Canadians want more cooperation among aid groups

25/02/2010

HUMANITARIAN COALITION thanks Canadians for generosity

OTTAWA, February 25 - The HUMANITARIAN COALITION is thanking Canadians for their incredible generosity and is announcing the results of its joint fundraising appeal for the Haiti relief effort. As the joint appeal winds down, a recent poll shows Canadians strongly support the idea of aid groups working together for future emergencies.

“On behalf of all four members of the Humanitarian Coalition, I want to sincerely thank all Canadians for  the extraordinary generosity they have showed the people of Haiti in their time of need,” said Robert Fox, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada. “With your support our organizations will be working in Haiti for as long as it takes to help Haitians rebuild their country and their lives.”

Since January 12, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION has jointly raised approximately $13 million for the work the four agencies are doing in Haiti, including distributing food, water, shelter, hygiene kits, special kits for pregnant women and mothers with small children, providing health services, combating sexual violence, and creating safe environments for children.  Together the four organizations have over 1000 workers on the ground in Haiti. The Haiti appeal has been the largest effort for the HUMANITARIAN COALITION since it was formed following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

During the Haiti appeal, Canadians responded enthusiastically to the idea of aid groups working cooperatively. A new poll has found that 81.7 per cent of Canadians believe Canadian aid groups should work together for future major global emergencies. In addition, 36.4 per cent said they would be more likely to give to a coalition of aid groups.

"Throughout the Haiti crisis Canadians have come to know the HUMANITARIAN COALITION, and the response has been very positive," said Kevin McCort, President and CEO of CARE Canada. "They clearly like the idea of aid groups working together rather than competing, and they want to see more of it in the future. So we are inviting other Canadian humanitarian groups that have a strong track record in humanitarian response and programming to become members."

The HUMANITARIAN COALITION was established as a result of lessons learned from the response to the 2004 tsunami. The four organizations agreed that by working together and doing the right thing by setting aside competition for donor dollars it would be easier for Canadians to donate to the relief effort.  They took this approach to cut costs, allowing a greater percentage of donations to reach those in need, and allowing the money to be allocated in the most effective way to the organizations with the greatest capacity to deliver aid on the ground.

"We're all in this to save lives and help vulnerable communities recover, rebuild and be more resilient in the future. There is no reason to compete," said Nicolas Moyer, Coordinator of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION. "It all comes down to this: together we are stronger, together we can do more, together we can save even more lives."%