Austcare to become ActionAid

We are pleased to announce to all our supporters and friends that Austcare will formally join the ActionAid International (AAI) network affiliate and will become ActionAid in 2009.

The Austcare Board has carefully considered whether becoming part of an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) will allow us to do more to help the world’s most vulnerable people. As ActionAid, the impact of our work in both emergency relief and longer term development will be considerably strengthened. At the same time, we will bring our own expertise and experience in key areas such as protection and landmine action to the alliance.

By becoming ActionAid, there will be considerable opportunities to extend our global reach while still maintaining our distinct Australian identity. In 2007 alone, the ActionAid International network reached more than 13 million of the world’s poor and vulnerable people helping them to claim their rights and have a voice in decisions that affect them the most

Austcare has frequently partnered with the AAI network in the field over the last few years, particularly in times of emergency. We first partnered with AAI in 2005 in response to the South Asian earthquake, providing emergency supplies, shelter and medical care to survivors in Pakistan. In 2006, we worked with AAI to help vulnerable women in Sri Lanka recover from the devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami. In the last 12 months, our relationship with AAI has enabled us to respond to five major emergencies – Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, floods in Pakistan, Uganda and Nepal, and Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.

In December 2007, we conducted some initial research with a number of our supporters on our change to ActionAid. Their overall reaction was very positive and you can find answers to their most common questions on our website at /ourwork/actionaid/faq.aspx

We hope that the large and diverse Austcare family will continue to support the world’s most vulnerable people and advocate for their best interests with us. We look forward to another 40 years, and more, of your ongoing and wholehearted support as we enter this new and exciting phase of our organisation’s development.