Church World Service - Pakistan/Afghanistan
Since 2005, Church World Service - Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A) has been the Sphere focal point for Pakistan and Afghanistan. As such, it has provided training, technical support and resource materials to local, national and international NGOs, funding partners, UN agencies and communities and has advocated for quality and accountability standards throughout the region (*).
CWS-P/A has provided training on Sphere principles and standards to more than 2,400 humanitarian workers from more than 500 organizations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Japan and Philippines.
Building on this experience, CWS-P/A and the Sphere Project formed a regional partnership in Asia that came into force on 1 January 2011 for a period of three years.
As a regional partner, CWS-P/A helps the Sphere Project achieve its global and local objectives by
- building the capacity of local and national organizations in the region,
- identifying national partners and focal points in disaster-prone countries,
- advancing the region's overall knowledge and application of quality and accountability standards in both policy and practice and
- providing insight on specific regional issues to strengthen the Sphere Project's global advocacy strategy.
(*) Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Japan, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.