Read our 2024 annual report
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Accountability is at the very core of everything we do in Concern – at all levels, across our 23 countries of operation. This is why, in October 2017, we became the first Irish organisation to be certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS).
What is the Core Humanitarian Standard?
The CHS is an internationally recognised standard which outlines nine commitments that organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian response can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide.
Core Humanitarian Standard
Concern is committed to upholding each of the nine commitments in the Core Humanitarian Standard.
Concern's path to certification
As a member of the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) Alliance, Concern continuously strengthens and expands systems and processes to ensure accountability across its development and humanitarian programmes. In late 2017, Concern was the first Irish agency to be accredited with CHS certification based on a rigorous external process including country visits to Liberia and Burundi. This audit process was conducted by the Geneva-based Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI).
The HQAI certificate is valid for three years, and Concern underwent renewal audits in 2021 and 2024. Our current certification runs until 2027, with maintenance audits in 2025 and 2026, and our next renewal audit will take place in 2027.
"Everywhere I go in Concern - whether it’s a refugee camp, whether it is an internally displaced camp or whether it is a remote village on top of a mountain – I know there will be a mechanism so that the community can either make a phone call or put something in a suggestion box and it will be acted upon."
In 2024, Concern went through a rigorous recertification audit. This involved a visit by an HQAI team to Concern Bangladesh and Concern Kenya, and remote checks with Concern teams in Liberia, South Sudan and Pakistan. In total, 127 individuals from communities supported by Concern, 32 Concern country staff, 23 Concern support office staff, and 15 partner staff (including national government and coordinator actors) were interviewed. The recertification audit again confirmed Concern’s ongoing compliance with the CHS and also found that actions had been taken to effectively address the two areas (non-conformities) that required attention from previous audits. Two new areas for attention were identified by the auditors which Concern will now work on.
The Core Humanitarian Standard Desk Officer, International Programmes Support Officer and Concern technical advisors all ensure the ongoing adherence to the CHS by providing Country teams with tools and guidance that supports the quality of our programming and our accountability to the affected populations we work with.
Details of Concern's HQAI audits (Initial audit, maintenance audit, mid-term audit and renewal audit) can be found in the below reports.
HQAI Audits
Our impact in 2024
people reached through our emergency response
people reached through our health interventions
people reached through our livelihoods programmes
