Concern Worldwide and KPMG in Ireland have announced an agreement, which will see Concern’s emergency and disaster relief programmes benefit from funds raised through KPMG’s global disaster appeal fund.
As part of the collaboration, Concern Worldwide is eligible to apply for funds raised by KPMG disaster appeals. KPMG worldwide has 145,000 staff worldwide in 153 countries and, in the past few years, these employees have raised over €16 million for disaster relief.
Speaking at the announcement, Tom Arnold, Chief Executive of Concern Worldwide, said, “Collaborations such as this with KPMG will help us to respond more quickly and effectively to emergency and disaster situations, thereby mitigating the impact of disasters on the ground. We are very grateful to KPMG for selecting us as one of their global partners in this hugely important strategic programme.”
Commenting on the collaboration, KPMG’s Managing Partner, Terence O’Rourke said, “KPMG is delighted to support Concern through this new partnership programme. This initiative will help Concern access additional resources quickly and effectively where a need has been identified and agreed.”
O’Rourke continued, “A dedication to making a difference runs through our culture and we see this relationship as an ideal fit in helping put our resources and skills to work in areas where disaster relief is urgently required.”
Funds accessed through this collaboration would support Concern Worldwide’s ongoing emergency and humanitarian work. In 2010, Concern responded to 41 emergencies, including large-scale response campaigns following the Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods. In 2011, Concern’s teams in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia responded to the food crisis in East Africa, and its teams in Niger and Chad are currently gearing up for another food crisis in West Africa.
In such emergency scenarios, Concern supports millions of people directly. In Haiti, Concern reached 237,276 people through its emergency and recovery programmes via the following activities:
- Distributed emergency shelter supplies and other non-food items to over 98,000 people
- Provided 75,000 people with clean water and sanitation services
- Provided 96,477 children (under five years of age) and pregnant women with nutritious food
- Reached 147,000 people through cholera response, awareness and prevention activities.
KPMG in Ireland also works with Concern on a women’s empowerment project in Haiti called "Pathway to a Better Life". The project supports extremely poor female-headed households in rural areas to overcome the socio-economic constraints they face, and to access microfinance services and marketing skills to further develop their business and their livelihoods.