Network to Help Raise Voice of Southern Actors Vital to Aid Efforts
New York, June 8, 2015 – Plans to establish the first ever Global Network of Southern Non-Government Organizations (SNGOs) have officially been endorsed by leading SNGOs, at a side-event which took place during the Global Forum for Improving Humanitarian Action in New York last week.
Adeso Executive Director Degan Ali, one of the network’s leading proponents, said, “We are extremely excited about this development. The purpose of the network will be to provide a platform for strengthening the collective influence of SNGOs in humanitarian response, recovery and resilience building.”
“Over the next few weeks the steering committee will be formalized and organizations will be invited to join working groups to decide upon the membership criteria, the governance structure, resourcing and activities. Further consultations will be held in different regions of the world to engage other SNGOs to widen network representation,” she said.
The announcement comes just a week after a report commissioned by Adeso revealed an escalating sense of frustration on the part of SNGOs, who - despite playing a vital role in responding to many emergencies - still find themselves with little control over how humanitarian, recovery, and resilience efforts are managed in their countries and regions.
Support for a global network for SNGOs that would help strengthen and focus capacity building efforts, enable mutual learning, advance advocacy, and help channel more funds to southern actors, has been gaining momentum in recent years.
Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust (COAST) , Executive Director, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, said, "A Southern NGO network is imperative to bringing the southern community voice to international policy discourse, and to correcting the power imbalance in humanitarian aid efforts."
Peoples Disaster Risk Reduction Network Executive Director, Estaban Masagca, said, ”The establishment of a global network through which SNGOs can voice their concerns, share their invaluable experiences, and express their views on a global stage is long overdue.”
“Time and again - and as recently as the disasters in Nepal - we see how indispensable local and national actors are to emergency responses. It is time we spoke in unison about the changes that are required to improve the current aid system, and put affected populations at the center.”
Among the organizations present during the consultations, as well as those who have pledged their support for the network are, SEEDS India, COAST, Community World Service Asia, People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network, Adeso, Africa Humanitarian Action, MERCY Malaysia, Center of Resilient Development Kathmandu, The Indonesian Society for Disaster Management, and the Center for Disaster Preparedness Foundation.
Interviews: To interview Degan Ali, Adeso Executive Director; Smruti Patel, Network Advisor; or COAST Executive Director Rezaul Karim Chowdhuryplease contact nbrannigan@adesoafrica.org or call +254 71773348.
Note to the editors:
The Network will bring together leaders from various SNGOs and would focus on achieving the following outcomes:
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Enhanced policy-level and operational collaboration between SNGOs, including networking and communication activities.</br>
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Securing predictable and sustainable capacity development resources for members.</br>
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Playing a representative role in humanitarian advocacy and policy debates, on part with INGOs and UN agencies.</br>
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Strengthening the contribution of SNGOs to research and the humanitarian evidence-base.</br>
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Managing a pooled funding mechanism to provide members with a rapid response fund and help them establish a track record of grant management and implementation.</br>