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.  

During the past two years, violent conflict in Syria has forced more than 400,000 refugees across their country’s border into Jordan.

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.

MCC partners respond to needs in Gaza during and after November 2012 shelling.

In this letter, 40 NGOs urge Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey Zients to take steps to increase the humanitarian accounts to levels approved by the relevant Senate committees for FY2013, as the current Continuing Resolution expires.

The 40 organizations that signed this open letter are urging Congress to ensure that funding levels approved for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 are commensurate with humanitarian need. There is deep concern that current resource levels for humanitarian assistance are not sufficient, which will prove harmful to both U.S.

Commentary printed in Nonprofit Digest from Feed The Children CEO Kevin Hagan

G20 leaders meeting in St. Petersburg in September must take bold steps to improve the lives of the most vulnerable populations, remove impediments for economic growth and encourage good governance and transparency. This policy paper, by the U.S. G8/G20 Advocacy Alliance with 50 non-governmental organizations, trade unions and think tanks, makes recommendations on key issues.

New legislation designed to avert the “fiscal cliff” is likely to create another kind of precipitous drop ― in charitable giving. A just-released survey by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of ChildFund International finds that the return to the 6.2 percent payroll tax, an increase of 2 percent, will lead one in five Americans to reduce their charitable giving by an average of 29 percent.

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

InterAction President and CEO, Sam Worthington, contributes an article to the Arabella Advisor's blog on what's needed to takle chronic hunger. 

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.  

Episcopal Relief & Development is pleased to welcome the

Episcopal Relief & Development’s tenth annual Lenten Meditations booklets are now available in English and Spanish.

This Devex article quotes InterAction's Senior Legislative Manager, Jeremy Kadden, in an analysis of the impact of the fiscal cliff deal on international development. 

As Congress debates the upcoming fiscal cliff, InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington released the following statement regarding a possible threat to charitable tax deductions.

The largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs strongly condemns the attacks this week against health workers in Pakistan, who were targeted for their efforts to help to eradicate polio in the country.

Media advisory for Dec. 19 National Press Club panel and White House launch of Action Plan on Children in Adversity

On December 1st, Microsoft and Plan International USA signed a strategic alliance to support bringing digital access to yout

This document, researched and developed by Mercy Corps, shows the differences in the House and Senate FY2013 spending plans for the International Affairs Budget for USAID operating expenses. It lays out the significance of funding levels, the importance of the funding and the impact of past funding.

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 family planning and reproductive health funding. It lays out the global need, the significance of funding levels, the importance of the funding and the impact of past funding.

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 malaria funding. It lays out the global need, the significance of funding levels, the importance of the funding and the impact of past funding.

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 refugee assistance. It lays out the global need, the significance of funding levels, the importance of the funding and the impact of past funding.

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

Visitors to Episcopal Relief & Development's website can view and download our 2012 Advent calendar, check out the Children's Chapel modules, browse our Gifts for Life online catalog and order Bishops Blend Christmas boxes featuring fair trade, organic coffee and chocolate.

This week's update includes the latest news on the lame duck session in Congress, an analysis of what is likely to happen to committee chairmanships on the Hill, a summary of a hearing on Feed the Future, a list of upcoming hearings and a list of recommended articles.

InterAction member NGOs will spend more than $1 billion in private funds on programs that advance food security, agriculture and nutrition from October 2012 to September 2015.

Against the odds of rampant poverty, recurring regional violence, and deep ethnic and economic divisions, Liberia has made tangible political and development progress since the end of its devastating civil and regional wars.

A sign-on letter InterAction and 78 other organizations sent up to House leadership on November 8, 2012, in support of foreign assistance as Congress approves the FY2013 budget.

New PSAs offer advice on how best to respond to Hurricane Sandy, or other domestic and international disasters.

Less than 1 percent – just .7 percent – of the FY 2012 budget goes toward poverty-focused international development and humanitarian relief programs.

This brief outlines the critical importance of local capacity building for effective development and the likely effect of USAID Forward and Procurement Reform (IPR) on that process. We strongly support the aid effectiveness principles informing IPR, including participatory and inclusive country ownership, increased transparency and accountability.

A case study reviewing the transition from relief to development in Liberia, from both policy and programmatic perspectives. This is the first of three case studies produced by InterAction's Transition Program, which is funded by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

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.

The Transition Checklist includes a list of key factors for aid agencies and donors to consider when transitioning refugee assistance programs from relief to development in Pakistan. InterAction's Transition Program is funded by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

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.

At the 2012 G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, a new initiative was launched to harness private sector creativity to enhance food security and agricultural development in the world’s poorest countries. AgResults uses results-based economic incentives to promote competition amongst private sector actors to cultivate and market agricultural technologies in developing countries.

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 26 July to 10 August 2012.

InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs, has endorsed the Open Aid Partnership which aims at improving the effectiveness, accountability, coordination and transparency of aid.

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.

This week's update includes a summary of the 19th International AIDS Conference, a summary of a hearing on U.S.-Africa trade, and a list of upcoming hearings and recommended articles.

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.

Samuel A. Worthington, President and CEO of InterActions, shares his thoughts on the the state of humanitarian assistance and international development.  For June 2012, he wrote about global health and disease.

UNICEF calls for the rights and well-being of children in South Sudan to be made an urgent priority as the one year anniversary of independence for the world’s newest nation approaches. With half the population under the age of 18, greater investments in children are vital for the country’s growth and stability.

The World Food Program offers an update on its activities in the Sahel, noting partnerships with local government and non-profit organizations have been especially successful, but ephasizing that security challenges for getting aid to Chad remain an issue.

InterAction president and CEO Sam Worthington offers a new lens through which to examine NGO program 'failures.'

InterAction CEO Sam Worthington encourages G8 leaders to work together to solve global hunger through food security intitiatives and the inclusion of civil society groups.

InterAction CEO Sam Worthington discusses the importance of gender and youth in politics, new actors shaping the development field, US foreign engagement and a post-MDG development framework.

This week's update includes information on the Foreign Relations Authorization Act in the Washington Update section, a hearing summary from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations about trade in Africa, and a list of recommended articles. There are no upcoming hearings listed due to the July 4 recess, and the next Weekly Update will come out on July 13.

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.

NGO alliance InterAction welcomes the news that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2011 (S.641).  

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."

This USAID fact sheet looks at food security in the Sahel, and where organizations are opperating and what their funding is.

For the third time in a decade, drought in the Sahel region of Africa is threatening millions of people with hunger. But how do people survive in these situations and what are we doing to help them? Here are the answers to eight questions about the current hunger crisis in the Sahel and WFP's response to it.

This report is produced by the OCHA Regional Office for West and Central Africa in Dakar in collaboration with humanitarian partners and is issued by OCHA Headquarters in New York. It covers the period from 22 to 28 May 2012. The next report will be issued on or around 5 June.

USAID report looks at the future of food security in the Sahel, projecting outcomes of November 2012. 

USAID's Food Security Outlook for Burkina Faso

CARE's media brief on Niger.

International Medical Corps is rapidly mobilizing to address urgent nutrition and disease prevention needs among rising refugee populations in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State. 

Samuel A. Worthington, InterAction president and CEO, and Timothy Wirth, United Nations Foundation president, co-author an op-ed asking world leaders to fund the Global Polio Eradication Initiative as it faces a $1 billion shortfall. 

1,000 Days commends President Obama for a renewed commitment to promote long-term economic growth by addressing hunger and child malnutrition.

At the Camp David Summit, G8 and African leaders will commit to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, the next phase of our shared commitment to achieving global food security. 

G8 remarks on the global economy.

At the Camp David Summit, G8 leaders recognized that the development of and universal access to environmentally safe, sustainable, secure, and affordable sources of energy is essential to global economic growth and to their overall efforts to address climate change.

Bill Gates commended today’s announcement by President Obama of investment in Africa’s agriculture to help millions of people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty.

Save the Children welcomes the G8 "New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition," but leaders must not allow the Eurozone crisis to derail their leadership needed to fulfill its promise. G8 leaders can't let the economic crisis in Europe cast a dark shadow over the bright promise they rolled out with African leaders this weekend.

As the Camp David G8 Summit winds down, international agency Oxfam criticized G8 leaders for failing to renew measureable funding and policy commitments to help address global food security. 

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

The G-8 renewed its commitment to the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition, and welcomed the steps already taken, in partnership with others in the region, to support economic reform, open government, and trade, investment, and integration. The G-8 also committed to further work during the rest of 2012 to advance the goals of the Partnership.

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.

This week's coverage focuses on the House State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee spending bill approved this week. 

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

InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs, expressed grave concern over the deep 9 percent cut in the discretionary spending allocations for FY2013 foreign affairs programs passed today by the House Appropriations Committee. 

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. 

Concern Worldwide CEO, Mr. Tom Arnold, was among the global leaders appointed today by Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, to a high-level international working group tasked with tackling child malnutrition in the world’s poorest countries.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced that Chicago will host 1,000 Days to Change the Future: Making Malnutrition History on Monday, May 21 at the Chicago History Museum.

InterAction's FY2013 Recommendations

Summary of "Revealing the Power of Gender Mainstreaming - Enhancing Development Effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations in Africa"

The International Youth Foundation's new paper, Opportunity for Action, presents a

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

InterAction’s 197 member NGOs are troubled by the proposed 10 percent cut in support for international development and humanitarian response which was passed by the House Budget Committee late on Wednesday.

Read how one woman improved life for herself and her husband through literacy classes in Zambia, and how an historic Episcopal parish in Virginia has raised over $2 million for mission and outreach.

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,

InterAction's Weekly Public Policy Update, covering Feb. 21-24, 2012. The update includes a list of upcoming hearings for next week in both the House and Senate, a summary of a hearing from last week on the situation for NGOs in Egypt, and a list of recommended articles that have come out this week.

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/

Revealing the Power of Gender Mainstreaming—Enhancing Development Effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations in Africa

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.

This report highlights three examples of Episcopal Relief & Development’s disaster response work from the past year, putting the organization’s activities in the context of different stages on the “disaster cycle.”  Episcopal Relief & Development supports local Church and ecumenical partners as they assist the most vulnerable in

Samuel Worthington is quoted in this piece about Haiti's recovery on the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake.

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.

The crackdown in Egypt this week on civil society organizations, including several U.S. groups, is deeply troubling and must stop immediately, said InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs.

Episcopal Relief & Development has been awarded a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to launch a program in Zambia for children and their caregivers affected by HIV/AIDS.

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

This week House and Senate appropriators inched closer toward a nine-bill omnibus spending package to complete the FY2012 appropriations process by Dec. 16, which is the date when the continuing resolution currently funding the government is set to expire. Please see the Washington Update section for more details on the end game for FY2012 appropriations.

Samuel A. Worthington served as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Fourth High-Level Meeting on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea.

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:

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.

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 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.

Episcopal churches are at the forefront of Hurricane Irene/Tropical Storm Lee response efforts in a number of communities.
 

The NetsforLife^® Inspiration Fund and Episcopal Relief & Development are pleased to announce new Spanish-language resources to help broaden involvement in this church-wide campaign.

NGO alliance InterAction applauds the recent introduction of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2012 by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA).

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:

This year’s Gifts for Life catalog is filled with ways to delight those on your holiday gift list and help communities worldwide to flourish.

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.

The G20 Summit has evolved from its initial focus on the global financial crisis and macroeconomics to include issues of interest to development NGOs.

Diocesan Disaster Coordinators, who receive training and support through Episcopal Relief & Development’s US Disaster Program, are playing a key role in disaster preparedness and response, particularly in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

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.

Steinberg's remarks are titled, "Delivering Effectivev Development Assistance in a Changing Global Landscape."

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington quoted in article.

InterAction President and CEO Sam Worthington is quoted.

Recent developments in the aid strategy of the United States — such as reversing a previous reduction in technical experts, and promoting more country-driven, outcome-oriented systems — have been endorsed by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic

Three new areas in southern Somalia have deteriorated into a famine situation. These are parts of Middle Shabelle region, the Afgooye Corridor settlements home to roughly 400,000 displaced people since 2007 and parts of Mogadishu which are hosting displaced populations.

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.

Today in the humanitarian field there are calls for a shift from being anecdote driven to evidence driven. Currently, the humanitarian system shows significant weaknesses in data collection, analysis and response in all stages of a crisis or emergency. The present humanitarian system is much less evidence driven than it should be and than it would like to be.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

 Almost six years ago at the Gleneagles Summit, the G8 promised to increase overseas aid by US$50 billion by 2010, with $25 billion of it going to Africa. But today, the G8 have failed to deliver on their aid promises to the world’s poor.

InterAction News Release: The official G8 “Deauville Accountability Report” released today underscores the need for the world’s richest nations to be fully accountable and follow through on previous public promises to deliver aid in key areas like food security and global health.

InterAction's PVO Standards define the financial, operational and ethical code of conduct for InterAction and its member agencies. These self-applied, high and objective standards set InterAction members apart from many other charitable organizations.

Led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) (http://www.gainhealth.org).and InterAction (http://www.interaction.org), 1,000 Days informs key partners about the economic consequences of and cost-effective interventions for undernutrition to make this a priority in donor and country governments’ development strategie

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

Although Congress is in recess this week, there were several pertinent hearings from last week whose summaries we did not include in the April 15 edition of the Weekly Update. Among these are an April 11 Commission on Wartime Contracting hearing regarding NGOs and Provincial Reconstruction Teams operating in Afghanistan.

InterAction's analysis of the FY2011 federal budget for the last half of the year, to be signed by President Obama today. The analysis covers several humanitarian and development related accounts that InterAction tracks for members.

Note: Last updated April 20, 2011.

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.

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.

Negotiations over FY2011 spending between Senate Democrats and House Republicans remain at an impasse this afternoon. A government shutdown looms if an agreement is not reached by midnight tonight. Please check out InterAction’s extended coverage of the FY 2011 appropriations process in the Washington Update section below.

NGO alliance InterAction welcomes World Bank President Robert Zoellick’s speech today in which he described the importance of civil society's role in development economics.

Last week, General David Petraeus and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michéle Flournoy testified before the Armed Services Committee in both chambers about recent developments in Afghanistan. Find a summary of these hearings below, as well as information about legislation on Haiti recently introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and a list of upcoming hearings and articles of interest.

New project and sector summary information for InterAction members working in Haiti as of March 2011.

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.

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.

Congress is doing its part by preparing to cut the international affairs budget by close to 20 percent, a move that could undermine national security, defy military leaders’ advice and endanger U.S. interests and core values. Worst of all, these cuts would be disastrous for women and children—the majority of the world’s poor.

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force released a 2011 G20 Summit Policy Paper entitled G20 Must Increase Its Fight Against Corruption earlier last week.

In the aftermath of a successful referendum process in South Sudan which will likely lead to the emergence of two new states—North and South Sudan—from one, and against the backdrop of sweeping changes throughout the Middle East and North Africa, violence in Darfur appears to be on the rise.

"If you don't want to use military force any more than you have to, count me in. State Department, USAID, all of these programs, in their own way, help win this struggle against radical Islam. The unsung heroes of this war are the State Department officials, the [Department of Justice] officials, and the agricultural people who are going out there."

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 released its 2011 G8 Summit Policy Paper entitled U.S. Leadership at the May G8 Summit late last week.

Articleon life in Imperial Beach one year after the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010.

InterAction member Heifer International's one year progress report 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.

U.S. government fact sheet on moving from humanitarian relief to reconstruction in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Progress report by InterAction member Medical Teams International on their work in Haiti 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.

Transcript of a U.S. Department of State Special Briefing on Health Concerns in Haiti on January 10, 2011.

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

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

Summary
The present track-one rebel-government process is insufficient to bring peace to Darfur. Giving civil society a central role in the peace process is a necessity, not a luxury.

In Haiti, the leading cause of infant mortality and childhood illness is the ingestion of contaminated water. Germs for hepatitis, cholera and chronic diarrhea are often carried through water used for cooking and drinking.

InterAction member Oxfam's one year progress report on Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake. 

An article in Forbes on the dangers of using entirely foreign contractors to rebuild Haiti.

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.  

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.

With an eye toward sharpened capabilities, one of the biggest tests of the QDDR's success will be whether it actually fosters an alignment of strategies and plans with appropriate resources, writes Noam Unger of the Brookings Institution.

InterAction members continue to respond to the cholera outbreak in Haiti. Find more information on our crisis response page.

Sam Worthington, InterAction president and CEO, contributed chapter three to this joint study for preparation for the Busan High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.

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.

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.

This policy brief, published by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network in November, 2010, explores the lessons from Orissa and advocates for a greater need for political engagement and leadership; high-level administrative coordination and inter-departmental consultations; broad stakeholder consultation; and integration with regular planning and budgetary processes.

This document, published by the CAADP Working Group on Non-State Actor Participation on October 20, 2010, is a summary of an action planning workshop designed to boost non-state actor participation in the CAADP process. 

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.

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

Six months after a disastrous earthquake struck Haiti, CRWRC remains hard at work responding to the many needs that this disaster caused.

4:53pm: A 7.0 earthquake hits Haiti. 17 minutes later International Medical Corps is preparing our Emergency Response Team. Within 5 hours, medical volunteers are deploying. 22 hours after the earthquake, we are saving lives on the ground in Port-au-Prince, working side-by-side with our Haitian medical counterparts.

Since January 12, WHI has launched an emergency response program that mobilizes its extraordinary capacity in the most severely affected areas focusing on health, psychosocial care, sensitization, potable water, sanitation, food, income-generating activities and workforce employment.

On January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake—the worst natural disaster to hit the Western Hemisphere in two centuries—struck Haiti, killing approximately 300,000 people and leaving as many as one million homeless.

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Six months after Haiti’s devastating 7.0 earthquake, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) remains hard at work assisting those who are still dealing with its aftermath and will be for years to come. LWR, with a 14-year history in Haiti, is focusing the majority of its efforts on underserved rural populations.

Since the earthquake, BWAid has been helping in Haiti through a network of agencies. Immediately following the earthquake the two Haitian member bodies of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) were contacted and assistance offered. This close link with the two bodies remains as we work together.

From the immediate hours after the quake and ongoing, in all, CWS efforts - including the distribution of hygiene, school and baby kits, tents, wheelchairs, medical kits and other supplies -- have directly assisted at least 41,750 individuals so far; CWS is also working as a member of the global ACT Alliance, which has provided assistance to 341,000 Haitians.
 

During the half-year since an earthquake unleashed massive destruction in Haiti, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has been devoted to both providing immediate assistance to survivors and laying the groundwork for a large-scale, long-term recovery effort.  Haiti is not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot.

As members of the international community gather in Kabul for the International Conference on Afghanistan, InterAction is pleased that the expected focus of the conference is “Afghan priorities for the Afghan people”.

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.

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.

InterAction has published, Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): The Road Forward for the U.S., a policy paper that outlines key recommendations from U.S.-based international NGOs on each of the eight MDGs.

Mercy Corps released a briefing paper summarizing results from research in Iraq and Afghanistan to understand how local people in both places perceive the work of different groups that implement development programs in their communities.  This study adds to a growing body of research that demonstrates the value of long-term, community-led, and needs-based assistance, even in inse

 In 2005, in Gleneagles, Scotland, G8 nations committed to “act with resolve and urgency” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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

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.

Solutions to the challenges of hunger and poverty are complex and cut across the realms of economics, politics, ecology, gender and agricultural technologies. Climate change and the environmental degradation of agricultural resources in many countries make the goal of food security even more daunting.