July 30, 2009

GENEVA – The head of the Department for World Service (DWS) at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) says the establishment of a unified church-based emergency and development global network is an important step toward closer cooperation between churches and their related agencies.

"The ACT Alliance is a unique chance to enhance ecumenical cooperation, and thereby the efficiency and visibility of the churches' development and humanitarian work," said DWS director Rev. Eberhard Hitzler, commenting on the forthcoming March 2010 launch of "ACT Alliance," one of the world's biggest church networks. ACT stands for Action by Churches Together.

The ACT Development General Assembly decided at its May 2009 meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to unify with the ACT International emergency network, whose governing board had approved the unification in April in Geneva. The new ACT Alliance hopes to bring together nearly 150 churches, agencies and other faith-based organizations from the North and South. It will have a combined income of more than USD 2 billion and a staff of 40,000 including volunteers.

Hitzler expressed his satisfaction with the decision to unite the Geneva-based networks. "We now have to make the unification real and use the ACT Alliance actively," said the DWS director, who represents the LWF on the ACT Development governing body. The LWF is a founding member of both ACT International and ACT Development.

The LWF and ACT International cooperate closely in several countries including Chad, Colombia and Myanmar. Through emergency appeals, ACT International coordinates humanitarian operations all over the world, and has been recently active also in Afghanistan, Gaza, India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

ACT Development focuses on long-term development issues and coordinates work in areas such as aid effectiveness, impact assessment and malaria initiatives.

The director of ACT International, Mr John Nduna, says the new movement will be a professional and Christian alliance working on emergency and development. ACT saves thousands of lives every year, he added.

More information about DWS work globally is available on the LWF Web site at: http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/DWS/DWS-Welcome.html.

Lutheran World Information