Considerable progress made towards the achievement of the SDGs in Africa seems to have been undone by the prevalence of intra-state conflicts, civil wars, climate change and further exacerbated by the CoVID-19 pandemic.

The consequences of the afore mentioned are evident in the everyday life of the “common man” in Africa but weighs even more heavily on vulnerable and at-risk populations including women & girls, children, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and many other disadvantaged individuals and groups. The results are:

• Increase in poverty and suffering
• Lack of access to quality healthcare and wild spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDs, Tuberculosis, Malaria etc
• High rates of avoidable maternal deaths and infant mortality
• Ever degrading hygiene conditions and lack of access to clean drinking water
• Millions of children out of school and limited access to quality education
• Worsening hunger, poor nutrition and increasing threat to food security and
• Gross human rights violations.

All these issues put majority of African countries especially subsaharan Africa communities permanently on their knees with the struggle for survival remaining an everyday emergency.

CASAF works to eliminate poverty and human suffering wherever they may be found in Africa whether triggered by natural or man-made disasters. We stand to deter identity-based inequities and discriminations, while continually pushing to increase access to education and quality healthcare for all. we seek to tackle threats to food security from its roots; that is why we promote sustainable agriculture and work towards a collective action against climate change. We protect and defend the rights of vulnerable and at-risk individuals and groups while strongly advocating for tolerance, diversity and inclusion thereby sustaining our struggle of “building a community of hope”!

Despite our passion and commitment to drive change and sustain human dignity, progress could be slow and needs could go unmet if we try to play solo in our interventions. That is why we call for action by all stakeholders, including partner organizations, communities, individual donors, foundations, governments and private sector to join our struggle in making the African continent more just, equitable, peaceful, healthy and ultimately a land of hope, freedom and dignity for all.

We are conscious and very sensitive to inequitable power dynamics that exist between aid-workers and affected populations. That is why, at CASAF, we do Not only what we can but what we MUST to ensure that decision making rest as closely as possible to the people such

decisions affect. We allow for inclusiveness and meaningful participation of all stakeholders likely to be impacted by our work so as to minimize the chances and possibilities of causing further harm to clients. We also maintain a zero tolerance to safeguarding concerns perpetrated by our staff, partners, contractors and even third-party service agents working with us.

Lastly, we believe in the power of learning and data gathering. That is why we work closely with our clients, progressively elaborating our plans as new and helpful information becomes available. This allows for co-creation of present and future solutions for clients and communities while allowing for accountability to the affected population, our donors and other stakeholders.

It is our hope to that with reinforced collaboration, we can together significantly drive progress towards “Building a community of hope”.

Thank you.

Adolf Mbonyam. O

President & Executive Director