Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organisation, working in and on fragility. We stand with those who are hit hardest by poverty and conflict. We support them in their struggle to move beyond survival and to fully participate in equitable and resilient societies.
Global crises increasingly challenge human co-existence and undermine our common future. Climate change, growing inequalities and wealth disparity, armed conflict, food insecurity, declining democratic and civic space are among the most important ones. More than 1.6 billion people live in fragile and conflict-affected settings. 80 million people are forcibly displaced. They are hit hardest by these crises. In their daily life, they search for safety and freedom, shelter, a doctor when needed, an income, and even food for the next day. Their quest is universal: to live in dignity.
Our vision
Cordaid does not accept this world of inequality and exclusion. We believe a world where everyone can live life in dignity is possible. Where people can break through barriers of poverty and exclusion, and influence decisions that affect them. A world with an economy not driven by greed and growth, but by inclusivity, social justice, and gender equality. That world is our goal. We work towards it in everything we do.
We believe all humans are a single family and the earth with all its resources is our common home.
Our mission
We focus on fragility
We operate in the fragile and volatile settings of countries like South Sudan, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Where communities and governments alike struggle to absorb and mitigate economic, political, and environmental shocks and risks. And where a lot of citizens do not have access to even basic services or food security. This can be due to poverty, armed conflict, power imbalances, or, as is often the case, a combination of root causes.
We address these causes of fragility. By supporting local communities, service providers, and frontline aid workers in creating food security, offering healthcare and education, assuring security and justice, and promoting gender equality. We empower people economically, facilitate job creation, and foster inclusive economic growth.
We foster local ownership
With a thousand dedicated professionals working in the world’s most fragile areas, an annual turnover of more than 200 million €, and a longstanding track record – we started in 1914 -, we have the resources, the skills, and the networks to make positive change happen. Even in the toughest and most desperate of circumstances. We do this by fostering local ownership wherever we work, and by collaborating as much as possible with local organisations, governments, and the private sector. Localising humanitarian assistance and development cooperation – by giving prominence and funding to local responders and professionals – increases the efficiency of interventions and counters power imbalances within the development sector.
We link relief and development
Where disasters strike, we also offer humanitarian assistance. Wherever we can we combine the longer-term improvement of health care systems, food security, economic opportunities and disaster resilience, and the promotion of security and justice with life-saving humanitarian assistance.
We are inspired by Christian social traditions
We have emerged from the Christian social traditions, are a founding member of Caritas and CIDSE. The values of human dignity, justice, compassion, and care for the planet – our common home – guide us in our work. They inspire us to reach out to the poor and the excluded, regardless of race and religion.
Faith, for us, is a force that connects and binds people of all backgrounds. The universal value of compassion is embraced by all religions and beliefs. More than ever, this is a source of solidarity that can bridge divides.
Worldwide partner network
Worldwide, we seek and promote alliances of civil society organisations, as well as the public and the private sectors. We have 361 funding and implementing partners. While we work across sectors and on different levels, everything we do is embedded in local communities. We work with local professionals and experts and use innovative digital and financial methods to increase our impact. The Sustainable Development Goals are our guideline to collaborate across the globe and achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
We are grateful for the financial support from our private and institutional donors. Major donors like the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO, formerly DFID), the Global Fund, the World Bank, and the European Commission have trusted our capacities and expertise, both in the past and for the years to come. We also cherish our loyal donor base of more than 250,000 individuals in the Netherlands.
Our history
Cordaid was established in 2000 when several Dutch aid organizations joined forces. But our history goes back more than a century.
World War I
One of our predecessors, Mensen in Nood (‘People in Need’), was set up in 1914 to meet the needs of more than one million refugees who fled to the Netherlands during the First World War.
In 1925, Memisa, another member of the Cordaid family, was founded. It became a leading organization in the field of health care in developing countries.
In the 1930s, Cordaid’s predecessors alleviated the plight and suffering of victims of the Great Depression in the Netherlands. After World War II, our focus shifted further from home to countries in the global South. This led to a new kind of solidarity between countries, called development aid. Cordaid was at the forefront of it, right from the start.
Dutch Co-financing
The Dutch government, quick to recognize the importance of development aid, introduced the so-called ‘co-financing system’: it funded non-governmental organizations to set up and implement development aid programs. In 1961 this resulted in the establishment of Cebemo, a Roman Catholic foundation that financed the work of missionaries as a special form of assistance to developing countries.
For decades Cordaid Memisa, Cordaid Mensen in Nood, and other Cordaid brands, provided health care, famine relief, shelter, and other forms of assistance. We addressed the basic needs and strengthened the voice of millions of people in dozens of developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
Focus on fragility
In 2015, after the Dutch government decided to phase out its co-financing system, Cordaid had to restructure its operations and narrowed down its countries of intervention to less than 20. By that time, forced migration and displacement, conflict and fragility had become key drivers of global dynamics. This is why we now focus on those areas of international development that are most urgent and difficult: fragile contexts and conflict areas.
2021: ICCO and Cordaid join forces
As of 2021, ICCO and Cordaid have joined forces. By doing so we are increasing our impact in addressing today’s and tomorrow’s global challenges, defragmenting the Dutch development sector, and adapting to the needs of international development.
ICCO – with a track record in strengthening sustainable agricultural systems and food security – has a lot in common with Cordaid. We share the same vision of a world where everyone can live life in good health and dignity. We both emerged from the Christian social traditions and participate in like-minded networks.
We continue as one organisation, under the name of Cordaid, with one global office in The Hague. By combining our international in-country infrastructure, networks, and knowledge, and with the geographic and thematic complementarity of a joint organisation, we increase our scope and scale.
Adapting to ever-changing realities, but sticking to our mission
Over the years, Cordaid has changed. We are no longer a mere donor. Reducing fragility has become our core priority. Our commitment to address and counter fragility goes from humanitarian assistance and addressing immediate and critical needs, through rehabilitation to longer-term development. To do this effectively we seek funds, start partnerships, and compete on a global market.
But our early mission to protect and assist people in dire need has remained the same. And we continue to be driven by a faith-based identity and the corresponding social teachings.