Kaja Haldorsen (16.09.2011)

For the first time in history NRC enters into a framework agreement with the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID).

Over three years NRC will get 2, 5 million British pounds annually for projects in seven countries.

“It is a great achievement for a Norwegian NGO to obtain support from the UK Government in light of the strong competition and DFID's strong focus on results, quality and value for money. Not least, this is a multi-year agreement, which gives NRC predictability and possibility to plan a more long term intervention in its country operations” says Elisabeth Rasmusson, the Secretary-General of NRC.

The PPA covers programme activities in seven countries; Colombia, DRC, Iraq, Myanmar, oPt, Pakistan and Somalia, as well as advocacy activities in these countries and in South Sudan. Further, the agreement covers support to NRC's Geneva based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), which is monitoring internal displacement in more than 50 countries worldwide. It also covers programme development with a focus on urban displacement, as well as advocacy and policy dialogue focusing on humanitarian access and durable solutions for people affected by displacement, including land questions.

• We look forward to cooperating with the Norwegian Refugee Council. For us the first priority is to improve lives in the focus countries. We know NRC will deliver results from the first pound, says Jack Jones, Response Manager, Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department of DFID.

NRC is very satisfied with this historical agreement. NRC was among more than 400 PPA applicants and one of 40 partners - the only Norwegian organisation - that were selected, of which only 8 are entering into a humanitarian PPA.

“It is important to strengthen NRC's relationship with DFID, a central and leading actor in the international humanitarian system that defends the values of good humanitarian donorship" , Rasmusson concludes. NRC has previously had shorter term agreements with DFID in some countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The organisation did however recently enter into two bigger agreements with DFID in respectively Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and South Sudan.