Check out if Danish Refugee Council is in The Top 100 NGOs 2013 Edition!

Leading collaborative humanitarian efforts for five decades.

1 million beneficiaries.

With a long and reputable history, the Danish Refugee Council has worked, since 1956, across all aspects of the refugee cause. From initial displacement to housing and small-scale income generation, the organization is resolute in securing durable solutions for refugees – seeing their journey through until they are able to live in a stable and permanent environment. Founded first to address the European refugee crisis following World War II, the Danish Refugee Council is responsible for extensive humanitarian work – including having delivered over half of the international aid in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s. 

The organization’s activities today assist over one million people spanning 30 countries, including programs in some of the world’s most conflicted areas – Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya. While emergency relief is a core priority, the Danish Refugee Council works across nine sectors: housing and small-scale infrastructure; income generation through grants and micro-finance; food security and agricultural rehabilitation; displacement-related law and information; social rehabilitation, NGO networking and capacity development; humanitarian mine action; information management and co-ordination; and emergency logistics and transport management. Its commitment to sustained recovery means the organization often remains in complex country situations for 10-15 years. Working with refugees, authorities and non-state actors, the Danish Refugee Council exits only when stability and local management has been secured. 

As a membership body comprising 30 organizations, the Danish Refugee Council’s network and impact is expansive. It consistently employs strategic partnerships to enhance the collective outcome of humanitarian efforts. Through its Stand-By Roster, the Danish Refugee Council deploys rapid assistance to UN emergency operations to augment resources for internally displaced persons (IDPs). A leader in the field, it has also established innovative operations, including co-founding the Joint IDP Profiling Service, which collects core data on populations of IDPs. The profiling service – made available to a wide range of humanitarian organizations – provides information regarding age, sex, location and – when possible – details causes and patterns of displacement. The system enables emergency groups to harness and share information so as to address humanitarian needs and causes more effectively. 

Its admirable commitment to synergy positions the Danish Refugee Council as one of the most effective and trustworthy humanitarian organizations in the field. Realizing the potential to scale impact through collective action, it facilitates collaboration at every opportunity, maintaining durable solutions for conflict-affected people as its bottom-line.

(Photo © DRC)