2014 annual report TWHA

PHOTO : ANNE PAQ

Annual report 2014

United for Health WWW.TWHA.BE

TABLE

OF

p r e fa C e

CONTENTS

Preface

H

3

Partnerships

4 demoCratiC republiC

of the

ere in Belgium 2014 closed with trade unions and social movements united in protests against the austerity policies of the newly elected government. These “Hot Autumn” protests were the most powerful and most widely supported wave of social protests Belgium had seen in a long time.

Congo

6 the philippines 8 palestine 10 laos 12 Cuba 14 people’s health movement

Solidarity projects 15 Emergency fund – Gaza 16 Campaign and movement building 18 Communication and fundraising 22 Financial results 24 Our organization 26

The TWHA team took part in the Hart boven Hard/Tout Autre Chose manifestations.

The movement’s force was demonstrated by the sheer numbers. On November 6th, an impressive 120.000 man crowd took to the streets of Brussels. Its large support showed in the “Hart boven Hard/Tout Autre Chose” movement, a broad citizen’s movement driven by individuals and organizations from the social and cultural sector, eager to prove that there is an alternative, a society based on equality, solidarity and providing ample oxygen for people.

TWHA actively took part in this struggle. That may sound odd, as TWHA is an NGO furthering the right to health in the South.

True as that may be, there is no denying that our fate is strongly linked to that of our brothers and sisters in the South. Their battle is our battle and vice versa.

As a matter of fact, we do have a few things to defend here in Belgium. As we often tell our partners in the South: if it hadn’t been for the social struggles waged by previous generations, we wouldn’t have had our social security here now. It would be unthinkable for us to stay on the sidelines as social movements are campaigning for the preservation of those social achievements.

In the South too, the right to health will only be achieved through the social movements’ struggles. Our partners are perfectly aware of this. That’s why they mobilize for the right to clean water and a healthy environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in defence of public healthcare in the Philippines, for the right to a liveable city for young Palestinians,… In this annual report, we present a number of examples of projects and programs we have set up with our partners. I hope it will give you an idea of what we are able to realize with our resources.

And, on a personal note, I would like to add this: Social struggle can feel great. For me personally, the “Hot Autumn” period has been a time where I have reloaded my batteries with the energy generated by social action. Whenever people around us stand up in large numbers for a better world, it is a source of hope.

• United for health!

wim de CeuKelaire Director

Third World Health Aid (TWHA) is an NGO furthering the right to health and sovereign development.

Cover photo: Suhila Hamad, one of the nurses looking after patients in Gaza’s Al-Awda hospital.

Layout: Cécile Crivellaro Responsible editor: Wim De Ceukelaire, Haachtsesteenweg 53, 1210 Brussels – May 2015 Many thanks to Bert Depoortere for the translation of the annual report.

3

d e m o C r at i C r e p u b l i C

of

the

Congo

The health committees have almost members in Kinshasa, Kivu and the Katanga area.

PHOTO: LINDSAY LURQUIN

Some statistics

6.000

saturday

are caused by poor maintenance of wells.

Our health committees’ actions have helped reduce the number of illnesses dramatically and the water is now clean.”

is aCtion day!

E

very Saturday, Etoile du Sud (EDS) sets up a mobile consultation in Mfumu Nsuka, a popular Kinshasa neighbourhood. Doctors and nurses provide medical care to residents.

Many of them can’t afford a doctor’s visit.

Through this initiative, EDS aims not only at helping people, but also at organizing them and making them aware of the government’s responsibility of providing accessible health care, adding a political message to the approach.

In another Kinshasa neighbourhood, the Kasavubu health committee is taking action to counter erosion. Heavy rains regularly make houses collapse as the ground is washed away.

Health committee volunteers prepare sandbags every Saturday and place them on strategic locations to reduce the risk of collapses. Their aim is to canalize the water and redirect it outside the neighbourhood and the roads and stabilize the soil. Etoile du Sud’s enthusiasm has inspired the city and other NGOs. The area used to be neglected but has now attracted more volunteers to help prepare sandbags. A great achievement after only a number of action Saturdays!

•

4

”

“A lot of diseases in our neighbourhood

ANNIE, Comité de santé populaire of bel air in lubumbashi (Eds)

Volunteers preparing sandbags to counter erosion.

2.000

Over people participated in events on basic health and prevention.

The partners’ coordination team has been strengthened and staffing increased by .

More women and young people are active in the team.

14 %

PARTNERS: • Etoile du sud (Eds) is an NGO supporting a network of health committees in various Congolese provinces.

• Collectif de développement intégré au Congo (CodiC) is a platform where development organizations can share their experiences. It is a network of 750 organizations, active in 5 Congolese provinces. budget in 2014: 145.065 euro For our operations in Congo we have received financial support in 2014 from DGD, the Flemish Partnership Water and Development, the province of Flemish Brabant, the city of Antwerp and the town of Lommel among others.

5

”

the philippines

“I got to know CHD from the medical mission they carried out in my village. There I learnt how to make herbal medicine that stopped me from depending on expensive commercial medication. They also helped me see the causes of the problems my village is facing.

As I regularly attend protest marches, my

awareness of social problems is ever growing.” HISHAM TUCALAN,

philippine

Some statistics

(Council for health and development, pasig)

12.000

Our partners managed to mobilize over and organize for the right to health.

7.428

Filipinos

26 health committees were set up. Committees received trainings allowing them to launch campaigns on access to health care and counter large scale mining and repression of social movements.

33

public debates to testify on their Our partners participated in campaign. They have been invited by TV channels, recognized networks and local governments.

partners Campaigning for

aCCess to health Care

B

etter access to health care is one of the objectives of our work on the right to health in the Philippines.

70% of Filipinos never see a doctor. Public hospitals lack resources, have next to no medication available and doctors’ and nurses’ salaries are so low many of them prefer emigrating to the US and Europe. Hospitals get little government funding and see no other option than raising their patients’ bills. This makes health care an all but unaffordable luxury for the average Filipino.

The Aquino administration, that is currently in power, claims “public-private partnerships” are the only alternative to meet the Philippines’s growing population’s health needs. It says these partnerships will reduce public spending and improve health. In 2014 the government decided that 72 public hospitals in the Philippines are eligible for privatization.

Our four partner organizations have joined forces in a bid to stop privatizations. Together they have made a report collecting testimonials and statistics from all regions they work in. The book “Critical Condition: Privatized Health in the Philippines” provides proof that privatization in the Philippines will only create more inequality and make access to healthcare for poor Filipinos even worse. With this proof in hand, they launched a campaign with their local chapters, mobilizing almost 12.000 people. Partners wrote petitions, organized protest marches and cooperated with other Philippine organizations equally opposed to the privatization scenario. Their expertise has been called upon in various public debates and they have been given the chance to promote their campaign on a number of national TV channels.

•

PARTNERS: gabriela is an umbrella organization of various women’s organizations providing trainings, mainly in the domains of gender and the right to health.

Chd (Council for health and development) is an organization working in Manila’s poor communities and a number of provinces. They organize the population through trainings in basic health. ibon Foundation is an alternative documentation and research centre. advocates for Community health work in the Philippines’ remote areas where malaria is still frequent and provide trainings to local farmers on malaria prevention and diagnosis. budget in 2014: 334.234 euro For our operations in the Philippines we have received financial support in 2014 from DGD, the provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders, 11.11.11 and the town of Zoersel among others.

6

7

palestine

44 people attended a leadership training. This has taught them how to work with youth groups.

26 leaders of the Tawasul youth

youth are not giving up

palestinian F

or our partners in Palestine, 2014 has been an extremely difficult year. There was the Israeli aggression on Gaza, while at the same time life in Jerusalem and the West Bank was being made difficult. Not a single month goes by without some Israeli announcement on the expansion of illegal colonies in occupied territory. Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinian families receive letters telling them their house is to be destroyed.

Daoud Al-Ghoul, coordinator of our partner Health Work Committees’ youth program, was initially exiled from Jerusalem and later on from the entire West Bank.

In the context of our program, Daoud encourages young people to work together, to better understand the world they live in to help them restore their hope and selfconfidence.

8

told them about our volunteer work.”

IBRAHIM – hWC volunteer

Some statistics

”

“ I am 16, I live in Jerusalem and I have just joined Tawasul. Together, we worked on a play. We played it at my school and in my village because it was about my village’s history. We visited a refugee camp. We saw how people were living there and got the chance to talk to the residents. We exchanged experiences and

network have developed a strategic plan for further promotion of their movement.

21% of young people in the communities our partner is working in are participating in activities being organized for them.

5 social organizations have joined our partner in its commitment to the struggle for social justice.

PARTNERS: • health Work Committees (hWC) is one of the major health organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories. TWHA supports HWC as it seeks to expand and strengthen its network helping young people in Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem organize themselves and mobilize them for the right to health.

action. After attending a winter camp, a number of participants launched a series of initiatives. They organized a festival in Bethlehem for instance, promoting Palestinian products. They even convinced local authorities to support it. Moreover, this allowed them to make their activities and demands known to the authorities.

•

Young people take initiative and get to work together.

• union of health Work Committees (uhWC) is HWC’s sister organization, operating in Gaza. UHWC has 4 medical centres, 1 day centre and 1 hospital, but also organizes cultural activities for the youth. budget in 2014: 152.588 euro

Daoud: “Cultural activities such as theatre, concerts or dance strengthen social bonds and resilience towards the occupation. A play or conference will attract a lot of people if it helps young people understand events and shows them how to organize themselves.”

For our operations in Palestine we have received

From that perspective, 2014 was a very rich year too.

The Tawasul youth network organized visits to cities the Palestinians were expelled from in 1948, such as Suba, Sataf, Al-Jura, Lifta, Samuel and Arraba. They were confronted with their identity and a reality urging them into

Kinderen among others.

financial support in 2014 from DGD, Wallonie-Bruxelles International, CNCD, the province of Antwerp, the province of Flemish Brabant and Peterschap Palestijnse

9

laos

30

Each of the villages now has its own health committee, consisting of persons able to provide basic health care to villagers.

5

Some statistics

30

Each of the villages now has a hygiene and water committee.

They take care of the maintenance of the wells and make sure the village is kept clean.

3 wells have been repaired and 11 have been built.

1.048 women received a training on food.

1.660 children have been examined for malnutrition. Those that were found to be suffering from malnutrition have been followed up on and their parents have been given recommendations.

”

PARTNERS:

“I used to be very timid.

But since I have been

giving monthly trainings

improved

on food in my village,

food safety in

thirty villages I

n the beginning of 2014, our three year project in Laos came to an end. The motivation and perseverance of the members of our partner organization, the Lao Women’s Union, allowed us to achieve some good results. The project’s objective was to reduce malnutrition in 30 villages of the Saravan province.

This was done through training programs for women. Wells were repaired and built, and kitchen gardens were created.

At the end of the project, everyone involved attended an evaluation session. The results were documented and the acquired expertise will be used to continue or set up similar projects. Building on these experiences, TWHA wants to launch a new project with Lao Women’s Union for which we are currently raising funds. To be continued!

•

10

my self-confidence has

grown. I have learnt a lot!”

TONKHAM, vapi

Wells have been repaired or built.

• lao Women’s Union is a women’s organization with over 1 million members.

Their target is to mobilize women and unite them so they can actively participate in their country’s development and are aware of their rights as women.

• health poverty action (hpa) is a British NGO, mainly operating in remote areas affected by conflict and political instability. budget in 2014: 1.523 euro

For our operations in Laos we have received financial support in 2014 from the European Commission among others.

11

Cuba

6 workshops were held, 120 people were trained. In turn, these people shared their freshly acquired knowledge with

Some statistics

their own neighbours, allowing a total of

3.729 people to receive training.

The 310 teams working in health and family have managed to improve their planning and evaluation methods.

3 community projects and have reached 45.000 They have developed residents.

PARTNER: In the town of guanabacoa, TWHA supports a ministry of health project aimed at stimulating community participation. Their approach is based on the comprehensive participatory planning and evaluation method (CPPE). Residents identify each neighbourhood’s main problems, draft an action plan and raise awareness towards concrete solutions. Through various activities the entire community is involved, the ultimate goal always being to raise awareness on health topics and to strengthen mutual solidarity between residents.

united PHOTO : LUZ D.MONTERO

for a healthier environment and better

mental health A

t the start of 2014, our Cuban partner made a participative diagnosis of the main health problems in the town of Guanabacoa. They ended up with quite a list! Issues ranged from unhealthy housing to woeful states of the neighbourhoods in general, difficult access to water, smoking, alcoholism, domestic violence, suicide,… The community decided to tackle the mental health problems first.

This self-diagnosis urged the local public health authorities to unite all actors playing a part in local public health in a workshop on the domestic violence subject. During this workshop all risk factors were detailed, both on family as on community level.

12

Participants thought of ways of improving mental health in Guanabacoa together. An action plan was drafted to prevent violence collectively by tackling the living environment. The results were astonishing. Whether it was an environmental project, a dance group, a joint mini-farm or the restoration of a video room, people young and old, tough and vulnerable worked side by side. United we are stronger!

•

”

budget in 2014: 15.000 euro

“Mental health is

not a matter between doctor and patient

Since 2014, we are supporting this project with our own funds (without any government subsidies).

These funds were raised during the annual Easter

but a matter of great

campaign in cooperation with Iniciativa Cuba Socialista

importance to the

(ICS) and from donations.

entire community.”

PAULA LOMBA,

psychiatrist

13

p e o p l e ’ s h e a lt h m o v e m e n t

solidarity

proJeCts

a global

movement for the right to health

TWHA

has been a member of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) ever since it was founded in 2000. It is a worldwide network playing an important role in the struggle for the right to health. PHM brings the voices of social movements in the South to academic circles and government bodies they would usually fail to reach. So far, its impact has primarily been seen within the World Health Organization.gné par une équipe internationale très expérimentée d’activistes de la santé.

TWHA has been acting as the global network’s financial administrator for a number of years. We assist with raising funds and financial management. In 2014 a new project supported by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) kicked off. The project supports the People’s Health Movement in its critical analysis of social movements’ attempts to influence policies at various levels for the benefit of public health.

2014 saw activities being set up in India, South Africa, Italy, Colombia, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In each of those countries, local activists are being trained and successes and setbacks in the broader movement for the right to health are being monitored. Training programs and campaigns are also being launched as there is room for action next to the research too. All this is being managed by an international team of established health activists.

proJeCts doCtors for the people

70 countries.

for the People clinics. Molenbeek’s ‘Le Renfort’ has

supporting our Philippine partner Gabriela’s human

developed fraternal relations with the Al Qods center

rights teams. Women’s organization Gabriela trains

of the Union of Health Work Committees in Gaza. ‘La

teams in defending women’s rights.

Clé’, from Schaarbeek, has solidarity ties with the Health Work Committees’ medical centre in Battir, near Bethlehem.

friends of patriCia Claeys - niCaragua Along with the Friends of Patricia Claeys foundation,

Countless Philippine trade unionists, human rights workers and other progressive activists selflessly

50 organizations are involved in the DR Congo project alone.

Health activists from over 20 different nations are involved in the project.

Thanks to funding from Ello Mobile, the alternative mobile phone operator, we have been able to keep

the Child of an aCtivist

The People’s Health Movement is represented

ello mobile

TWHA supports the twinning projects of two Doctors

support

Some statistics in over

twinning

commit to the cause of their community. Their activism often prevents them

TWHA supports a health project in Nicaragua.

solidarity shop - afghanistan Together with the Centre Culturel Afghan TWHA

from earning a steady income.

supports the Solidarity Shop project in the Afghan

They find it hard to make ends

capital of Kabul. This solidarity project offers material

meet and don’t have the required

support to widows and orphans.

funds to pay their children’s

PARTNER: The people’s health movement is a worldwide network for the right to health with an international secretariat operating from New Delhi (India), Cape Town (South Africa) and Cairo (Egypt).

The network has gained a reputation through its campaigns for the right to health for everyone, its training programs for young health activists and its alternative world health report (Global Health Watch).

14

school fees. Belgian godmothers

budget in 2014: 175.464 euro For our support to the People’s Health Movement we have received support from the International Development Research Centre – Centre de Recherches pour le Développement International, a Canadian governmental institution.

The German NGO Medico International has also supported the projects in 2014.

and godfathers support these activists through monthly contributions. This allows them to cover their children’s school expenses without having to drop their commitment. The project

human Call libanon Together with ‘Recht op Terugkeer’, an Aalst-based volunteer group, TWHA supports the Human Call project in Lebanon. This project provides support to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

is a cooperation between TWHA and Center for Trade Union and Human Rights and Cordillera Labor Center in the Philippines. Over 100 children already have a sponsor.

15

twha

emergenCy

fund

– gaza

Campaign “support gaza, help provide mediCal Care”

emergenCy fund I

I

n the wake of Israel’s military attack on the Gaza Strip in July 2014, TWHA launched an emergency relief call for our Gaza partner organization, Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC).

n times of need, people rely on local networks and organizations first. Natural disasters, armed conflicts and other extraordinary circumstances put extreme pressure on this local resilience. Even in emergency situations, TWHA’s focus lies with strengthening the local social tissue. For these local organizations are best placed to assess and act on the population’s real needs, be it on the short or long term.

UWHC runs a hospital and four medical centres with affiliated community centres. These centres work with local residents and young people in particular. In normal circumstances (as far as conditions in Gaza can be seen as ‘normal’ that is) TWHA mainly supports the youth operations.

Sometimes our partners launch initiatives of their own to help the local population resume their lives. We naturally support those efforts and can swiftly launch a concrete call for action if needed. In 2014, this has been done for our partner in Gaza, Union of Health Work Committees. Disasters may also take place in countries or areas where we don’t have any direct partners. In those cases we call on our network in order to find a local organization operating in line with our targets. In such cases, it may not always be possible to offer a concrete project, as we want to take the time to analyse what the best options are to help the local population in complex circumstances. In Nepal, for instance, we don’t have any partner organizations. At the time of writing (May 2015) however, we are supporting local relief initiatives through our international network, the People’s Health Movement, in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The escalation and subsequent war led UHWC to launch an urgent request for financial support. UWHC needed money for emergency services and the maternity ward of an overcrowded hospital, isolated in the North of the Gaza Strip.

TWHA set up a campaign. Activities were held by intal groups in Brussels, Charleroi, Ghent and Turnhout, GROS Hoeilaart,

At the maternity of the Al-Awda hospital.

the Sapukay solidarity choir from Merelbeke, a fundraiser in Kortrijk, PTB Genk, PTB Brussels, the Doctors for the People clinics, a group of students from Mechelen, the cities of Ghent and Ypres. Hundreds of supporters also made direct donations to the TWHA emergency fund. All this raised 65.000 euro for the Al-Awda hospital.

This money allowed medication, medical material and fuel for the electrical generator to be bought. Part of the money collected also went to medical staff’s salaries.

During the war (from July 7th 2014 to August 26th 2014), 5.874 persons received help. Among those patients were a number of injured people, but also many pregnant women, as the Al-Awda hospital was the sole place in the area they could go to. The hospital recorded a higher proportional number of risk pregnancies and premature births during the war.

•

Nedad Lubad, doctor.

Our permanent emergency fund gives us the flexibility to respond to this type of emergency situations: quickly if we can, more cautiously if required.

In case all of the funds raised for a particular emergency situation can’t be used, TWHA will apply it to other emergency situations. Not all disasters get the same amount of media coverage and many “silent” disasters unfold. •

16

PHOTO : ANNE PAQ

PHOTO : ANNE PAQ

CÉLINE and ELISABETH, two young doctors, visited Gaza on a medical mission for TWHA in September. They have been working in the Al-Awda hospital for two weeks.

They visited key persons and organizations.

Their testimonial: “At first sight, one would say the war is in a very distant past and life has gone on as before. But once you take a closer look, the scars of the recent war and years of war and blockade are clearly present in every aspect of life.”

“We are victims, not terrorists. We have the right to live in decent conditions with PHOTO : ANNE PAQ

PHOTO : CÉLINE JACOBS

Actions in Belgium following the Gaza war: A solidarity march for the Palestinian people in Brussels, Run4 Gaza: runners in action.

respect and dignity so we can feel human, just like everybody else.”

DR. YOUSEF, director of the al-awda hospital.

17

C a m pa i g n s

and

movement

In Belgium, TWHA attempts to influence policies for the benefit of the right to health in the South. This is done through our support of activities and campaigns of the broader solidarity movement. Here are a few examples of what we achieved in 2014.

The

climate movement: experiences from the Philippines

In

action against a European trade policy damaging the right to health

T

ogether with the Platform for Action on Health and Solidarity and the intal solidarity movement, TWHA has been campaigning against the disastrous consequences of a trade policy putting commercial interests above the people’s. Liberalization of public services, including healthcare, to the private sector, the possibility of states being brought to courts of arbitration by multinationals and the undemocratic nature of the negotiations are only a few causes for great concern. The negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) aim at harmonizing US and EU norms in a bid to create a stronger free trade zone. They plan to impose those norms on third countries too. This will have far reaching implications for vulnerable countries in the South.

That is why TWHA has decided to mobilize against the TTIP agreement, along with social movements here and in the South. In a joint effort with 21 other organizations, we have asked our politicians to make their positions known during the “Free trade, what is at stake?” election debate.

•

I

n 2014, hundreds of young people from Brussels, Louvain-la-Neuve, Namur and Liège attended testimonials from our Philippine partners on a ‘climate tour’. In the wake of the catastrophe caused by typhoon Haiyan’s passage at the end of 2013, there was a lot of interest from young people for this topic.

Our Philippine guests spoke of the dramatic consequences of climate change in their country, of the damaging impact multinationals have, but also of the role of strong social movements in turning the tide.

And their message did not fall on deaf ears. Along with Climate Express, TWHA is actively mobilizing for the Paris 2015 climate summit. The ‘Speak up for the Climate’ video campaign will make sure the social movements of the South’s message will be heard at the climate summit.

•

Commitment

after an impressive solidarity trip to Palestine

I

n July, 9 youth from Charleroi and Liège made a solidarity trip to Palestine. Their mission? To get to know the local situation, understand it and witness first-hand how Palestinians organize themselves. This would help them in their efforts to set up a new local group of the intal solidarity movement in Belgium. The trip coincided with the Israeli army’s bombings of Gaza.

The situation was extremely tense, but this allowed the group to see how, despite the repression, the Palestinians are not giving up. They met with our partner Health Work Committees’ youth network, one of the most enriching experiences of their journey. At their return, their commitment was firm: “It has been an impressive experience that has encouraged us to campaign from Belgium, making people well aware of the situation, especially at this time.” They have already started in Charleroi and Liège as we speak.

•

An impressive experience, moving exhanges with young Palestinians.

18

19

C a m pa i g n s

and

movement

stop the Killings: human rights award for Colombian trade union leader

experienCes

in the

south

strengthening Commitment

O

n December 9th, on the eve of International Human Rights Day, 200 people participated in a quiet torch vigil in Brussels to show their solidarity with activists in the South.

The Stop the Killings action platform handed out their second human rights award. The honour fell to huber ballesteros, vice-president of Colombian trade union Fensuagro. Huber was arrested during a national strike in August 2013. He is still being held in prison, along with 150 of his union’s militants. Colombia continues to be the most dangerous country for trade union members. The international campaign for Huber’s liberation wants to convey the message to the Colombian authorities that social organizations should be protected rather than threatened. •

Hubert Ballesteros received the price.

Caroline during her internship in Guatemala.

empowerment:

young people in searCh of a strategy for the right to health

2014

saw 7 trainees and 5 volunteers travel to our partners in the South. During their stays, they wrote blogs for TWHA, describing how people in our partner countries go about the struggle for the right to health. Despite numerous obstacles such as large scale mining, privatization of healthcare, difficult access to drinking water, sexual and reproductive healthcare, repression of social movements…, they also witnessed the power of organizations raising people’s awareness and mobilizing them to stand up for their rights.

• Lien and Ruben during their internship in Manila.

T

”

here were over 50 of them, young people attending the ‘Empowerment, a strategy for the right to health’ training program.

They learned that it is not only about healthcare, but also about healthy living conditions and the role governments and social movements play in enforcing rights. Meetings with partners in the South, such as Marites Bacunata of Advocates for Community Health in the Philippines and Daoud Ghoul of the Health Work Committees’ Palestinian youth network have enriched their views. •

Lars was a volunteer for 6 months in the Philippines.

Jolien during her internship in Congo.

Arthur during his internship in the Philippines.

“Empowerment is ‘power to the people’, not some sort of paternalistic development aid, but ‘from the people, for the people’” (a participant, 2014)

20

21

and

fundraising

taybeh beer for palestine

easter Campaign for Cuba

Taybeh is a traditionally brewed Palestinian beer. With Israel obstructing each Palestinian economic initiative, the Palestinian brewer finds it hard to organize exports.

TWHA has been facilitating the beer’s distribution in Belgium for a number of years now. Taybeh is licensed to be brewed in line with the original recipe by a brewery in the town of Ichtegem.

Profits from sales go to Health Work Committees, TWHA’s Palestinian partner. In 2014, profits added up to 4.538 euro.

Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, over 5.000 packs of fair trade Easter eggs were sold during our annual Easter campaign. TWHA and ICS have used the profits, amounting to 11.589 euro, to support a local project in Guanabacoa. This project aims at stimulating community participation. With representatives from the health sector and other key sectors, residents identify priority issues in various neighbourhoods. An action plan is then drafted and concrete and realistic solutions are being searched.

Through a range of diverse activities, the entire community is involved: activities for kids, garbage brigades, support groups for mental health, preventive actions,… The aim is always to raise awareness on health topics and strengthen solidarity between residents.

20

KM OF

BRUSSELS: 20%

87 22

SWEAT,

80%

•

SOLIDARITY

runners gave their all on May 18th 2014. Bathing in sunlight, they took up the challenge of the 20 km of Brussels. To set a decent time and reach the finish line were not their only concerns, as they were also raising funds for TWHA. The campaign was a success as over 13.587 euro was collected.

“beCome a TWHA ally” Campaign

Each initiative TWHA takes to support its partner organizations requires funding. To enforce the right to health is a long-term endeavour. That is why we and our partners need to be able to plan ahead and to rely on steady revenues. TWHA already had 440 allies by the end of 2014. These are individuals supporting TWHA’s operations through a monthly contribution.

The “Become a TWHA ally” campaign has set the target of finding at least 100 new allies.

PHOTO : SABIN NIJS

C o m m u n i C at i o n

“Your cup for a cause” at

ManiFiesta ManiFiesta is the annual solidarity festival in Bredene. In a bid to reduce waste and to promote sustainability, TWHA and ManiFiesta joined forces.

TWHA provided re-usable cups for the festival, with visitors asked to pay a 1 euro deposit for their cups when ordering drinks. They were given the option to “donate their used cups to the TWHA”. This raised no less than 3.662 euro. The numerous TWHA volunteers made the initiative a big success!

23

2014

financial

r e s u lt s

Stability

Year

after a few years of growth

T

EXPENSES

WHA achieved a 1.86 million euro turnover in 2014, a slight decrease compared to 2013.

Partnerships in the South accounted for around 1 million euro, mainly in our focus countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines and Palestine, making up two thirds of this amount.

Support to Congo has been lower than initially planned as a number of activities had to be postponed to 2015.

Other expenses include program management costs (5%), general administration (10%) and fundraising (3%).

There are some exceptional costs as well. We created a 28.000 euro provision, for instance, to cover subsidies yet to be controlled. When relying on subsidies, there is always a risk of certain expenses not being approved by the back donors. This is why we prefer to have a financial reserve we can call upon in those cases.

Co-financing of our Latin America program by the Belgian government has been finalized. In Cuba, we now support projects with our own resources. Cofinancing of a project in Laos by the European Commission also stopped at the start of 2014. Support to the international network for the right to health, the People’s Health Movement, on the other hand, has remained stable.

At revenue side, we see that we depend on subsidies for 70%. These are mainly granted by the Belgian federal government. Our fundraising is stable and generated 18% of our income. This is extremely important if we are to preserve our independence from subsidizing governments. Finally, 12% of our income stems from other sources. These are mainly contributions from other organizations, such as the 11.11.11. umbrella organization.

It is worth noting we have spent over 100.000 euro on emergency relief. This concerns reconstruction after typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and support to the Al-Awda hospital in Gaza during and after the JulyAugust 2014 war. The costs of our cooperants has doubled as we now also have a country coordinator in Kinshasa, adding to the country coordinator we already had in Manila.

North and South operations together account for over 80% of our expenses. In other words: 80% of our financial resources are spent directly for achieving our goals.

results

Partnerships in the South Partnerships > Partnerships Congo > Partnerships Philippines > Partnerships Palestine > Partnerships Latin America / Cuba > Partnerships Laos > Emergency relief > Various small projects > People’s Health Movement Cooperants

Campaigns and movement building Operational expenses Personnel costs Program management costs (administration, evaluations, etc.)

Operational expenses Personnel costs

After all, expenses and income were almost equal.

There was a small 6.264 euro surplus that has been added to the reserves.

General Management Office rent, general expenses and communication Personnel costs

The detailed financial balance and annual financial results can be found in the National Bank of Belgium’s Central Balance Sheet Office (www.nbb.be).

Comparisons with previous years and sector data can be made at the www.ngo-openboek.be website.

•

Fundraising costs Personnel costs Operational expenses Sales material purchases Exceptional costs Provisions Others

REVENUE Fundraising Donations Sales campaigns (Taybeh beer and Easter campaign) Companies (Ello Mobile, Triodos)

• South operations 58 % • North operations 23 % • Management costs (administration, evaluation, etc) 4 % • General Management 10 % • Fundraising costs 3 % • Exceptional costs 2 %

24

Revenue 1.865.491 euro

• Subsidies • Other income • Fundraising

70 % 12 % 18 %

1.251.121

2014 1.859.227 62%

245.320 254.881 131.693 112.703 174.212 57.715 95.019 142.792 36.787

1.071.318

58%

145.065 334.234 152.588 16.750 1.523 119.752 55.885 175.464 70.057

386.184 91.361 294.824

19%

420.732 68.698 352.034

23%

132.788

7%

87.267

4%

50.394 82.395

28.212 59.055

173.141 81.022 92.119

9%

183.921 83.387 100.534

10%

66.674 25.282 25.917 15.475

3%

60.499 23.307 19.716 17.476

3%

4.748

0%

2%

4.748

35.489 28.028 7.461

2.074.773

1.865.491

387.868 319.710 33.501 34.657

19%

335.609 290.703 38.594 6.312

18%

1.400.539 985.485 130.659 166.898 20.000 44.636 52.861

69%

1.300.616 991.851 11.642 102.385 136.241 0 58.497

70%

Other income Contributions from other organizations 11.11.11 contribution PHM member organizations contribution Expense recovery Various income (interests, etc.)

Withdrawal from reserves

286.366 28.229 61.558 135.742 48.738 7.099 5.000

12%

229.266 32.944 114.068 48.922 29.456 3.876

12%

RESULT

60.118

6.264

60.118

6.264

Subsidies Federal government DGS subsidies European Commission subsidies Subsidies from towns, cities, provinces and communities Subsidies from International Development Research Center (Canada) National Lottery Staff subsidies

Expenses 1.859.227 euro

2013 2.014.655

Added to reserves

25

Our

Our

o r g a n i z at i o n

organization

Environmental and social impact • Our transport policy: a central role for use of public transport.

• Our office’s environmental footprint: we try to reduce energy consumption.

• Waste management at our events: we try to avoid waste whenever possible and use recycled materials.

• Plane travel: we try to keep the number of plane trips to a minimum by combining activities and make sure all trips are well motivated. Whenever an affordable alternative is available, we will prefer it.

• Nutrition: at events we use biological and local food where possible. We see it as an opportunity to raise awareness on the environmental impact of food.

In 2014, we took this one step further and tried to promote this approach in our public activities as well.

At ManiFiesta, the solidarity festival, we provided reusable cups, notably reducing waste after the festival.

The investment in re-usable cups is a long-term project and we have committed to keep in charge of this aspect of the festival.

In order to keep the social impact of our operations positive we try not to purchase any products or services from companies adopting particularly asocial personnel policies or who are notorious for their contempt for human rights. We encourage our staff to participate in major trade union demonstrations too.

In our operations, we want to deal with gender differences respectfully and promote equality between men and women. In 2014, we set up a task force aimed at analyzing ways of strengthening this aspiration in our operations. This has become a task in the job decsription of one of our co-workers.

Staff

TWHA board

On December 31st, 2014, we had 20 paid employees (16,3 FTE) working for TWHA. Two of them are at work in country offices, in the Philippines and the DR Congo.

We have 8 male employees and 12 female.

• • • • • • • •

Our organization adopts the same salary scale for all personnel members (b1c of PC 329). We have also received regular support from our volunteers both in administration as in the field.

The TWHA team consists of these fantastic employees: • Afef Hammami, finance assistant • Alexia Fouarge, policy and campaigns officer • André Crespin, coordinator policy and campaigns unit • Anne-Laure Roussot, secretariat staff • Anuschka Mahieu, coordinator secretariat • Benoît Capiau, finance officer • Chiara Bodini, partnership officer • Danny Claes, policy officer • David Vanderheyden, finance assistant • Delphine Van Belleghem, communication and program management officer • Fanny Polet, program management officer • Gaëlle Fonteyne, partnership officer (Democratic Republic of the Congo) • Géraldine Malaise, quality and program management officer • Hans Schaap, partnership officer (the Philippines) • Lena Van der Bruggen, communication officer • Marc Botenga, coordinator of the partnership unit • Natalie Van Gijsel, policy and campaigns officer • Tom Buytaert, IT and finance staff • Véronique Coteur, policy and movement building officer • Wim De Ceukelaire, director

of directors:

Pol De Vos (chairperson) Wies Jespers Bert De Belder Bogdan Van doninck Dirk Rooman Hind Riad Lucien Materne Wim De Ceukelaire (managing director)

TWHA is

a member of:

• 11.11.11 (the Flemish North-South movement’s umbrella organization) • CNCD-11.11.11 (Centre national de coopération au développement) • ACODEV (Fédération des ONG de coopération au développement) • ngo-federatie (Flemish federation of development NGO’s) • Vereniging voor Ethiek in de Fondsenwerving • Be-cause health (Belgian Platform for International Health) • The Platform for Action on Health and Solidarity • Testament.be • Klimaatcoalitie • 2015. De tijd loopt • People’s Health Movement • Platform ‘Stop the Killings’

TWHA has

been granted following quality label:

C2E (Committed to Excellence) – Quality label granted after evaluation by an assessor of the ACODEV federation.

TWHA has

endorsed following deontological codes:

Ethics in Fundraising Code of Conduct – The Ethics in Fundraising Union’s label acknowledges that Third World Health Aid respects this organization’s ethical code of conduct.

Charter on the recruitment and the support to the development of Health Human Resources in the partner countries – The working group on Human Resources for Health of Be-cause Health’s voluntary deontological code on health personnel.

Third World Health Aid is recognized by the Belgian federal government as program-NGO and as NGO entitled to grant tax certificates.

Administration

Pictured standing from left to right are: Géraldine, Marc, Fanny, Lena, Danny, Véronique, Benoît, Delphine, Tom, David, Natalie and seated from left to right are: Anne-Laure, Alexia and André showing their support to the social protection campaign several Belgian NGOs are running in 2015 and 2016.

26

Third World Health Aid Geneeskunde voor de Derde Wereld vzw – Médecine pour le Tiers Monde asbl Haachtsesteenweg 53 1210 Brussels tel: 02 209 23 65 fax: 02 209 23 51 e-mail: info@g3w.be www.twha.be www.g3w.be www.facebook.com/G3W www.twitter.com/Geneeskunde3eW

27

our

we

o r g a n i z at i o n

would liKe to thanK our donors, volunteers and supporters, but also the

publiC authorities, federations and organizations Co-finanCing our operations: • Directorate General for Development of the Federal Government Service of Foreign Affairs, External Trade and Development • 11.11.11, the Flemish North-South movement’s umbrella organization • CNCD-11.11.11 • International Development Research Centre – Centre de Recherches pour le Développement International • Medico International • Wallonie-Bruxelles International • Flemish Partnership Water and Development • European Commission • Province of East Flanders • Province of West Flanders • Province of Flemish Brabant • Province of Antwerp • Peterschap Palestijnse Kinderen • Cities and towns: Antwerp, Gent, Grimbergen, Hoeilaart, Ieper, Lommel, Zoersel • Ello Mobile

united for health WWW.TWHA.BE

Third World Health Aid I Haachtsesteenweg 53 I 1210 Brussels