About Emergency Response

Disbursements, by region, as of December 2005.

The Justice, Global & Ecumenical Relations Unit annually allocates a modest amount of money from the Mission and Service Fund for response to emergency needs in countries of the "two-thirds" world. We receive appeals and requests for emergency assistance directly from global partners in the countries affected, or from the ecumenical Geneva-based organization, Action by Churches Together* (ACT). Having such a fund on hand enables the United Church to respond rapidly when needs are critical.

Unlike other large agencies whose primary work is emergency relief, The United Church of Canada does not usually deploy personnel to accompany or monitor the relief effort; rather, we generally rely on expertise and reporting from global partner organizations to ensure effective use of funds. Priority is given to building the capacity of indigenous organizations to respond to emergencies and to enhance emergency preparedness.

In addition to the Mission and Service Fund Emergencies budget, we also regularly draw on United Church equity in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank* to respond to critical food needs in countries of the two-thirds world.

The following is a list of disbursements from the Emergencies budget [as of Dec. 2005]: