November 15, 2011
GENEVA – The two biggest global implementers in the ACT Alliance, The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in emergencies.
The director of the LWF Department for World Service (DWS), Rev. Eberhard Hitzler, said, "A pilot program finished recently in Tunisia in response to the Libya crisis, in which the LWF provided the umbrella for a joint ACT Alliance program and NCA, played a crucial part in our agreement."
After the agreement's signing on10 November, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, DWS global program coordinator and leader of the humanitarian emergency response, said, "Today the DWS and NCA management teams met here in Geneva to discuss our future joint cooperation."
Both organizations, he noted, "are committed to start a new phase of partnership, based on mutual trust and accountability, and [to] overcome possible gaps from the past cooperation."
De Faria said NCA and the LWF agreed "to hold regular coordination meetings to promote decisive, intentional and effective cooperation at all levels."
The MoU addresses global cooperation in humanitarian action.
"The foundation for collaboration will be based on geographic areas of common interest, sectoral priorities and complementarities, and humanitarian need," says the agreement.
A key part of the MoU is that the LWF and NCA will promote accountability and strict adherence to the ACT Code of Conduct regarding Abuse of Power and Sexual Exploitation.
De Faria said, "This is one of the elements of the DWS Strategy for Emergency Response regarding partnership with the major ACT global members."
Eivind Aalborg, acting director of international cooperation in NCA, said, "For NCA this MoU is the basis for the development of stronger cooperation within the ACT Alliance where NCA's main contribution in humanitarian responses will be water, sanitation and hygiene promotion."
He said the joint program implemented along with the LWF and the Church of Sweden in Tunisia was a positive development in the ACT Alliance's response to emergencies. It highlighted how the members' specialized services can more efficiently serve an affected population than if each organization operated on its own.
"NCA believes that this is a model for future collaboration and the LWF will be an important partner for NCA in this type of operation," said Aalborg.
The LWF is a founding member of ACT, a global alliance of churches and their related organizations. They work together in humanitarian assistance, advocacy and development. DWS, the LWF's humanitarian relief arm, works in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Lutheran World Information
|