The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, commonly known as CAFOD, is an

international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (economics), human development on an international sca ...

and

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

charity. It is the official

aid agency An aid agency, also known as development charity, is an organization dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government, between governments as multilateral donors and as private voluntary organizati ...

of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. CAFOD is part of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation and of Caritas Europa, as well as a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). Its work is based on

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

values and

Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...

. The Caritas Social Action Network is the agency's counterpart for the domestic work of the Church in England and Wales.

History

CAFOD's origins can be traced back to the launch of a ''Family Fast Day'' organised by a group of Catholic women in 1960, who used the money saved through fasting to support a project in

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

. The Bishops' Conference of England and Wales registered the charity in 1962. Its current governing document dates from 2015. In 2015, CAFOD joined the CHS Alliance. One year later, it was certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability with the current certification being valid until 2027. CAFOD's Director Christine Allen was appointed in March 2019. In 2020, CAFOD launched a new strategy, ''Our Common Home'', based on

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

' encyclical

Laudato Si' ''Laudato si'' (''Praise Be to You'') is the second encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on care for our common home". In it, the Pope criticizes consumerism and irresponsible economic development, laments environmental degradation and gl ...

, which calls for a new definition of progress rooted in integral ecology, recognising that everything is connected and hearing both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, calling on all people to dialogue in society about how best to tackle the global issue.

Work

The stated aim of CAFOD is to tackle poverty globally. Through local Catholic Church and secular partners, its aims to help people directly in their own communities and campaigns for global justice

International programmes

In 2023, CAFOD implemented programmes in 42 countries located in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. CAFOD is not a direct implementer but works according to the localisation principle, i.e. through local partner organisations such as Caritas Marsabit, a diocesan partner in northern Kenya, and Action on Disability and Development in Bangladesh. CAFOD supported local partners organisations with 594 grants and programme payments worth £41.8 million in 2023, reaching one million vulnerable and excluded people directly.

Campaigns

CAFOD has had many campaigns over the years and participated in joint campaigns with other charities. These campaigns tackled a series of topics, for example the impact of

debt crises Debt crisis is a situation in which a government (nation, state/province, county, or city etc.) loses the ability of paying back its governmental debt. When the expenditures of a government are more than its tax revenues for a prolonged period, t ...

in the poorest nations ("Jubilee 2000", "Cancel the Debt", "Stop Cowboy Lenders", "The New Debt Crisis"), or the right of small-scale farmer around the world to use their seeds and the negative impact of powerful

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

companies ("Fix the Food System"). Other campaigns demanded climate action ("The Time is Now"; "One Climate, One World"), renewable energy for the world's poorest people ("Power to Be"), or raised awareness against the UK Illegal Migration Act 2023 ("Build Bridges not Walls"). CAFOD supports and administers the process whereby Catholic communities (churches, schools,

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

s and chaplaincies) can apply for the ''Livesimply'' award, through which communities can record, celebrate and develop their approach to living simply, in solidarity with people in poverty and sustainably with creation. Participation in CAFOD's ''LiveSimply'' programme has been commended by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales.

Structure and funding

In 2023, CAFOD employed 391 staff and in addition worked with more than 3,000 volunteers carrying out a range of roles such as campaigning, fundraising, media, office support and youth work. CAFOD is funded by the Catholic community in England and Wales, the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

(through UK aid), private and institutional donors, and the general public. In 2019/20, CAFOD's income was £45million. A few years later, in 2022/2023, the total revenue had increased to , £37 million of which were raised by 1,856 parishes in England and over 78,000 individuals, 1,043 schools and over 1,000 organisations. In addition, the organisation received over £11 million from legacies, raised around £5.5 million to respond to humanitarian emergencies in East Africa, Ukraine, Pakistan, Turkey and Syria, and obtained £16 million from the Disasters Emergency Committee. In order to raise awareness and funds, CAFOD has been working with "celebraty embassadors", including TV presenter

Julie Etchingham Julie Anne Etchingham (born 21 August 1969) is an English journalist who works as a television newsreader with ITV News. A graduate of Newnham College, Cambridge, Etchingham joined the BBC as a trainee after completing her studies, and went on ...

, actor David Harewood, actress Jo Joyner, TV and radio presenter Dermot O'Leary, actor and director Ben Price, actress Emma Rigby, cook and television presenter Delia Smith, and composer Benson Taylor. CAFOD's magazine, ''Side by Side'', is published quarterly.

References

External links

*
"Kidzzone" - CAFODs children site
* {{Authority control 1960 establishments in England Caritas Internationalis Catholic Church in England and Wales Charities based in London Christian organizations established in 1960 Christian charities based in the United Kingdom CIDSE Development charities based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the London Borough of Southwark Religion in the London Borough of Southwark Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe