food Security Act (S.384).

A progress report on West Bank and Gaza since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on U.S. development assistance funding trends for FY 2010 since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about encouraging government accountability in Uganda to rebuild the northern region since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report about the call for a comprehensive national development strategy since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

A progress report on Sri Lanka and providing full diplomatic and financial support for civilians since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

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

A progress report on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment 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.

A progress report on Burma since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

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

The Global Food Security Act of 2009 (S. 384) was introducted on February 5, 2009 by Senators Dick Lugar and Robert Casey.  The Global Food Security Act calls for the creation of a comprehensive food security strategy, a White House Corodinator to develop and oversee the strategy and authorizes agriculural development measures critical to addressing long-term hunger.

The Roadmap to End Global Hunger and Promote Food Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2817) was introduced on June 11, 2009 by Representative James McGovern.  The Roadmap Act outlines the elements of a comprehensive strategy, including emergency response, safety nets, nutrition programs, and agricultural development.

This document outlines the Lugar Casey Global Food Security Act (S.384).  The bill would re-orient U.S. foreign assistance programs to focus on promoting food security and rural development in countries with large, chronically hungry populations.

A report detailing the financial architecture needed for climate change adaptation. The report class for a mechanism that would operate under the oversight of the UNFCCC and include: 1) an Executive Board, 2) a Secretariat, 3) a Trustee, 4) Funding Window Committees, 5)

To advance an effective development agenda, InterAction believes the following principles should guide international trade and investment.

During an audio press conference today, members of the InterAction alliance called on G-20 leaders to rapidly implement their previous pledge of $50 billion for the world’s poorest countries at next week’s Pittsburgh Summit.

In April 2009, more than 90 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) co-signed a letter calling on President Obama to nominate a qualified USAID Administrator.

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.

U.S. NGOs have become significant, independent actors in international relief and development, raising the majority of their revenue from private, versus governmental, sources of funding.

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.

This document seeks to assist InterAction members in the incorporation of InterAction’s Minimum Operating Security Standards (MOSS) in their respective institutional approaches to security.

This synthesis, published by Zaza Curran of the Overseas Development Institute in October, 2005, looks at civil society’s participation in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers process and examines whether the recommendations made by civil society organizations were included in the final PRSP documents. 

This paper, published by the World Bank in 2005, assesses the World Bank’s recent relations with civil society organizations and proposes new options for promoting effective civil engagement in the future.

This briefing paper, published by Oxfam in January, 2004, focuses on civil society partnership and participation in the PRSP processes and offers recommendations for the IMF and World Bank on four specific content areas: macroeconomics, trade, gender and education. 

This document, written by Harry Blair in 1998, examines civil society participation and democracy building through five case studies, from which he offers a number of lessons for international donors planning assistance to civil society.