How well placed is Compassion to tackle this problem?

Compassion works in partnership with more than 8,500 local churches around the world. These local partners are best positioned to assist in this crisis because they have established decades of trust and relationships within the community—they’ve been there before, will be there during, and will remain long after the crisis.

Local church partners can deliver relief supplies. These supplies, including food, are purchased locally to sustain local economies. If local markets are not feasible, national offices work to find the best and closest source for necessary relief. The goal is to promote local economies whenever possible.

Routine health screenings are also offered through Compassion’s programmes, enabling local staff to monitor children’s health, so that when a crisis hits, a strategic and targeted response is already in place. Church partners are trained to identify malnutrition and hunger and take immediate action.

Over the past two years of the pandemic, local church partners have provided food support to families facing hunger, but now the crisis is skyrocketing, and so too is the number who need help.