Thanks to a unique fund, 38,000 vulnerable residents of four separate countries received timely life-saving support over the summer from four members of the Humanitarian Coalition.
Through the Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund, Oxfam-Québec, Oxfam Canada, CARE Canada and Plan International Canada accessed a combined $1.3 million to provide immediate aid to vulnerable populations in Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Uganda.
“Our members are present in more than 120 countries worldwide, and so have a unique ability to identify needs following a disaster,” said Nicolas Moyer, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Coalition. “The Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund allows us to meet those needs almost immediately, providing life-saving assistance when it matters most.”
Between July and August of this year, monsoon rains in the Indian Ocean affected millions of people, leaving thousands homeless and without work, in need of shelter, drinking water, and food.
In August, Uganda saw a mass influx of refugees, between 500 and 1,400 people a day, because of an escalation in fighting in the capital of South Sudan.
The four member agencies used the funds to deliver safe water and shelter items like blankets, cooking utensils and tarps; to support families and individuals in regaining their livelihoods; and to provide cash transfers so families can have improved access to food and meet health related needs.
“The Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund is an important tool in Canada’s ability to respond to humanitarian disasters quickly and effectively,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie. “The rapid responses to these four smaller but no less devastating disasters demonstrate the ability of these organizations to leverage local knowledge, community-level relationships and program capacity to assist the most vulnerable in their time of greatest need.”
The CHAF is managed by the Humanitarian Coalition and is supported financially by Global Affairs Canada (75%), the Humanitarian Coalition (10%) and the responding member agency (15%).
For more information on the Fund or to book an interview with a spokesperson on the individual responses noted above, please contact:
Yosé Cormier
Communications
Humanitarian Coalition
613-292-2687
yose.cormier@humanitariancoalition.com