Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization, mostly working in conflict-affected countries. It is one of the biggest

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 ...

organizations in the Netherlands, with a network of hundreds of partner organizations in countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

History

Cordaid was founded in 2000 in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. Its mission is to address structural poverty, provide medical aid, aid to the most disadvantaged, as well as emergency and refugee relief. Its foundation consisted of a merger of three Dutch Catholic development organizations: Memisa Medicus Mundi (created in 1925), Mensen in Nood (People in Need, created in 1914) and Lenten Campaign/Bilance. The history of these organizations goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, providing relief to World War I refugees in the Netherlands and doing medical missionary work abroad. For decades these organizations provided health care, famine relief, shelter, and other forms of assistance in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. In 2015, when forced migration, displacement, and conflict had become key drivers of global dynamics, Cordaid shifted its focus to conflict-affected and volatile countries and to addressing causes of fragility. In January 2021, the Protestant organization ICCO joined forces with Cordaid, realizing the largest merger in the Dutch development sector to this day. With ICCO, Cordaid expanded its scope and its fields of expertise, including climate resilient food systems and food security.

Collaboration

Cordaid is part of several networks, among them

CIDSE CIDSE, which is short for "''Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité''" (French for "International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity"), is an international family of Catholic social justice organisations fro ...

Caritas Europa Caritas Europa is a European confederation of Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billi ...

Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis (Latin for ) is a confederation of 162 national Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the ...

Medicus Mundi International Medicus Mundi International (MMI) is a Network of public interest organisations working in the field of international health cooperation and advocacy. The Network members fight global poverty by promoting access to health and health care as a funda ...

, and the

ACT Alliance ACT Alliance is a global alliance of more than 145 churches and related organisations from over 120 countries created to provide humanitarian aid for poor and marginalized people. 76% of its member organisations are rooted on the global south, 2 ...

. Cordaid is working closely with other international NGOs, and collaborates with over 300 partner organizations worldwide. Its financial support comes from a private donor base in the Netherlands (250.000 in 2019) and from major donors, including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Global Fund, and the World Bank.

References

External links

Cordaid
{{Authority control Caritas Internationalis CIDSE International development agencies Organisations based in The Hague Development charities based in the Netherlands Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe