Anglican Overseas Aid is part of a consortium of eight church-based organisations which has been chosen as one of the successful agencies that tendered for the Australian Government’s Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP). The Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) made the announcement at a launch in Brisbane on Friday 16 June.
The “Church Agencies Network Disaster Operation” (CAN DO) consortium, of which Anglican Overseas Aid is a member, also comprises Caritas Australia (consortium leader), Act for Peace, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Australia, Anglican Board of Mission, the Australian Lutheran World Service, Transform Aid International (Baptist World Aid Australia) and UnitingWorld.
Anglican Overseas Aid CEO, Revd Dr Bob Mitchell, said, “CAN DO enables us to pre-position, prepare and resource churches to be first responders. We will leverage our strong, lifesaving programs to help the most vulnerable in these communities”.
The AHP is a five-year $50 million commitment from the Australian Government which brings together six NGOs (Care, Caritas/CAN DO, Oxfam, Plan International, Save the Children and World Vision) to rapidly respond to global crises.
The AHP also has a new strategic focus on Pacific preparedness and resilience work. This new focus, in particular building the capacity of local organisations, will enhance the effectiveness of the CAN DO networks’ ongoing disaster preparedness work through its extensive church network across the Pacific.
Speaking at the AHP’s launch in Brisbane, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the partnership will increase the capacity of local organisations and communities to manage crises.
“Building on the NGOs’ extensive regional networks, we will help to ensure Pacific nations are more resilient to disasters, and can more quickly rebuild and return peoples’ lives to normal,” Ms Bishop said.
CAN DO Chair, Anthony Sell, said the network members will use their extensive reach of Church partners throughout the Pacific to reduce the disaster risk of highly vulnerable urban and remote island communities.
“As individual agencies we already respond well to natural disasters. By joining together into a strong network, we can make an even greater difference, especially to our vulnerable neighbouring Pacific communities,” Mr Sell said.
All members of CAN DO are signatories to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct.
CAN DO is a member of the Australian Humanitarian Partnership between the Australian Government and some of Australia’s leading international NGOs. The AHP has a strategic focus on Pacific preparedness and resilience work, in particular building capacity of local organisations across the region to manage disasters more effectively.
Media contact: Nils von Kalm 0417 078 829 or nvonkalm@anglicanoverseasaid.org.au