Building Strong Partnerships - Concern Worldwide

USAID PartnershipUSAID continues to be a significant source of funding for Concern Worldwide’s overseas operations.In 2007, Concern Worldwide U.S. received over $5 million from the Office of US Foreign DisasterAssistance (OFDA) to support emergency programs in eight countries, including the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Sudan. We also received $1.5 million for our ChildSurvival Programs in Bangladesh, Haiti and Rwanda.48Concern Worldwide U.S. gratefullyacknowledges the significantand diverse funding fromUSAID that makes a criticalcontribution to our overseasprogramming.EMERGENCY RESPONSEDemocratic Republic of the Congo(DRC): In the wake of this forgotten crisiswhere 45,000 people die every monthfrom preventable causes, Concern providedimmediate emergency assistancefor 60,000 recently returned victims ofconflict in Central Katanga. With OFDA’scontinued support Concern providedessential food, seeds, farming tools andrehabilitated roads and bridges, improvingaccess to markets.Ethiopia: With renewed support fromOFDA in 2007, Concern is working withthe Ministry of Health to include CommunityTherapeutic Care (CTC) as part of thenational Health Policy. CTC brings thetreatment for malnutrition to the childrenin their villages, rather than asking them towalk for miles for services. This process hasinvolved Concern working with a widerange of stakeholders including UNICEF,government and NGO partners, communitymembers and Concern’s internationalCTC partner—Valid. Staff at 60 healthcenters are receiving training in the CTCapproach, allowing them to treat a total of6,000 severely malnourished children.Pakistan: The Balochistan region of Pakistansuffered severe flooding in June andJuly of this year as the result of a cyclone.Concern Worldwide US received a grantfrom OFDA to support Concern’s “earlyrecovery” work with 138,616 vulnerablepeople affected by the floods. Theprogram covers a wide array of activitiesincluding: cash-for-work; reclaiming agriculturalland; repairing houses and wells.Sudan, Darfur: Responding to the devastatinghumanitarian crisis in Darfur,Concern has been implementing an EmergencyIntervention Program to rapidly meetthe critical needs of the region’s most vulnerablesince 2004. With OFDA’s ongoingsupport, Concern’s program aims toensure access to safe water and appropriatesanitary facilities for 88,853 displacedpeople and 90,823 members of host communitiesin the areas of Seleia and Kulbusadministrative units and Mornei camps.South Sudan: With continued grant supportfrom OFDA in 2007, Concern targetedover 184,424 vulnerable people, many ofthem poor farmers, who have returned totheir homes in Bahr-el-Ghazal, Aweil,Yirol and the Nuba Mountains. Concern isimplementing an innovative program toimprove food security and restore the livelihoodof poorer households while buildingthe capacity of local partner organizations.In 2007 Concern delivered practical andsustainable solutions to poverty, rangingfrom seed banks to agriculture tradesupport, to soil and water conservation.DEVELOPMENTChild Survival & Health—Bangladesh,Haiti, Rwanda: Concern implementsChild Survival and Health Programs inBangladesh, Haiti and Rwanda, benefitinghundreds of thousands of women andchildren living in absolute poverty.Concern’s Child Survival programs areleading the way to promote health interventionsthat are low-cost, lasting andreplicable. For just a little over $2 permother and child, we successfully mobilizecommunities and local health departmentsto achieve significant improvementin coverage of essential health servicessuch as maternal care, malaria preventionand treatment, and vaccinations.In Haiti, Concern expanded its interventionin Port-au-Prince to strengthen localcommunity organizations’ participation inhealth. The program reaches 10 percent ofthe city’s population, with 86,252 womenand children receiving life-saving healthinterventions. In 2007, we recruited over350 youths and 70 private vendors topromote community health through socialmarketing, health awareness-raising, andby providing referral advice for residents.Responding to high levels of mortality dueto malaria, diarrhea and inadequatematernal and newborn care in Rwanda,Concern, with its partners, the Ministry ofHealth, the International Rescue Committeeand World Relief, expanded its originalChild Survival program to 20 percentof the country. The five-year program aimsto reduce child mortality in six districtsreaching 309,426 children under fiveyears of age. In 2007, 77,970 childrenwere treated by trained community healthworkers for simple malaria as well as diarrhealdisease.In Bangladesh, the Municipal Health PartnershipProgram demonstrated that aConcern model for community and politicalmobilization could be successfullyreplicated in seven municipalities inRajshahi Division to reduce maternal andchild mortality, ultimately reaching225,122 women and 94,377 childrenunder five. In 2007, 74,246 children withpneumonia symptoms were treated bytrained providers.