**Concern Worldwide (UK) Annual Report and Accounts 2023**
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> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **3**
**Concern Worldwide (UK)**
## **Contents**
About us ...................................................................... **4** A message from the Chair of Trustees ........................ **6** A message from the outgoing Executive Director ...... **7** Our overseas work in 2023 ........................................ **8** How we work ............................................................ **32** Income and expenditure .......................................... **39** Legal and administrative information ...................... **41**
Trustees’ Report (incorporating a Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) .............................................. **44**
Statement of trustees’ responsibilities .................... **62** Independent Auditor’s Report .................................. **63** Consolidated statement of financial activities.......... **68** Consolidated and Concern (UK) balance sheets ...... **69** Consolidated cash flow statement............................ **70** Notes to the Financial Statements............................ **71** Appendix .................................................................. **85**
**Left:** Darine* and Concern staff member Hatice Firat at a temporary displacement camp set up to provide emergency accommodation for people made homeless after the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. Photo: Gavin Douglas/Concern Worldwide
**Extreme geographies. Extreme climate challenges. Extreme crises. Nothing will stop Concern fighting extreme poverty.**
**Cover:** 29-year-old Ramya’s* home was destroyed in the February 2023 earthquakes in Syria. She now lives with her family in a temporary shelter in a displacement camp. Ramya was supported by Concern and our partners with emergency cash assistance.
Photo: Ali Haj Suleiman/DEC
- Name changed to protect the identity of the individual.
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**Concern Worldwide (UK)**
## **About us**
## **Our identity**
Concern Worldwide (Concern) is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
## **Our vision for change**
We believe in a world where no-one lives in poverty, fear or oppression; where all have access to a decent standard of living and the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy and creative life; a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
## **Our mission – what we do**
Our mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives which last and spread without ongoing support from Concern. To achieve this mission, we engage in long-term development work, build the resilience of the communities with which we work, respond to emergency situations, and seek to address the root causes of poverty through our advocacy work.
Concern Worldwide (UK) (‘Concern (UK)’) supports the overseas programmes of Concern Worldwide. Whilst we do not implement our own programmes, we contribute to their success by working closely with colleagues across the organisation and by funding programmes. We are only able to do this thanks to the generosity of a wide range of donors and supporters for which we are very grateful.
**Right:** Koshi Ali harvests maize from a 25-acre plot of land in Makere village in Kenya’s Tana River County, after Concern provided an irrigation pump and seeds for the community. Photo: Lisa Murray/Kerry Group/Concern Worldwide
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## **A message from the Chair of Trustees**
public’s response to our DEC Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal and our Sudan Emergency Appeal has meant that Concern Worldwide has been able to act quickly to save lives and rebuild livelihoods.
Firstly, I would like to say what an honour it is to step into the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees of Concern Worldwide (UK). Coming from Co Clare in south-west Ireland, I have long been familiar with Concern, and have immense personal respect for its strong track record of working alongside
As a trustee of Concern (UK) for the past seven years, I and my fellow trustees want to use our collective energy and ability to support the senior management team in their dedication to achieving our ambitious organisational goals in response to rising poverty and humanitarian needs.
communities in some of the most difficult and fragile places of the world.
We are fortunate to have such a breadth of life experience, professional expertise and diversity represented on the board, and appointed five new trustees in 2023. We are also very grateful to Mark Devlin, who recently stepped down as Chair, for his dedication to the work of the board and its committees.
In the past 12 months, the number of people in need of humanitarian support has continued to increase and is expected to reach almost 300 million globally in 2024. Extreme poverty, acute food insecurity and forced displacement due to conflict and the impacts of climate change are severely compromising the futures of millions of people every day.
I would also like to recognise the excellent work of Danny Harvey, our UK Executive Director, as she moves to take up an exciting new role as Head of Technical Assistance for the global organisation. Over the past four years, she has provided caring and committed leadership to the organisation and her clear vision on core issues of equality, diversity and inclusion has shone through. It is great that her experience will be retained within the global organisation. The search for her successor is underway and we look forward to welcoming a new Executive Director in the coming months.
Organisations like Concern are a reminder that many people around the world live in difficult circumstances and that we all share a responsibility to do something to help. Everyone has a right to a decent standard of living and the opportunities essential to a healthy, successful life.
While we rightly focus on those who are still living in unimaginably challenging conditions, it is also important to remember that millions of people have been supported by Concern in 2023 to lift themselves out of poverty and recover from crises.
To all our partners and supporters reading this report, thank you for your continued support and commitment to our work. After all, we really could not do this without you.
It is a source of pride and great satisfaction to know that the generous support of people in the UK has enabled us to do so much – increasing children’s access to education and improved health and nutrition services; working with communities to build sustainable livelihoods as a pathway out of extreme poverty; combatting the effects of climate change and building community resilience; and tackling gender inequalities – in some of the hardest to reach and most fragile places on the planet. Furthermore, the UK
**Bernadette Sexton Chair**
## **A message from the outgoing Executive Director**
advocacy. This year at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, we ensured that the voices of our teams in Kenya, Pakistan and Haiti were heard at the event. We then amplified their call to global leaders to ensure that efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change in some of the world’s poorest countries, which are hardest hit, are sufficiently and equitably funded. In the background, at Concern (UK), we are also working to reduce our own carbon footprint and were proud to publish our first Carbon Reduction Action Plan in 2023.
Looking back, 2023 was a challenging year for the communities we work alongside and our colleagues and partners around the world. We responded to large humanitarian crises – in Türkiye and Syria, in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes, and in Sudan, where the outbreak of conflict
forced more than 10 million people from their homes, the largest displacement crisis in the world. Perhaps less newsworthy, but equally troubling are the continued high levels of food insecurity in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo and countries across East Africa, where over 51.5 million people are food insecure.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of the public across the UK and our donors and partners. We also have a wonderful team of staff and continue to invest in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan. An external review of the plan showed that it is delivering progress, staff are more confident to discuss EDI issues openly and this is a good base to build on. Likewise, our mid-term review of our strategy indicated solid progress, but also led us to prioritise our efforts for the second part of the strategy, essentially to double down and grow the funding available for our country programmes.
In the face of these challenges, we draw on the knowledge, experience and resources of our staff and partners and decide how best we can support efforts to save lives, ensure people have shelter, food and water and restore livelihoods and services.
I will move on from the Executive Director role in 2024, but remaining with this wonderful organisation and making every effort to ensure our programmes deliver the greatest impact in the challenging environments in which we work. I want to take this opportunity to thank the UK team and trustees, past and present, for all their hard work, energy and enthusiasm and for making such a positive change in our challenging world.
In September, I visited our work in Ukraine in the far east of the country on the border with Russia. I met women and children for whom the conflict is part of their day-to-day lives but who, with support from Concern and our incredible Ukrainian partners, continue to rebuild their livelihoods and homes and ensure their children can access a good education. Most impressive was our work with psychologists and teachers to provide counselling and support for children and adults, helping them cope with trauma and their changed situations.
## oD) oles,
The intersection of poverty, disaster and climate change is becoming ever more apparent. We work with and support communities from Kenya to Bangladesh who are already putting their own solutions in place to protect their farms, water sources and livelihoods and adapt to a changing climate. However, we also invest in
**Danny Harvey Outgoing Executive Director**
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## **Our overseas work in 2023**
**• Ukraine**
**• Türkiye**
**Lebanon • • Syria • Iraq • Afghanistan**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
• Bangladesh
**----- End of picture text -----**
**• Niger • Chad • Republic of Sudan • Burkino • Yemen Faso • Sierra Leone• Liberia • Central African Republic • SouthSudan • Ethiopia • Democratic • Kenya • Somalia Republic of • Rwanda • Haiti Congo • Burundi**
**• Pakistan**
**Democratic • People’s Republic of Korea**
**• Malawi**
**! 66 emergency responses**
**More than 30 million people reached**
**26 countries**
**In 2023, Concern worked in 26 of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries to tackle extreme poverty:**
Afghanistan Bangladesh Burkina Faso Burundi Central African Republic Chad
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Democratic Republic of Congo Ethiopia Haiti
Iraq Kenya Lebanon Liberia Malawi Niger Pakistan Republic of Sudan Rwanda Sierra Leone Somalia South Sudan Syria Türkiye Ukraine Yemen
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## **Emergencies**
**In 2023, we responded to 66 emergencies in 20 countries, reaching 5.5 million people directly and almost 10 million indirectly.**
Many countries in which we work are susceptible to frequent natural disasters and outbreaks of conflict resulting in already vulnerable people losing their homes and livelihoods. In the immediate aftermath of an emergency, we provide life-saving support to families and communities, and we then stay to help them get back on their feet, rebuilding livelihoods and infrastructure and working to reduce the risk and impact of future crises.
## **Objectives and activities**
The goal of our emergency programme is to fulfil our humanitarian mandate and effectively respond to and mitigate against natural and human-influenced disasters.
Our main objectives are to:
- Respond rapidly in order to save lives and reduce suffering
- Improve access to food, healthcare and water
- Prevent and reduce the impact of emergencies
**Some examples of our achievements and performance in 2023 are set out below.**
The conflict in **Ukraine** continues to impact food security, livelihoods, shelter, protection and other basic needs of the population. UN OCHA reports that the conflict left at least 14.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023. During the year, we continued to work with our partners to operate the Joint Emergency Response in Ukraine (JERU), expanding our programming in the north, east and south of the country to reach some of the most vulnerable communities residing in frontline regions and areas with international borders to Russia. Our emergency response reached over 144,000 people and is predominately delivered by providing cash assistance for families to meet their immediate needs. However, where markets or financial systems are not functional, or where the cost of items is extremely inflated, we directly supply food and hygiene items. To help people withstand the harsh weather, we provide winter assistance in the form of cash to help cover utility costs for those in remote and rural areas. Integrated with this, specific assistance was provided for 16,500 traumatised adults and children through community-based psychosocial support, one-to-one structured counselling and referrals for more specialised care when needed.
On 6 February 2023, a series of devastating earthquakes struck **Türkiye** , taking the lives of over 50,000 people, injuring more than 100,000, displacing three million and directly affecting an estimated 9.1 million people across Türkiye and north-west Syria. More than half a million buildings were significantly damaged. A state of emergency was called in 10 provinces. Concern’s response was swift. We provided assistance to just under 25,000 people, working directly with and through partner organisations in Türkiye and through partners in north-west Syria. We distributed food vouchers to vulnerable households in some of the worst-hit areas for use in supermarkets, and we ensured that people had access to essential water, sanitation and hygiene services and materials by installing water tanks, toilets and providing hygiene supplies. We also provided more than 65,000 people with sleeping mats, tarpaulins, kitchen sets, blankets and solar lamps.
In the **Republic of Sudan** , the power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated in April 2023. The conflict dramatically increased humanitarian needs in the already fragile country. According to UN OCHA, more than 10 million people have fled their homes, taking refuge inside and outside the country and leaving Sudan with the highest number of displaced people globally. Due to the conflict, key staff relocated from Khartoum to Port Sudan and our programmes were redesigned to respond to the emergency. Despite these significant challenges, we reached 346,377 people in West Darfur, West and South Kordofan and the Red Sea state, providing life-saving health, nutrition, food security and water and sanitation services. Among key activities, we resumed support to the 73 health facilities in West Darfur and Kordofan where over 5,200 children under five years old were treated for severe
**Left:** Darine* and her daughter collect clean water from a water tank installed by Concern in a temporary displacement camp in Türkiye after they were made homeless in the February 2023 earthquakes. Photo: Gavin Douglas/Concern Worldwide
acute malnutrition. Expanding our operation in Red Sea state helped to strengthen the government-run health facilities in Sawakin and Port Sudan localities through capacity building, coaching and mentoring and improvements to water, sanitation and hygiene activities. This included mounting a cholera response to rising cases in Sawakin.
An estimated 500,000 Sudanese people fled to **Chad** seeking safety. The sudden influx of displaced people has exacerbated the declared food emergency in the east of the country, where the majority of refugees have settled. In Sila Province, we assisted more than 7,300 refugees and returnees in crowded camps. This included the distribution of essential household items such as jerry cans and cooking sets, together with hygiene and sanitation items. We also supplied materials and equipment for shelter construction and prepared for the drilling of boreholes to provide safe
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water. We ran public health campaigns around good water, sanitation and hygiene practices and used mobile clinics to provide medical services.
**Burkina Faso** has suffered frequent spikes in conflict, with fighting and attacks by radical armed groups against the government army. This has an impact on the security of many villages, leading to massive population displacement. Our emergency programmes in the centre-east region of the country aim to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of both displaced and host households. In the communes of Koupela and Pouytenga, we supported access to quality health and nutrition services for over 122,000 vulnerable people. Local health centres where we provide training as well as medical and technical equipment have treated children suffering from malnutrition quickly and effectively. Increased levels of food insecurity arising from population displacement were addressed through a food security and livelihoods programme reaching over 11,000 people. Cash transfers and food distributions have helped meet immediate basic needs and we started livelihoods activities to give households the ability to earn a sustainable income.
**Right:** 19-year-old Pasha* returned to his home village in the Sumy region of Ukraine without his parents and now singlehandedly cares for his two younger sisters and brother. He received cash assistance from Concern and local JERU partners to purchase fuel for heating and to repair a water pump. Photo: Mykhaylo Palinchak/Concern Worldwide
**Lebanon** struggled with a deepening economic and financial crisis alongside weak governance, intensifying tensions and security incidents, and the evolving crisis in the Middle East in 2023. The country continues to host the largest number of refugees in the world per capita and over half of the population relies on humanitarian aid. The economic crisis increased pressure on the housing situation for both host and refugee populations, causing an increase in rent, evictions and people seeking shelter in sub-standard conditions. Through our shelter programme in northern Lebanon we identified and addressed the critical needs of extremely vulnerable communities. This included rehabilitating unoccupied shelters and emergency temporary shelters, improving living conditions for 257 families, as well as the provision of cash-for-rent assistance to 840 households at risk of eviction. In preparation for the harsh winter, we assessed the condition of over 9,000 tents housing 39,700 individuals living in informal settlements, evaluating them for repairs. While addressing the physical shelter needs in our areas of operation, we also conducted hygiene promotion activities in all locations to mitigate the risks of disease and carried out site improvements in sites prone to floods.
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Annual Report and Accounts 2023
## **Spotlight: Türkiye and Syria**
In the early hours of 6 February 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeast Türkiye and northern Syria, causing thousands of buildings to collapse, followed by a second deadly tremor.
The first earthquake struck while people were asleep in their beds. With no major earthquakes in the region for decades, and no warning signs, communities were unprepared. Severe aftershocks and the second earthquake led to further damage.
In Türkiye, hundreds of thousands of buildings were badly affected, leaving millions of people homeless in freezing winter conditions. Civilian infrastructure was severely damaged and hospitals and schools were among the buildings destroyed.
In Syria, the worst affected areas were rural towns and villages where people displaced by the conflict in the country had fled to, living in already precarious accommodation. The earthquakes only exacerbated the impact of the war, deepening the crisis for millions of people.
The immediate focus of Concern’s relief efforts was to save lives and help people who were injured or had lost their homes by providing temporary shelter and winter kits. Our teams in Türkiye and partners in Syria immediately began distributing mattresses, blankets, cooking utensils and heaters, as well as materials to build temporary shelters. Other priorities were food, the provision of clean water, sanitation and hygiene essentials to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera, and psychosocial support.
In the UK, Concern launched an emergency DEC Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal, which raised almost £765,000, thanks to the generosity of supporters. As a DEC-member charity, we were also allocated £2.2 million of funding to help with the response.
## **‘Many people lost everything’**
29-year-old Ramya* survived the earthquakes but was left both physically and mentally scarred and with nowhere to live. Her family had previously moved to the northern Syrian town of Jindires to seek safety and protection after their village was bombed during the conflict.
The unfinished building they were living in withstood the initial tremor but the outer walls collapsed during the second shock, trapping Ramya, her two-year-old son and some other family members who were huddled around the fireplace to keep warm.
Although they managed to escape and made it to hospital, Ramya suffered burns to her legs and shoulders and her son sustained a broken hand.
“We were homeless, without belongings, without money, and with very terrified young children,” Ramya recalled.
“I returned to the building site with my child and sat on the edge of the road. There were many people like me who had lost everything they had and did not know where to go. Then relief organisations came and began distributing aid.”
Ramya now lives with her son and other family members in a temporary shelter in a displacement camp in Waddah.
Working with our partners in Syria, Concern supported Ramya and other families like hers with vouchers worth £120 to enable them to make the best choices to meet their families’ needs, including purchasing a heater to make their accommodation more habitable and paying for medical treatment.
Since the earthquakes struck, Concern has reached more than 375,000 people in the region with a wide range of vital support, including:
- Shelter support for more than 5,000 people
- 19,550 emergency food baskets
- Multi-purpose cash assistance to 12,569 families
- Psychosocial support to 14,654 people
- 117,725 hygiene kits
- Access to safe water for 25,079 people
**Right:** Ramya* (29) was made homeless after devastating earthquakes in Syria and now lives with her son and other family members in a temporary shelter in a displacement camp in Waddah.
Photo: Ali Haj Suleiman/Disasters Emergency Committee
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Annual Report and Accounts 2023
## **Livelihoods**
## **In 2023, we improved the food security and livelihoods of 0.8 million people directly and 1.5 million indirectly.**
People living in extreme poverty struggle to earn enough to ensure that their families have sufficient to eat, get adequate healthcare and an education. Our livelihood programmes aim to give people the tools to ensure they are able to earn a sustainable living, helping them to learn new skills, improve the productivity and nutritional value of their crops and set up small businesses to generate more income.
## **Objectives and activities**
The goal of our livelihoods programme is to enable extremely poor people to have secure livelihoods.
## Our main objectives are to:
## **•** Reduce hunger
- Strengthen our social protection programming, work skills and support systems
- Promote graduation to economic productivity
- Strengthen our climate-smart agriculture programme
**Some examples of our achievements and performance in 2023 are set out below:**
**Burundi** has experienced decades of political instability and conflict, including two civil wars which caused a deterioration in living standards and social cohesion from which the country is still recovering. The population is characterised by a high percentage of youth, with 65% under the age of 25. For the last three years, Concern has implemented a programme in three provinces of the country which aimed to help 1,500 young people build their livelihoods and strengthen relationships and solidarity among members of the community. The programme entered its final year in 2023 during which a group of 750 young people took part in technical training sessions and work placements, received start-up kits, developed their business plans and set up businesses. They also participated in Peace Clubs and organised communal events promoting social cohesion. A further 750 young men and women who had set up their businesses earlier in the programme continued to be monitored and supported with coaching. By the end of the programme, we had supported participants to establish 313 new businesses (183 collective and 130 individual) enabling the majority of them to earn an income. The final evaluation of the project showed that, as well as providing some financial security, one of the most significant impacts of the programme was
the improved sense of self-worth felt by participants as well as a newly gained sense of pride, accomplishment and belonging that came from gaining the respect of the community for the services they provide.
**Malawi** continued to struggle with a series of interrelated shocks including recurring climate disasters and rapid inflation in 2023. The latter impacted the cost of fertiliser and other agricultural inputs which increased significantly throughout the year reducing food production among the rural poor. In a country where 80% of the population relies on agriculture to make their living, our livelihood programmes, which reached more than 352,000 people, focus on agriculture and food and nutrition security, while building the resilience of communities to the impacts of climate change. Across our agriculture programmes, we promoted resilient farming practices including crop diversification, planting early maturing varieties and implementing practices such as intercropping and ridging (building up the soil bed height). These practices collectively helped strengthen communities against climate-related shocks, particularly unpredictable rainfall patterns and dry spells. To boost community and household resilience and food security, we procured and distributed various materials for both catchment conservation and crop diversification activities. Watershed management committees were trained and provided with a set of tools to help community members build soil conservation and water harvesting systems.
During 2023, **Haiti** experienced a deterioration in its socio-economic situation and security environment. In Cité Soleil, where intense gang violence restricts the movement of people and blocks access to basic goods, notably food and water, our Manje Pi Byen project responded to the food security needs of 22,000 people. The project includes an economic recovery component that enabled 80 local vendors to increase their economic capacity. During the course of the year, we made five distributions of pre-loaded electronic coupons to 4,000 households who were linked to vendors in their respective neighbourhood. Individuals used the coupons to buy what they needed to meet their basic needs. The 80 vendors were supported with the necessary equipment and training on how to use the electronic transaction system as well as training on general business management and entrepreneurship. Results from monitoring surveys that looked at the levels of hunger reported in households and dietary diversity and frequency of eating reflected significant positive changes from the baseline. Vendors reported
an increase in customers and products in stores, with a corresponding increase in sales. 90% made a profit, with profit rates ranging from 15 to 20%.
Concern started two livelihood development projects in 2023 reaching some of the most vulnerable communities in the Tahoua region of **Niger** . One is taking place in Bambeye and Kalfou communes where 17,500 people will be reached by a five-year programme that aims to build resilient food systems which prioritise food and nutritional security for people living in extreme poverty, while promoting the sustainable management of natural resources. Positive results have already been seen in the first year of the programme. Among other activities, in Kalfou, 2,000 households received Chakti millet seeds (an improved seed that is more resistant to climatic stress than local millet) and cowpea seeds which they planted from June to October 2023. Harvests were good, with an improved average yield of 0.61 tonnes per hectare for Chakti millet compared to
**Above:** Mwanaesha Haluwa Haji tends to a crop of maize on a community plot of land in Makere village in Kenya’s Tana River County. The project aims to improve community resilience to climate change and transform livelihoods by providing smallholder farmers with access to markets, affordable finance, good quality seeds and climate-smart farming techniques. Photo: Lisa Murray/Concern Worldwide
0.38 tonnes per hectare for local millet. For cowpea, the yield was 0.68 tonnes per hectare, compared with a local average of 0.34 tonnes per hectare. At a community level, we provided seven specialised production sites, each managed by 10 heads of households with cowpea, peanut, groundnut and sesame seeds. These sites have enabled programme participants to obtain enough seeds to cultivate a larger area and increase production. In addition to agricultural production, we also supported fodder production by
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Annual Report and Accounts 2023
## **Spotlight: Democratic Republic of Congo**
The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the largest populations in Africa, but it is also one of the most vulnerable. With nearly 73% of people living in extreme poverty, the country has experienced conflict and insecurity for more than 30 years, internally displacing over five million people. Concern has worked in DRC since 1994, providing long-term support including through our Graduation Programme.
The programme provides tailored packages of support to help people move themselves out of poverty and into sustainable livelihoods. A key outcome of the Graduation Programme is to build people’s resilience to shocks and stresses that often make it difficult to break the cycle of poverty, such as illness or natural disasters.
In DRC, this work has been partly funded by the Concern Philanthropic Circle (CPC), a group of 15 generous supporters in Northern Ireland who contributed nearly £300,000 over three years to the project. Thanks to the support of the CPC, Concern has been able to meet people’s urgent needs in sectors including livelihoods, gender equality and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) across 11 villages, serving a total of 23,202 individuals. The project concluded in 2023, and the CPC will now begin funding similar work in Ethiopia.
## **Building a better home**
sowing six hectares to improve cattle feed for livestock farmers. In terms of climate change adaptation, microcatchment areas called demi-lunes or half-moons were created on 119 hectares of degraded land to improve rainwater catchment and promote the growth of local plants and trees.
Despite facing significant challenges including restrictions on women participating in work and training, and prolonged programme suspensions, our livelihood programmes in **Afghanistan** provided employment and skills, improved food security and helped build economic stability for communities in three provinces in the northeast of the country. We continued to implement our programme to support the development and expansion of female-led agricultural businesses for 3,502 women across 283 businesses, including the delivery of training to both men and women on issues around gender equality and the organisation of four provincial trade fairs for women’s agribusinesses. The women participating in the
**Above:** Minara Akter received hands-on tailoring training from Concern and now makes and sells shopping bags to earn a living for her family in Koyra, Bangladesh.
Photo: Mumit M/Concern Worldwide
programme which started in 2021 have now generated substantial savings in their self-help groups and have used these to invest further in their agribusinesses, to start additional personal income-generating activities such as tailoring, or to establish additional group businesses such as a recently established women’s bakery in Kunduz Province. Many of the women are selling at the market for the first time, and incomes are reported to have increased more than tenfold since the programme commenced. Women participating in the programme report increased self-confidence, greater freedom in their daily lives and independence, reduced psychological stresses, and a more positive outlook on the future. A survey in June 2023 reported that 96% of women believe they can achieve their goals compared with 0% before the programme commenced.
Jacqueline, a 59-year-old widow, took part in the programme. She received cash transfers and gardening supplies, such as seeds. She also attended training sessions on income generation. With the support of her son, Jacqueline began selling cassava and fish. In the course of a year, she reinvested her profits with each sale and is now building a better home for herself.
“With the profit from my business, I plan to purchase a tin roof for my house,” she said. “From having nothing, I have been able to buy 16 sheets of tin, a strong door, and a bicycle. I continue to pursue my activities so that I can buy bricks and, if all goes well, by the dry season I hope to be able to finish my tin roof.”
The Graduation Programme can help entire communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty in the long-term by addressing not only an individual’s ability to generate an income, but also the institutional, social and cultural barriers that prevent people from thriving.
**Above:** 59-year-old Jacqueline Faila Mwenge used cash assistance, business training and seeds from Concern to start selling cassava and fish in her community. From the profits, she has bought metal sheets to renovate the roof of her house. Photo: Concern Worldwide
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## **Health and nutrition**
## **In 2023, our health programmes reached almost**
## **2.7 million people directly and 6.3 million indirectly.**
In many of the countries where we work, the health systems are extremely weak and communities are often unable to get the help they need to prevent suffering from undernutrition and preventable diseases. To help overcome this, we work with local and national governments to strengthen healthcare systems and improve access to good maternal and child healthcare and water and sanitation services.
## **Objectives and activities**
The goal of our health programmes is to contribute to the achievement of health and nutrition security for people living in extreme poverty.
## **Our main objectives are to:**
- Prevent undernutrition and extreme hunger
- Strengthen maternal and child health
- Strengthen health facilities
- Improve access to clean water and sanitation
## **Some examples of our achievements and**
**performance in 2023 are set out below:**
Since the rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations in **Sierra Leone** began in 2021, Concern has provided technical and logistical support to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) to help achieve a 70% global Covid-19 vaccination target, working in some of the most hard-to-reach communities. In November 2023, we concluded a year-long project called UNIVAC which supported both mobile and community health centres to target the most remote and marginalised groups in the country. As the EPI transitioned from emergency vaccinations to routine service delivery, Concern and EPI developed a hybrid approach to focus on communities at greater risk of exclusion from the Covid-19 vaccination and routine childhood immunisations. The UNIVAC project was implemented in all 16 districts of Sierra Leone using a health system strengthening approach in combination with service provision. We supported 16 mobile and 251 community health centre outreach vaccination teams to reach the most hard-to-reach and marginalised groups in the country. This strategy not only provided health benefits for households but it also had economic benefits, saving rural families the cost of travel to health centres. Between January and August 2023, 221,886 children from hard-to-reach and
marginalised communities received childhood immunisations through the programme, a 29% increase from the same period in 2022. This will reduce the potential for large scale outbreaks as well as saving the lives of children now protected from preventable disease including Rotavirus, Diphtheria and Polio.
In **South Sudan** , 7.10 million people, about 56% of the population, are experiencing high levels of food insecurity due to a combination of economic decline, conflict and insecurity, climatic shocks and low agricultural productivity. Children in particular suffer in these circumstances with an estimated 1.6 million children aged six to 59 months at risk of acute malnutrition. In 2023, Concern supported nutrition services in 39 centres across all our programme locations, reaching a total of just under 131,000 people with both preventative and curative services. Strengthening malnutrition prevention approaches is a key aim and through community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) we build community resilience by actively involving mothers and caregivers in screening and treating their own children to prevent them becoming severely malnourished. Other activities include running sessions about best feeding practices, the promotion of home gardening to diversify children’s diets at household level, and the distribution of soap to prevent common childhood illnesses, such as diarrhoea. We established 170 mother groups and 154 father groups with a membership of more than 4,000 people who actively participate in sessions. In addition, more than 80,200 people took part in individual counselling and group sessions such as cooking demonstrations and horticultural training. We also provided seeds and farm tools to encourage participants to grow a variety of vegetables to diversify their family’s diet.
Alongside these preventative measures, we provided curative services to children under five years old and pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from severe and moderate acute malnutrition. More than 45,200 people, including over 29,000 children, enrolled on feeding programmes throughout the year. Despite facing significant challenges and obstacles in our programme areas, including extensive flooding, internal conflict, displacement and household food insecurity, all of which can compromise outcomes, our feeding programme recorded a recovery rate of over 80%.
**Above:** Houre brought her two-year-old daughter Fidawssou to a Concern-supported health centre in Gao Moussa Sabon Gari village, Niger. Healthcare staff at the clinic carry out screenings for malnutrition, provide emergency therapeutic food and give advice on good sanitation and hygiene to the 3,000 families who live there. Photo: Darren Vaughan/Concern Worldwide
In 2023, our WASH programmes remained the focus of work in **Pakistan** benefiting over 670,000 extremely vulnerable people. In Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, where we work with communities still recovering from the catastrophic floods in 2022, we rehabilitated and installed over 300 hand pumps, water systems and wells at schools, health facilities and in villages to supply safe, clean water, and installed 135 solar powered systems to provide uninterrupted power for the supply of water and other uses. In terms of sanitation, we built almost 750 toilets for both individual households and institutions. In a commitment to privacy and inclusivity, we constructed separate toilets for both
men and women, with adaptations made for people living with disabilities and children. We installed 21 permanent group handwashing stations in health centres and schools with accompanying health education information positioned in visible places. To promote good hygiene practices, we provided over 40,000 hygiene kits containing items such as soap, buckets and towels to households with a further 10,000 specially customised for children. We also carried out hygiene promotion sessions with close to 39,000 individuals focusing on health risks in the aftermath of floods, handwashing at critical times and personal hygiene.
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In Cox’s Bazar in **Bangladesh** , we continue to work with the highly marginalised Rohingya refugee population and the host community, providing comprehensive nutrition services to both treat and prevent malnutrition in children under five years old and pregnant and breastfeeding women. One of our projects focuses on fostering long-term changes in the knowledge and behaviour of almost 84,000 people on how to prevent childhood malnutrition, with an emphasis on the first 1,000 days of an infant’s life (from conception to two years old). Both women and men take part in training sessions on the importance of good nutrition for infants, young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, exclusive breastfeeding, the role of fathers before, during and after pregnancy and how they can support complementary feeding practices. Over 3,200 training sessions were held with ‘lead mothers’ who in turn shared their knowledge with other women. More than 30,000 women received training and over 27,500 men also took part in sessions.
**Liberia** has long suffered from food insecurity and chronic malnutrition, so a focus of our health work in the country is around nutrition interventions in six counties. We work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health nutrition division, and in 2023, through our programme ‘Working to Improve Nutrition at Scale’, supported the training of 630 health workers on the integrated management of acute malnutrition – an important element of this was to ensure health workers were aware of the importance of prevention interventions and practices. Because micronutrient deficiencies are common with 13% of young children in Liberia lacking in Vitamin A, an essential vitamin that supports healthy immunity and eyesight, and more than half of all children under five lacking iron which can lead to anaemia, we ensured that more than 40,000 children aged six to 23 months received multiple micronutrients. We also provided a further 12,000 adolescent girls and more than 27,000 pregnant women with iron and folic acid supplements. In terms of treating children with malnutrition, throughout the year just over 4,700 children were admitted to out-patient therapeutic feeding programmes or in-patient stabilisation centres. The overall recovery rate across all the six counties was 84.6%.
**Above:** Mother-of-four Mary visits the Concern-supported Kayole Soweto health centre in Nairobi with her 11-month-old daughter Adina who is malnourished. Photo: Shaloam Strooper/Concern Worldwide
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**Far left:** Healthcare workers with two new delivery tables in the refurbished maternity ward at Bouyembé health facility in CAR. **Left:** Midwife and birth attendant mentor Joséphine Yangazi with new weighing scales for newborns in the Concernsupported Bouyembé health facility in CAR. Photos: Concern Worldwide
## **Spotlight: Central African Republic**
In 2023, Concern completed a three-year project to improve access to health and nutrition services in the Central African Republic (CAR), directly impacting 2,676 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
CAR has experienced decades of violence and instability. It is estimated that one in every five people has been displaced, and more than half the population requires humanitarian assistance. Many families face severe hunger as a result of fleeing their homes and abandoning their livelihoods to escape the fighting. An estimated 400,000 people are acutely malnourished. Children are among the most at risk, with 40% experiencing chronic malnutrition.
Additionally, a lack of investment in the country’s healthcare system has created a shortage of skilled medical and healthcare workers and safe facilities, placing the lives of many people at risk. CAR has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world and one of the lowest life expectancies at just 55 years of age.
The aim of our programme, funded by UK Aid Match, was to reduce levels of illness and mortality in rural communities in the Ombella M’Poko prefecture. This
included improving access to prenatal care for pregnant women, combatting acute malnutrition in children under five, increasing levels of breastfeeding, strengthening water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and raising awareness around vaccination.
In line with these goals, Concern provided four healthcare facilities with the necessary resources and improved infrastructure to operate a range of health and nutrition services free of charge, as well as supporting healthcare staff with additional training.
Most women in CAR give birth at home, often due to the costs associated with visiting a healthcare facility. However, by the end of the project, 74% of women who participated in the programme had their child delivered by a healthcare worker. This demonstrates the effectiveness of Concern’s work in raising parents’ awareness, providing staff with adequate training and equipping healthcare facilities with the necessary resources for proper care.
Alongside that, we worked with local communities to strengthen the capacity of 60 traditional healers and community health volunteers to screen children and
pregnant women for malnutrition and refer them to healthcare facilities for treatment. The free care and referral system supported by Concern gave parents the ability to follow the best treatment plan for their children.
Concern’s work has also contributed to the reduction of disease in the region. This was demonstrated by the measles epidemic in 2021, which did not affect project areas due to the increased rates of immunisation in children.
## **‘I see that it works and that motivates me’**
Joséphine Yangazi has been a professional midwife for many years at Bouyembé health facility in the Central African Republic. When Concern’s UK Aid Match-funded ‘Improved Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Levels for Vulnerable Rural Communities’ project began at the clinic in 2020, Joséphine received further training to help improve the quality of her advice and healthcare skills, including her knowledge of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, prevention of malnutrition and dietary diversification, and her expertise in delivering babies.
“When I advise mothers-to-be to come to the [health facility] and then I see that they actually come…and bring their children as well, that motivates me. I see that it works and that motivates me to continue working,” said Joséphine.
As part of the project, Concern helped to rehabilitate the clinic, providing delivery tables, observation beds, medicines and material for examinations. These improvements have enabled Josephine to practice in good conditions, increase the availability of healthcare and contribute to encouraging pregnant women, who come for routine visits, to consider giving birth at the health facility rather than at home. Childbearing women, breastfeeding mothers and young children can also access medicines free of charge.
“The project has brought about a lot of changes because some mothers could not afford to get treatment for themselves or their children,” said Josephine. “Then, with my advice, these women came here, where they get free care. For pregnant or breastfeeding women, there are specific medicines that Concern brings and it is free. They are very happy, and that changed my life”.
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## **Education** ee
## **In 2023, our education programmes impacted 0.2 million people directly and almost 0.9 million people indirectly.**
We believe that all children have the right to an education and that it provides one of the best routes out of poverty. We integrate our education programmes into both our development and emergency work to give children living in extreme poverty more opportunities in life and support their overall wellbeing.
## **Our main objectives are to:**
- Increase school access
- Improve student and teacher safety and wellbeing
- Improve quality learning outcomes
- Provide access to education for children in emergencies
## **Some examples of our achievements and performance in 2023 are set out below:**
In the Amhara region of northern **Ethiopia** , where conflict has impacted educational opportunities for children, our Play Matters project ensured that almost 17,000 children could go to school in a safe environment. In addition to repairing schools and classrooms damaged during the conflict, we also kitted them out with items such as blackboards, chalk, tables and chairs and provided recreational materials and teaching kits. The economic impact of the conflict on the community means that parents are often unable to afford school materials such as exercise books, pens and pencils so these were distributed to over 10,500 children and we ran a school feeding programme which helped boost children’s ability to concentrate. The project addressed the problem of absenteeism or dropping out of school altogether because of health issues, by constructing and repairing water points so children had access to safe drinking water, building toilets and by promoting good hygiene practices such as handwashing. Another key aspect of the project was to build the capacity of teachers to help them become more effective. In particular, we provided training on the ‘learning through play’ approach, which aims to engage children more in their lessons and enhances their social, emotional and physical development. All these activities jointly helped to increase the enrolment and retention rates of children in our target schools by 10% compared with the previous academic year.
The teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects is a requirement in **Kenya** under the government’s Competency Based
Curriculum (CBC) but many schools struggle to do so with limited resources. Teachers in the four junior secondary schools we support in Marsabit County in the north of the country had been forced to overlook science practical lessons due to a lack of laboratories. To fill this gap, we procured and distributed four mobile school laboratories which allowed almost 500 students to take part in their first practical lessons. The mobile science kits were sourced from the School Equipment Production Unit (SEPU), a government agency mandated to develop standardised school equipment which guarantees the quality and durability of the equipment. The programme supported officials from SEPU to train teachers on the handling, operations and
**Left:** 15-year-old Meisha is part of the Play Matters programme in Ethiopia which helps students affected by conflict to get back to school and provides training on child protection awareness. Photo: Eugene Ikua/Concern Worldwide
people directly in 2023, is to enable out-of-school children living in these settlements to rejoin formal school. We do this in a number of ways. Our sixmonthly accelerated learning programme for out-ofschool 8-13 year olds provides them with the basic literacy and numeracy skills to allow them to join classes, and we run a similar programme for adolescents aged 14-17 years old. Throughout the year, more than 1,500 children took part in these programmes. A further 1,373 students at the risk of dropping out of school were helped with three months 4 _ of homework support. Assistance is also given to the , parents and guardians of the children enrolled in the " ss programmes in the form of caregiver sessions, which were attended by more than 1,400 people. Another important aspect of our work is the rehabilitation of damaged schools, including the provision of safe water and sanitation and supplying educational materials.
**Niger** continues to be affected by a combination of major protracted and recurrent humanitarian crises including those driven by conflict and political unrest. Our education programmes in Tahoua, Tillabéry and Diffa regions are aimed at children, adolescents and teachers who are vulnerable and living in conflict zones. Last year, we reached almost 95,000 people in 299 formal and 118 non-formal primary schools. These projects improved access to inclusive, quality education and ensured the wellbeing of children through a combined approach of building and improving schools and classrooms, providing educational kits, training teachers in inclusive teaching methods to promote a positive learning environment and mobilising the community to enrol and keep pupils in school. In Tillabéry and Tahoua where many schools have closed due to regional insecurity, we tackled the challenge of reaching out-of-school children by piloting and then scaling-up an informal learning approach through interactive audio lessons. We worked with local partners and the Ministry of Education to record French and mathematics audio lessons, and to establish learning clubs with radios and educational materials. Children gathered to listen to the lessons and complete schoolwork under the supervision of a facilitator from the community. 40 audio clubs are now established for the 2023-2024 school year, providing access to education to approximately 900 children living in villages where schools have closed and who otherwise would have no access to education.
maintenance of the equipment and provided information to the schools on how they can replenish the kits to ensure the sustainability of the project. To celebrate the introduction of the mobile laboratories, we organised a science fair where students from the four schools and another seven neighbouring schools created, developed and displayed innovative STEM projects – the winning innovation came from one of our project schools.
In north-east **Syria** , we work with people displaced by the protracted conflict and who are living in informal settlements. The disruption to their lives has meant that children have missed years of education and the main focus of our programme, which reached 23,000
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## **Integrated Programmes**
**Above:** A female pupil at a school in northern Syria. Concern supported the repair and construction of new classrooms and toilet blocks in the school. Photo: Jennifer Nolan/Concern Worldwide ee
## **In 2023, we reached more than 1.1 million people directly though our integrated programmes and almost 1.2 million indirectly.**
There are multiple inter-related reasons that keep people locked in extreme poverty. For that reason, many of our programmes are integrated, bringing together, for example, agriculture and livelihoods with other sectors like water, health and education to tackle the many needs of a community in a coordinated way.
## **Objectives and activities**
The goal of our integrated programmes is to improve the lives of people living in extreme poverty by addressing their needs in a holistic way, tackling the inter-related barriers that impede development.
The objective of the programme is to deliver sustained improvements in the overall living conditions of the targeted communities.
## **Some examples of our achievements and performance in 2023 are set out below:**
In common with other countries in East Africa, in 2023, **Kenya** experienced its worst drought in 40 years. It came on the back of five consecutive failed rainfall seasons, with the sixth season being below average, leading to a significant deterioration in food and nutrition security. Marsabit, Turkana, and Samburu counties were among the worst-affected areas – over 95% of surface water dried up, leaving severely limited pasture and water for both domestic and productive purposes. For the pastoralist communities who depend on livestock as their primary source of food and income, the situation was catastrophic. To prevent the loss of lives and livelihoods, reduce vulnerability and improve the way communities cope with the impact of the drought, our integrated programme brought together food assistance, nutrition, WASH and agricultural programmes, reaching more than 270,000 people. Activities included providing cash assistance which 99% of the target households used to address their food needs. We ensured that pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children under five were able to receive good quality nutrition services through outreach services and in health facilities, and access to clean water was provided through the rehabilitation of water points. Animal health issues were tackled by providing emergency feed for livestock and supporting treatment and vaccinations.
Over the past 18 months, there has been a significant deterioration in the security situation in the
**Democratic Republic of Congo** (DRC) leading to over 2.8 million people being forced from their homes. This brought the total number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the country up to 6.3 million. A large majority of IDPs either stay with host families or settle in informal sites close to established residences, placing significant additional pressure on minimal resources. Concern has been working with displaced people and host communities in Tanganyika and North Kivu provinces to support their recovery from crisis through an integrated programme which aimed to bridge the gap between emergency response and community resilience, while mitigating the impact of displacement. The three-year programme ended in July 2023 during which time it enabled the most vulnerable families to rebuild their livelihoods and achieve self-sufficiency with programme participants reporting a significant increase in income. This was achieved by strengthening the resilience of conflict-affected communities through the provision of livelihoods, water, sanitation, gender equality, protection and education projects. We worked in collaboration with a number of organisations including community protection networks, women’s associations, farmers’ organisations, youth associations, and government technical services to directly reach over 136,600 people. A final evaluation of the programme showed 96% of households were actively practising their new livelihoods with almost three quarters able to meet most of their basic needs.
**Bangladesh** is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, driving already at-risk communities further into poverty. In Khulna district in the southwest coastal area of Bangladesh, an area highly prone to flooding, we work to build the resilience and income of the poorest households through a combination of projects to improve livelihoods while strengthening the capacity of the community and local government to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate-related disasters. Almost 7,500 people have directly benefitted from the programme which aimed to diversify the income sources of poor households in targeted areas by providing vocational and skills training and promoting climate-smart agriculture as a sustainable livelihood option. Over 2,600 households took part in training on climate-smart agriculture, livestock and aquaculture, and were supported with follow-up cash grants which they used to start their farming businesses. A further 276 project participants received technical and skills training, including in handicrafts and through apprenticeships and are now either working for others or self-employed. The positive impact of these
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interventions was reflected in the annual monitoring results for 2023, which showed that average monthly household income rose from $49 to $72, a 47% increase in the average monthly household income since the beginning of the programme. In terms of building resilience and being prepared for disasters, the development of rainwater harvesting systems significantly improved access to safe drinking water for over 5,100 people even in the dry season, as well as helping to reduce the incidences of waterborne disease. A further benefit was the reduction in time that people needed to spend collecting water which allowed them to allocate more time to work and boost their income.
Our resilience programme in **Somalia** aims to both address the humanitarian needs and build the resilience of vulnerable communities through an integrated approach, encompassing activities related to food security, livelihoods, WASH, health and nutrition. During 2023, we reached almost 34,000 people directly and over 87,000 indirectly, significantly improving the lives of people who have been badly impacted by prolonged drought. Despite the challenges hampering the implementation of resilience-building activities during an emergency, the programme managed to conduct interventions intended to provide long-term sustainable outcomes in the affected communities. For example, through a cash-for-work programme in the Gedo region of the country, the community repaired communal assets that were both protective and productive, shielding them from the ongoing effects of climate change and providing a cash injection to stimulate the local economy. These activities focused on rangeland management and soil regeneration, and the restoration of light infrastructure damaged by recurrent flash floods. They allowed impacted populations to work locally while waiting for the next agricultural season, rather than them becoming displaced by having to move away to find a way of supporting themselves. This project reached almost 3,400 participants in the worst-affected communities.
The **Central African Republic** (CAR) remains one of the most fragile countries in the world. In 2023, 3.4 million people – 55% of the population – needed humanitarian assistance and protection. The country faces a food security and nutrition crisis. The Global Hunger Index ranked CAR 125 out of 125, with indicators such as child mortality, undernourishment rate and child stunting being among the highest in the world. Concern works in two areas and three prefectures – the Southwest (Ombella M’Poko prefecture) and the
Southeast (Ouaka and Basse-Kotto prefectures) to build community resilience through integrated approaches. Our programmes are designed to address the multiple needs of communities and tackle several drivers of poverty at the same time. In 2023, we reached 45,325 people with integrated livelihoods, health and nutrition, WASH, conflict resolution and gender equality activities, helping to increase their resilience to shocks and stresses. Our food security and livelihood programmes consider both the immediate needs and the long-term
food security of communities. Activities included distributing nearly 700 metric tons of food, assisting more than 52,000 extremely vulnerable people in urgent need. To support agricultural recovery, we provided seeds and farming tool kits to more than 4,400 households together with training on market garden production methods.
**Above:** Women and girls draw water from a well in Kolloma village, Tahoua, Niger, which was rehabilitated by Concern and serves around 900 families. We also support the local health clinic and provide advice on nutritional health. Photo: Darren Vaughan/Concern Worldwide
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## **How we work**
Concern (UK) does not implement programmes overseas but supports Concern Worldwide and its partners to do so. We monitor both the impact of our work and the standards to which we require Concern Worldwide to adhere.
## **Working with partners and communities**
Concern cannot achieve its mission to eliminate extreme poverty in isolation. We believe we can achieve greater impact working together with other organisations and institutions.
In 2023, we increased our efforts to support and strengthen the ability of national non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners to respond to the need of their communities through a number of strategic initiatives. We developed a position paper on the organisational approach to localisation, which outlined key priorities to ensure more local leadership within our work. These included a commitment to growing the number of local partners we work with and strengthening systems through collaboration with local authorities and the private sector. We also committed to increasing the quantity and quality of funding to local civil society organisations, while ensuring adequate resources for capacity strengthening support and creating opportunities for learning from local actors. Concern is also committed to amplifying the voice, visibility and influence of local actors and working towards ensuring the local community has a greater role in the design of programmes and decisionmaking processes.
In line with our drive towards localisation, we facilitated a global workshop on partnership in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together staff from 20 country programmes and support offices with the aim of creating a shared understanding and approach to equitable partnership across Concern.
## **Partnership with local civil society**
As well as implementing programmes together with our national NGO partners, we invested in capacity strengthening initiatives supporting their organisational and technical capacity to achieve greater and more sustainable impacts at a local level. In Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, local partners took part in training on gender transformative approaches, and work to build their capacity on the issue of safeguarding and how to manage complaints took place. We provided strategic support to a number of partners in our country programmes. In Niger for
example, Concern is assisting a local partner to gain certification for compliance with the Core Humanitarian Standards (a series of commitments that organisations working in crises should adhere to). We also worked with local NGO partners in Somalia on emergency preparedness activities and disaster risk reduction.
Strengthening local systems is one of our core approaches in how we work and throughout the year, we continued working with local authorities. We coordinated and worked in close collaboration with relevant government institutions from national through to local levels, strengthening our partnerships by holding consultative workshops at various levels as well as through joint monitoring and evaluation of programmes. In Niger, we continue to coordinate our work with various government bodies, including the Ministries of Education and Health, the regional Directorates for Education, Protection, Agriculture, and Livestock, as well as the regional Humanitarian and Disaster Preparedness Office. At a local level, we work regularly with municipalities and local technical services. Our engagement with these bodies varies depending on the activities, ranging from information sharing, to providing technical and financial support, to implementing training activities. In Liberia, Concern worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to develop training modules to help strengthen systems in the agricultural sector.
## **Partnerships for research and learning**
Concern continued to develop research and learning partnerships with universities, institutions and think tanks in 2023. New research partnerships developed by Concern during the year included a collaboration between University College Dublin, University of Vermont, Consilient Research in Somalia and Gwoup Konbit in Haiti to examine social capital in urban fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Concern also partners with national government departments on research that improves systems and service provision. In Sierra Leone, Concern worked with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and the International Growth Centre in Oxford University on a novel research project examining the effectiveness of a last-mile vaccine delivery programme in improving vaccine coverage in remote communities. Under a localisation research project ‘Beyond Barriers’, funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Concern worked with local researchers in Malawi, Bangladesh, DRC, Somalia and north-west Syria.
## **International networks and partnerships**
As a founding member of Alliance2015, a network of seven European NGOs with a presence in 90 countries, we continue to work closely with members at both programme and policy levels.
We leverage our global experience and focus on extreme poverty to achieve greater change by working with others. For example, we have representation at a global level on the Operations, Policy and Advocacy Group of the IASC (Inter-Agency Standing Committee, the highest-level humanitarian coordination platform of the UN System), ensuring coordination at global and local levels. We are an active member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), the Start Network (90 non-governmental organisations across five continents delivering humanitarian action) as well as the International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (ICAN), the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, the Climate Action Network (CAN UK), and the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance. We are active in the Coalition of Aid
**Above:** Marie Mimose Jean is one of Concern’s monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning officers in Haiti. Photo: Kieran McConville/Concern Worldwide
and Development Agencies in Northern Ireland (CADA) and work with others through Dóchas and Bond (networks for organisations working in international development in Ireland and the UK).
We provide leadership and governance positions in VOICE (European humanitarian NGOs’ network), the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, the Emergency Nutrition Network and at ICVA (a global humanitarian network based in Geneva).
In 2023, Concern on-granted €27.1 million to 154 partners (an increase from €26.2 million to 120 partners in 2022). This represented 13% of our total direct charitable global expenditure for 2023. Of this amount, €25.4 million related to grants provided to 126 local and national civil society partners across 23 countries.
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## **How we measure success and learn from our programmes**
Improving the quality of our programmes through evidence-based learning and utilisation is a core priority for Concern. We apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation standards to our work, which includes using high-quality data. This enables us to make timely adaptations to our programmes, ultimately enhancing their positive impact on those living in extreme poverty. A team of global advisors assist country teams with upto-date guidance on best practice, while our Programme Cycle Management System (PCMS) supports Concern’s efforts to measure programme impact and document learning.
Concern’s bespoke Digital Data Gathering (DDG) system supports the systematic collection of key programme data converted into detailed dashboards, allowing for easier visualisation of results and facilitating quicker and more intuitive use of data for decision-making and learning. During 2023, we built 220 new surveys, updated 133 existing surveys and developed 57 new country dashboards. This means that for programmes, data outputs that matched the country team’s reporting templates were created, minimising errors, reducing time spent creating reports and ultimately increasing the effectiveness of programmes.
In 2023, we conducted 18 evaluations of Concern’s programmes. Our research programme built on a number of strategic partnerships including TIME (Trinity Impact Evaluation Unit) in Trinity College Dublin to examine the impact of the Graduation Programme in Malawi and the International Growth Centre (IGC) in the University of Oxford to look at the effectiveness of last-mile vaccine delivery in Sierra Leone. New research partnerships were established with University College Dublin (UCD) to investigate social capital in urban fragile and conflict-affected contexts in Haiti and Somalia; Tufts University to study the prevention of child wasting in the Mandera Triangle (a geographical region where the countries of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia meet); and the World Vegetable Centre to look at the role of home vegetable gardens in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on the diet and income of Rohingya refugees and host communities.
**Above:** Kennith Wambugu, Concern Kenya’s Health and Nutrition Manager, inspects nutritional food supplies at a dispensary in Marsabit county. Photo: Gavin Douglas/Concern Worldwide
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Sharing our research findings and learning with a wider audience is important to us and throughout the year we continued to add to the Knowledge Hub on the Concern website, our key platform for sharing Concern’s learning, guidance and thought leadership. One of our latest featured approaches is the Safe Learning Model in Sierra Leone, an internationally recognised education model and recent recipient of a research impact award from UCD.
Our Knowledge Matters magazine showcased work on some of our emergency responses in Ukraine, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, and highlighted the wide range of approaches adopted by Concern in promoting climate resilience globally.
Some key recommendations emerging from metaevaluations and reviews during 2023 include the need to manage cross-cutting issues more realistically and coherently (a cross-cutting issues initiative is taking this forward); keeping a focus on resilience to shocks and stresses, including climate change; improving our systems strengthening and localisation work; and reviewing and substantially reframing our work on climate change adaptation and resilience.
## **Accountability**
Concern is determined to be fully accountable to the communities with whom we work in relation to the quality and impact of all that we do. We committed at an early stage to the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) which outlines what good humanitarian action looks like for communities and people affected by crisis, and the staff and organisations involved in delivering a response. Its purpose is to help organisations design, implement, assess, improve and recognise quality and accountability in assistance programmes. The CHS includes:
- Nine commitments to communities and people affected by crisis
- Key actions to be undertaken in order to fulfil the commitments
- Organisational responsibilities to support consistent and systematic implementation throughout the organisation
It is a voluntary and measurable standard that resulted from a global consultation process.
In 2017, Concern was the first Irish agency to gain certification regarding compliance with the CHS, having first had its processes, procedures and approaches
independently audited by the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI) – the supervisory/awarding body. Since then, we have undergone annual audits to follow up on our progress and in 2021/22 Concern underwent a full Recertification Audit. The auditors found Concern to continue to be compliant with the Core Humanitarian Standards and we were recertified until 2024.
A renewal audit will take place in 2024, through which we will continue to demonstrate our commitment to the communities we serve and to implementing programmes of the highest quality
## **Safeguarding**
2023 saw the launch of Concern’s first Safeguarding Week, during which we celebrated progress and contributions made throughout the year. Videos and emails were sent to all staff recognising the good work of our Designated Safeguarding Focal Points (DSFPs – trained staff members responsible for promoting safeguarding and how to report issues) and offering links to guides, training and resources. These included new communication materials on safeguarding for country offices and the development tools to assess safeguarding capacity and develop country-level action plans.
The annual safeguarding refresher training took place as part of our commitment to capacity strengthening. DSFPs continued to receive training preparing them for their responsibilities, especially in the promotion of safeguarding awareness and sensitivity among colleagues. The first round of Safeguarding Leadership and Culture Training for Country Management Teams was also piloted, with a view to it becoming a key component of driving forward safeguarding as part of Concern’s safe culture.
Case management has been bolstered by the launch of the Safeguarding Case Management Procedure. Built upon shared learning from previous years of experience of managing safeguarding cases, the procedure ensures a collaborative and robust approach that maintains our commitment to a person-centred approach.
During 2023, Concern’s global safeguarding investigations team managed a caseload of 26 referrals across the organisation worldwide (17 new cases and nine cases carried forward from 2022). All of these cases related to Concern as opposed to Concern’s partner organisations.
Eight of the cases remained open at year-end. The investigations into the other eighteen cases were completed. All of these cases fell within Concern’s definitions of sexual exploitation, harassment or abuse, which are as follows:
- Sexual exploitation – any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, to pressure or demand others to provide sexual favours.
- Sexual harassment – any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
- Sexual abuse – the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force, coercion or under unequal conditions.
**Type of No. of No. of Other* Total case complaints complaints substantiated unsubstantiated or unfounded** Sexual exploitation 1 1 0 2 Sexual harassment 3 5 3 11 Sexual abuse 2 3 0 5 **Sub total 6 9 3 18** Cases ongoing at 31/12/2023 8 **Total 26**
*Not taken forward to investigation at the request of the person who
experienced the incident.
Substantiated complaints resulted in disciplinary action ranging from written warning to dismissal. Where appropriate, cases were also referred to the local authorities.
As part of our engagement with the wider efforts being taken to address safeguarding by the international humanitarian community, we are a signatory to:
- The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief
- The Statement of Commitment on Eliminating Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN and Non-UN Personnel
- The InterAction CEO Pledge on Preventing Sexual Abuse, Exploitation, and Harassment by and of NGO Staff
- The Dóchas Safeguarding Code
- The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS)
In Concern (UK), regular safeguarding training and updates are provided to staff, trustees and volunteers. Safeguarding focal points are appointed at each location, in retail and on the board. Management of safeguarding is regularly reviewed.
**39**
Annual Report and Accounts 2023
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38 Concern Worldwide (UK)
ee
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## **Income and expenditure**
## **Income**
Income from fundraising activities*: **£13.2m (53.0%)**
Grants from governments and co-funders: **£11.6m (46.6%)**
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Other income
_ <<
£0.1m (0.4%)
Total income
£24.9m
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**Expenditure** Overseas programmes: **£23.1m (81.9%)**
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Fundraising:
£4.0m (14.2%)
Policy, advocacy and campaigning:
£1.0m (3.5%)
Governance:
£0.1m (0.4%)
Total expenditure
£28.2m
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**Left:** Asma Begum (37) grows her own vegetables after receiving training and seeds from Concern. She is a lead farmer and now passes on her skills and knowledge to 400 families in her community in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. . Photo: Gavin Douglas/Concern Worldwide
*Fundraising income is the total of income from Donations and Legacies (note 2a) and Retail Income (note 2c).
> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **41**
## **Legal and administrative information**
**Trustees of the charity – Concern (UK)** The following were members of the Board of Trustees (and also Directors of Concern (UK) for company law purposes) at the date on which the financial statements were approved:
**Victoria Akinboro** (Chair of Audit and Finance Committee and Honorary Treasurer)
**John Dunford Linda Horgan Roisin McEvoy George Milne** (Chair of Fundraising Committee) **David Ritchie* Hassan Roba Bernadette Sexton*** (Chair) **Paddy Sloan Nicola Stones**
*Also a member of the Board of Concern Worldwide
## **Sub-committees of the Board**
**Audit and Finance Committee Victoria Akinboro** (Chair and Honorary Treasurer) **Roisin McEvoy Bernadette Sexton**
**Fundraising Committee Dylan Cannon** (Advisor position)
**John Dunford George Milne** (Chair) **Paddy Sloan Nicola Stones**
**Willeke van Rijn** (Advisor position)
**Governance and Nominations Committee Victoria Akinboro** (Chair of Audit and Finance Committee)
**George Milne** (Chair of Fundraising Committee) **Bernadette Sexton** (Chair) **Nicola Stones**
## **Company Secretary**
**Stephen O’Connor**
## **Registered office**
The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London, SE11 5RR
**Trustees of the charity – Concern Worldwide (Northern Ireland)**
The following were members of the Board of Trustees (and also Directors of Concern Worldwide (Northern Ireland) for company law purposes) at the date on which the Concern Worldwide (Northern Ireland) financial statements were approved
## **Paul Artherton**
**Tony McCusker** (Chair) **Marcella Monaghan Wesley Moody Ruairi Murray Anne O’Dwyer**
## **Company Secretary**
**Alison Bartholomew**
## **Registered office**
47 Frederick Street, Belfast, BT1 2LW
## **Executive Team of Concern (UK)**
**Peter Anderson** – Northern Ireland Director (resigned April 2024)
**Helen Calder** – Interim Director of Fundraising (from April 2024)
**Danny Harvey** – Executive Director (to March 2024), then Co-Executive Director
**AKM Musha** – Director of Advocacy and Institutional Relationships (maternity leave cover)
**Anushree Rao** – Director of Advocacy and Institutional Relationships (maternity leave from April 2023 to April 2024)
**Peter Reynolds** – Director of Fundraising (to March 2024), then Interim Executive Director (from April 2024) **Jackie Trainor** – Northern Ireland Director (from April 2024)
**Deborah Underdown** – Director of Communications **Basia Wosiek** – Director of Finance and Operations
## **Auditor**
**KPMG** , Chartered Accountants, 1 Stokes Place, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
## **Bankers**
**Barclays Bank plc** , 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP **Bank of Ireland** , Belfast City Branch, Belfast, BT1 2BA **The Royal Bank of Scotland** , Glasgow City Branch, 10 Gordon Street, Glasgow, G1 3PL
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Concern Kenya’s Senior Livelihoods Officer Charles Eris
attends COP28 in Dubai.
Photo: Concern Worldwide
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## **Solicitor**
**Withers LLP** , 16 Old Bailey, London, EC2M 7E
Shabana Khatun tends to her vegetable garden in preparation for an early winter harvest of vegetables in Koyra, Bangladesh. Photo: Mumit M/Concern Worldwide
**44 Concern Worldwide (UK)**
> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **45**
## **Trustees’ Report**
## **(Incorporating a Strategic Report and Directors’ Report)**
The trustees (who are also Directors of Concern Worldwide (UK) ‘Concern (UK)’ for company law purposes) have pleasure in submitting their annual report and audited financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 December 2023.
## **1. Structure, governance and management**
## **1.1 Legal status**
Concern Worldwide (UK) (‘Concern (UK)’) is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England, not having a share capital, incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 (registered number 04323646). The company is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity Number 1092236) and with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (Charity Number SC038107).
## **1.2 Organisation and related organisations**
Concern Worldwide (Northern Ireland) (‘Concern (NI)’) is a company limited by guarantee registered in Northern Ireland (company number NI019332). The company is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (Charity Number 108592). Concern (UK) is the sole member of Concern (NI). Concern (UK) provides oversight, administrative and other services to Concern (NI) to support its retail activities.
## **1.3 Board of trustees**
As indicated above, Concern (UK) is a limited company and all of the trustees are also full Directors of Concern (UK) for company law purposes.
Trustees, all of whom are non-executive, are drawn from diverse backgrounds in business and professional life and bring a broad range of experience and skills to board deliberations. The trustees are appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Association for Concern (UK). All new trustees receive a full induction so that they can familiarise themselves with their statutory responsibilities, their role as board members, the governance framework within Concern (UK), Concern (UK)’s work and the risk environment. Ongoing training is arranged as and when a need is identified.
There are clear distinctions between the role of the board and the executive management team to which day-to-day management is delegated. The principle that ‘management proposes,’ ‘board decides,’ ‘management implements,’ ‘board monitors,’ forms the basis of the board and executive management team interaction. Matters such as policy, strategic planning and budgets are prepared by the executive management team for consideration and approval by the trustees. The members of the board cannot, under the governance regulations of the charity, receive remuneration for services to Concern (UK) and may only be reimbursed for incidental expenses claimed.
The board meets at least four times a year. It has appointed an Audit and Finance Committee, which is made up of the Honorary Treasurer and other members who are generally knowledgeable in financial and auditing matters. The Audit and Finance Committee operates under specific terms of reference, which include responsibility for the monitoring of the organisation’s finances, financial systems and policies, and the review of internal controls including the audit, risk and compliance management systems. The Fundraising Committee is chaired by a trustee with specialised fundraising experience. This committee operates under specific terms of reference which includes responsibility for fundraising strategy and oversight, fundraising standards and reputation, fundraising policy and openness and accountability. The chair of the board is an ex-officio member of both committees. The Governance and Nominations Committee operates under specific terms of reference, which include responsibility for ensuring the good governance and effectiveness of the board and its trustees. The chair of the board is also the chair of this committee.
Five new trustees were appointed to the board in 2023. Succession planning and a skills audit guided the search and recruitment for new trustees. The appointments strengthen organisational links with supporters in Northern Ireland and with our programme countries.
There were four board meetings during 2023 and an away day.
Board attendance was as follows:
## **Name of trustee Number of meetings e.g. 3/4**
Victoria Akinboro 4 of 4 Diane Chilangwa Farmer (stepped down April 2024) 4 of 4 Mark Devlin (appointed May 2023, stepped down April 2024) 3 of 3 John Dunford 4 of 4 Linda Horgan 3 of 4 Roisin McEvoy (appointed September 2023) 1 of 1 George Milne 4 of 4 David Ritchie (appointed September 2023) 2 of 2 Hassan Robba (appointed September 2023) 1 of 1 Bernadette Sexton 4 of 4 Paddy Sloan (appointed September 2023) 1 of 1 Nicola Stones 1 of 4 Donald Workman (stepped down February 2023) 1 of 1
## **1.4 Charity Governance Code**
The board adopted the Charity Governance Code for larger charities in 2020 and is committed to embracing best practice in all areas of governance, including guidance from the Charity Commission and sector. The board reviews its performance regularly against the code and conducted an external review of board effectiveness in 2021 against the revised Charity Governance Code. The next external review is due in 2024.
The Governance and Nominations Committee (GNC) oversees the governance and effectiveness of the board and its trustees, ensuring that the board is consistent with Concern’s values, complies with Concern (UK)’s legal and regulatory obligations and reflects best practice. This committee is responsible for putting in place processes to ensure board effectiveness.
In 2023, a working group of the GNC conducted an internal review of compliance with the Charity Governance Code and the implementation of the recommendations from the 2021 external board effectiveness review. The review found that broadly all the recommendations had been followed up and recommended some small improvements in practice around the appraisals of the Chair, trustees and the Executive Director.
Under Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), the external review recognised the need to strengthen board membership in terms of diversity, particularly regarding lived experience in those countries and regions where Concern programmes are most active. Guided by an EDI Governance Action Plan, the board has been working on succession planning and, in 2023, new trustees were appointed from Kenya, and from Northern Ireland, where many of Concern’s supporters
are based. Four trustees also took part in a training workshop on anti-oppression, while all trustees have had access to Concern’s online training modules on EDI, in line with the board commitment to continued learning in this area. The EDI Governance Action Plan and progress on targets and actions are reviewed regularly by the GNC.
## **1.5 Fundraising compliance**
We comply with all relevant laws and regulations including the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation 2003. We also comply with the regulatory standards for fundraising, including guidance published by the Charity Commission. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and are committed to the Fundraising Promise, compliance with the Fundraising Preference Service and adherence to the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice. We are not aware of any instances of noncompliance with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice in 2023. Concern (UK) is also an organisational member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, the Charity Retail Association, and the Charity Retail Safeguarding Scheme.
Support from the UK public is vital in making our work possible and we are committed to being fully accountable to our donors for the way we fundraise and how we make use of their donations. Our fundraising programme includes postal appeals, email appeals, fundraising events, advertising on TV and digital channels, recruiting new monthly donors through faceto-face fundraising in public places and door to door, applying for funding from charitable trusts and by the sale of donated goods through our shops. Most of these activities are carried out by our internal staff team. We are also fortunate to be supported by a number of local volunteer groups that fundraise on our behalf and by more than 100 volunteers who work in our shops.
In 2023, we also engaged five professional fundraising service providers to attract new donors on our behalf or to ask our existing supporters for further support. These service providers carried out a range of activities, including signing up new supporters to payroll giving, recruiting new regular givers door to door, and telephoning donors to request further support. We have written contracts with each of these service providers which set out the standards of behaviour that we expect when they fundraise on our behalf. These contracts include an obligation to comply with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice, so that we protect our supporters and the reputation of our charity.
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> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **47**
We ensure compliance with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice and our own fundraising policies among our staff, volunteers and professional fundraising service providers in a number of ways. All new fundraising staff are required to review our fundraising policies, such as our Vulnerable Donors Policy, and sections of the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice relevant to their role, as part of their induction. This requirement is included in their probationary objectives and their line manager supports them to ensure they fully understand their obligations and responsibilities. All new members of our face-to-face fundraising staff team receive full training before they interact with the public and regular refresher training. We monitor the activities of our professional fundraising service providers in a number of ways to ensure best practice is maintained and our reputation is protected. This includes review meetings throughout the year, inputting into and taking part in their training, shadowing our door-to-door fundraisers and listening to recordings of calls made by our telemarketing agencies. We also provide training to all of our shop volunteers on the relevant aspects of the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice and our Vulnerable Donors Policy, and as members of the Charity Retail Association, our shop volunteers complete online Charity Retail Safeguarding Scheme training.
We share our Vulnerable Donors Policy on our website and provide training on how to recognise vulnerable donors to members of staff who are in regular contact with the public. Whenever a fundraiser suspects that a person may be vulnerable, they are required to end the engagement politely and sensitively. We have also signed up to the Fundraising Preference Service to enable individuals to opt out of receiving fundraising communications from us. We actioned 10 requests from this service in 2023.
Our website outlines our complaints policy for the public and clearly explains how an individual can complain. We have a formal complaints procedure, and all fundraising-related complaints are monitored by our Supporter Care Management Group, which includes three members of our Senior Management Team (SMT). Our board of trustees’ Fundraising Committee receives a report on fundraising complaints every six months and a report on all complaints received is considered by the board annually.
In 2023, we received a total of 23 complaints about our fundraising and supporter care. We are pleased that this represented a decrease of eight from 2022 and a decrease of five from 2021. The highest number of complaints (nine) received in 2023 were about our agency door-to-door fundraising activities, including complaints about the behaviour of some of the
fundraisers. We take these complaints very seriously and addressed them immediately, liaising closely with our professional fundraising provider and responding to the complainants as soon as possible. In one case, where a fundraising team generated a relatively small, but nonetheless unacceptable number of complaints over a short period of time, we permanently removed that team from our campaign. The second highest volume of complaints were about our street fundraising teams (six complaints). These were similar to the doorto-door complaints, including supporters saying that they had felt under pressure to sign up or disliked the fundraising method. We addressed these complaints immediately, liaising closely with our Direct Dialogue team and responding to the complainants as soon as possible. We responded to and resolved all complaints in line with our complaints policy.
## **Complaints by category 2021-2023**
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23
20 2023
18
2022
11 2021
5 5
Admin Fundraising
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## **Categories under admin include:**
general complaints, such as not receiving a receipt or a direct debit cancellation not being actioned.
## **Fundraising complaints include:**
complaints about fundraising methods, such as faceto-face or content and messaging in appeals.
## **1.6 Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)**
After a review by an external consultant that involved focus groups and surveys with staff, our EDI Action Plan (initially adopted in 2021) was updated. The plan brings together three key areas of focus that are important to our charity:
- Providing a safe, inclusive and equitable workspace for those that help to deliver our mission
- Reducing inequity and exclusion across our work
- Fostering an organisation-wide culture that supports and facilitates our people and stakeholders to play an individual and collective role
The revised plan is framed by four high-level outcomes:
- Outcome 1: Strengthening the evidence that underpins our EDI activity
- Outcome 2: Our workforce is informed and engaged in our EDI activity
- Outcome 3: Increasing our ethnic diversity
- Outcome 4: Creating an organisational culture of learning and inclusion
Each outcome is supported by three or four objectives, associated actions and relevant performance measures.
During the year, all UK staff were part of a process to continue the conversation on anti-racism and antioppression. Quarterly sessions explored selfawareness, organisational culture, engagement and belonging, and enabled reflection on personal and organisational changes which need to be made.
Three new online training modules on equality, the promotion of EDI in the workplace and our anti-racism communications guidelines became compulsory for all staff as part of the induction programme in 2023.
Trustees continue to progress on their governance of the EDI Action Plan and review EDI at every Governance and Nominations Committee meeting.
## **2. Identity, vision and mission**
## **Our identity – who we are**
Concern (UK) is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
## **Our vision for change**
A world where no one lives in poverty, fear or oppression; where all have access to a decent standard of living and the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy and creative life; a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
## **Our mission – what we do**
Our mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives which last and spread without ongoing external support.
##
We have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on reporting on public benefit as we prepared this Annual Report. Concern (UK) works for the public benefit through its humanitarian and development
work and through advocating for the rights of the very poorest people, specifically in the areas of hunger, resilience, emergencies and aid effectiveness. In contributing all surplus funds raised to Concern Worldwide, Concern (UK) fulfils its charitable duties through a focus on the following core organisational programmes:
**Livelihoods** – to assist poor households to achieve adequate and sustainable access to, and control of, resources so as to achieve their livelihood rights without undermining their natural resource base.
**Health** – to contribute to the achievement of health and nutrition security of the poor within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
**Basic education** – to strengthen formal education provision among the poorer sections of society by addressing the obstacles that hinder access to, and successful completion of, formal primary education.
**Emergency response and preparedness** – to respond to emergencies in a timely manner appropriate to the context and improve the resilience of the communities to ensure that they are better prepared for disasters, reducing the severity of impact and allowing communities to recover faster.
**Integrated programmes** – to improve the lives of the extremely poor by addressing their needs in a holistic way that focuses on the inter-related barriers to their development.
Concern is committed to the participation of extremely poor people in decision-making and is morally accountable to its beneficiaries. To that end, the organisation has adopted and has been independently certified as adhering to the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) which sets out nine commitments that organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian response can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide. Concern works with partners at different levels including community organisations, local government institutions, national level institutions, and international agencies. In responding to emergencies, we are also guided by international codes of conduct and practice, including the Code of Conduct of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organisations in Disaster Relief.
The trustees have complied with their duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to note and pay due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charities Commission.
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> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **49**
## **4. Strategic Report**
To achieve its mission and fulfil its charitable purpose, Concern (UK) supports the overseas programmes of Concern Worldwide. It does not implement its own overseas programmes but seeks to address the root causes of poverty directly through its own advocacy work.
In 2021, the trustees approved the Concern (UK) 2021-2025 strategic plan. The ambition of the strategic plan is to mobilise resources, people, decision makers and partners to respond to rising poverty and humanitarian needs, improving the lives of people living in extreme poverty in the world’s poorest and most fragile countries. The plan sets out three specific goals developed to capture the contribution Concern (UK) aspires to make towards the mission of Concern Worldwide in line with the ambition.
In 2023, there was a full review of progress against the strategy, considering successes and challenges and then reprioritising and reframing some strategic actions to better reflect the changes in the external environment. Progress on the strategic goals, particularly the third goal focused on the organisation itself was judged to be good, and the overall direction of travel was still the right one. Looking ahead, the most significant shifts arising from the review were to revitalise public fundraising growth and 2023 saw improvements in effectiveness and investments in innovation.
Below, we set out progress under each strategic goal in 2023.
## **Strategic Goal 1: Grow our public fundraising and institutional funding**
In 2023, we submitted seven funding proposals to the UK government on various programme themes in a number of countries. Six of them were successful and will provide funding to a total of £50.1 million for projects from between one and five years. Increasingly, we are implementing programmes in consortia as the lead, and in a few instances, as partners. Some of the key projects secured include ‘Building Resilience and Addressing Vulnerability to Emergencies’ in Pakistan; a health and nutrition programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and a project in Sierra Leone to deliver health interventions in six districts.
We secured two UK government grants in Somalia as members of two consortia. One is the HARBS project – Reducing Vulnerabilities of Displaced Communities through Durable Solutions Programming, with Concern
receiving £2.88 million; the other is Danwadaag Phase 2, with Concern’s budget portion being £1.67 million.
We have also been selected as a consortium lead for the UK government’s Global Development Delivery Framework (GDD) for Education, Gender and Social Inclusion (Lot 3). In addition, we are consortia partners in other lots including Climate and Nature (Lot 1) and Health and Humanitarian (Lot 2). The GDD provides an exciting opportunity to continue to pursue commercial contacts which are in line with our programmes and approaches and which build on our previous experience.
We have successfully implemented DEC-funded humanitarian response programmes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine, Türkiye and Syria. Despite restrictions on female NGO workers in Afghanistan, we completed our project, successfully including and supporting women in the programmes, and submitted a final report to the DEC. In response to devastating floods in Pakistan, we provided assistance in Mirpurkhas, reaching 38,180 people with multi-purpose cash assistance, dignity kits, hygiene sessions and mobile health clinics. Following this, support was extended to Shaheed Benazir Abad district, reaching 29,593 people in 24 villages. In response to humanitarian needs in Ukraine, we supported 2,850 households (approximately 7,410 people) in eastern and southern Ukraine through cash assistance for shelter. We also provided psychosocial support to 1,350 individuals. After the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Concern and our partners focused on providing immediate emergency relief to people affected, installing shelters, providing multi-purpose cash assistance to families and offering vital mental health support.
In 2023, we received a grant from Comic Relief to respond to the food crisis in Kenya and Somalia. In addition, we continued to participate as members of the Start Network and received funding for programmes in Sudan and Pakistan.
We provided additional support to country programmes in receipt of UN funding, including managing regulatory and reporting requirements in the UK.
During the year, we finalised several projects, including a UK Aid Match-funded programme in the Central African Republic (CAR).
We continue to ensure that Concern publishes its UKfunded programme information on the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) database.
During a year when household budgets across the UK were under significant pressure due to the cost-ofliving crisis, once again our incredible donors,
fundraisers and funders stepped up to support some of the world’s poorest communities and those affected by major emergencies. In total, our supporters contributed £7.7 million* to fund our life-saving work. As always, we would like to thank them for their generosity and commitment.
Our donors and supporters play a pivotal role in providing the resources we need to fund all of our programmes tackling extreme poverty. We are committed to increasing this support to help us reach more of the world’s most vulnerable communities. In 2023, we made significant investments in growing our capacity to generate additional income in the future. We established a new Fundraising Innovation Team that will focus on developing new fundraising approaches and ensure that we constantly evolve and improve our existing programmes. We also brought together our Individual Giving and Community and Events Fundraising Teams to create an expanded Public Fundraising Team that is organised to allow us to focus on the key tasks of attracting new supporters to
**Above left:** Niall Magennis who ran the London Marathon in support of Concern.
**Above right:** Concern staff members from the Belfast and Dublin offices after taking part in the 2023 Belfast City Marathon.
Photos: Concern Worldwide
Concern and then providing feedback on the impact their donations are making in support of vulnerable communities around the world.
We also launched our new Microsoft Dynamics customer relationship management system (CRM). This major project involved a huge investment of effort across the organisation, and will improve our capacity to deliver further improved, more individualised communications to our supporters, increasing their engagement with the work they are helping to make possible.
In February, we called on our supporters to help those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, launching an appeal in partnership with our 14 fellow members of the Disasters Emergency Committee. Once again, our supporters responded with
*Income from Donations and Legacies (note 2a, excluding DEC and Concern Worldwide income) and Retail Income (note 2c).
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incredible generosity, contributing almost £765,000 to our ongoing relief efforts.
We also launched appeals through the year in support of our continuing work to tackle poverty and hunger in the Central African Republic, Niger and South Sudan, and to provide shelter for Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon. Overall, these appeals performed lower than our targets, likely reflecting the difficult economic climate. Nonetheless, it was encouraging to see our base of ‘active donors’, defined as those who have supported at least one of our appeals in the past two years, grow by 3% to over 25,000 in 2023. Our DEC Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal attracted over 1,200 new donors and, once again, our alternative Gifts programme also made an important contribution.
Regular monthly donations by our supporters make a very important contribution to our work and help us plan ahead. Once again in 2023, our core base of regular givers remained very loyal. However, we found it more challenging to attract new regular givers, partly due to staff turnover challenges within our in-house Direct Dialogue team, which reduced our capacity to recruit new regular supporters. Overall, our base of regular givers remained stable at 21,550.
Philanthropic partnerships with trusts and foundations, companies and individuals continue to make a very important contribution to our work. In 2023, we were fortunate to maintain some longstanding collaborations and attract some important new supporters:
· We continue to work with innocent foundation on phase two of a nutrition research project in Kenya, which will come to an end this year and has shown positive results that will help shape nutrition policies across the country.
**Above left:** Indiana Abisogun, one of Concern’s Direct Dioalgue street fundraising team in London.
Photo: Concern Worldwide. **Above centre:** Some of the London Direct Dialogue street fundraising team with a member of the public.
Photo: Concern Worldwide
**Above right:** Volunteers Theresa Higgins and Megan Byrne with manager Maeve Griffin in Concern’s shop on Belfast’s Andersonstown Road.
Photo: Darren Vaughan/Concern Worldwide
· The Klaus and Gertrude Conrad Foundation continued to support our education-in-emergencies programme in Somalia.
· The Milton Damerel Trust continues to support our Green Graduation Programme in Burundi, an innovative and holistic approach to developing sustainable livelihoods and enabling the most vulnerable households to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.
· The Whole Planet Foundation has continued its generous support of Concern’s Graduation Programme in Chad, with a donation of £280,000 over three years.
· New supporter, the One Foundation, supported a project in Kenya rehabilitating water systems in three communities, with a donation of £150,000.
· Another new supporter, the READ Foundation donated £150,000 to support a project in Sanliurfa, Türkiye that creates sustainable work and education pathways for Syrian refugees impacted by last year’s earthquakes.
In Northern Ireland, our Concern Philanthropic Circle has now contributed more than £470,000 over the past six years to our Graduation Programmes in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2023, we launched our third Philanthropic Circle project to
support a new Green Graduation Programme in Ethiopia. We are grateful to all our existing Circle members, new members and associates who have contributed £49,000 to the new programme in Ethiopia and are committed to raising £344,000 over the three years.
Our volunteer supporter groups in Northern Ireland responded to our emergency appeal for the TürkiyeSyria earthquake with tremendous commitment, organising additional collections and raising donations from their networks. We would like to thank all the group members and everyone who helped with collections and events in 2023 for giving their time and energy to support our work.
Last year, we successfully opened our seventh retail outlet on the Andersonstown Road in Belfast. All our shops performed exceptionally well in 2023, generating £615,000 (2022: £498,000) in income from the sale of donated goods and cash donations from customers (excluding Gift in Kind). Our shops also raised funds for our DEC Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal. In 2023, we completed a mid-term review of our retail strategic plan and recruited a Retail Development Support Manager to assist with volunteer recruitment and training to grow our retail operations. We also approved a proposal to open our eighth shop – a new ‘boutique-style’ outlet. A location was agreed with plans to open in early 2024. Our volunteer numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels with more than 100 volunteers supporting our shops. Our thanks to everyone who donated stock to our shops and to all our volunteers and customers for their support in 2023.
**Above left:** Concern’s Danny Harvey speaking at the launch of the third funding round of the Concern Philanthropic Circle in the Long Gallery, Stormont, Belfast.
Photo: Dylan Murdock/Concern Worldwide
**Above centre:** Derry supporters taking part in the Scalp Walk mountain challenge for Concern.
Photo: Concern Worldwide **Above right:** Northern Ireland actor Jamie Dornan visits Concern’s second-hand bookshop in Holywood, Co Down, along with Concern’s Retail Development Manager Aileen McKee. Photo: Concern Worldwide
**Strategic Goal 2: Be a credible and powerful voice to drive policy change and urgent action on extreme poverty**
In the first half of 2023, much of our advocacy work continued to be focused on the need for urgent action in response to the East Africa hunger crisis. We collaborated with others across the sector, met with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) teams and, through them, created new links to FCDO staff in key countries. We also organised parliamentary briefings and lobbying events. In February, we worked with 10 other organisations to bring 100 campaigners from across the UK to meet their MPs. In March, we held a virtual closed-door discussion with parliamentarians, which was an opportunity for them to hear directly from Concern colleagues and local partners responding to this crisis. We worked with our campaign supporters to engage with MPs and to put pressure on Andrew Mitchell, the Minister for Development, around key global moments.
On the communications front, we collaborated with Comic Relief to focus attention on the crisis in East
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**Above left:** Concern (UK)’s advocacy team and staff members at an event in Trafalgar Square, London, to raise awareness of the East Africa food crisis and the need for the UK government to protect the aid budget.
Photo: Concern Worldwide
**Above right:** Concern was invited to take part in an event in Belfast to mark the 60th anniversary of the DEC, with Saleh Saeed, DEC Chief Executive. Photo: Darren Kidd/Presseye/DEC
Africa, reaching a wide public audience. A film, presented by Lenny Henry, was broadcast on BBC One on Red Nose Day 2023 and included video footage from Concern featuring Dr Aweis Olow Hassan who has been working with Concern since 2017 through the Ministry of Health in the role of Doctor in Charge of a stabilisation centre in Somalia. The health centre provides special care to severely malnourished children with medical complications.
From July, our campaigning shifted its focus to climate change. We worked with others in the sector to respond to reports that the UK government would be dropping its climate finance commitments. We also asked our campaign supporters to email their MPs, urging the Prime Minister to keep the UK’s climate commitments. The government did, but also made changes to how climate finance was counted, effectively watering down the promises made. A ministerial update from Andrew Mitchell in October gave more clarity on how the commitment would be delivered. Through the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance we commissioned the think-tank Overseas
Development Institute (ODI) to analyse how governments are delivering the $100 billion climatefinance commitment, focusing on adaptation funding. Jackson Mekenye, Concern’s Livelihoods Coordinator in Kenya, participated in a launch webinar. We also worked with Mercy Corps and Practical Action to produce a UK-specific briefing based on the ODI analysis and the ministerial update, which we used ahead of the UN climate negotiations (COP28).
At COP28 itself, we supported colleagues from our programmes in Bangladesh, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi and Pakistan to attend, organise and participate in side events. We worked with staff across multiple directorates, including communications, global citizenship and our country teams, to develop resources to highlight the impacts of climate change and the gaps in support for the people most affected. This included a video calling on the Prime Minister to deliver the UK’s commitments on climate finance shared across social media channels.
On nutrition, we were appointed co-chair of International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (ICAN) UK. Through ICAN UK, we led the production of a report on the UK’s spending and programmes on nutrition, which we presented to parliamentarians at an event on World Food Day. The report explores the impact of cuts to UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) on efforts to tackle global malnutrition, and wider spending on nutrition programmes since 2013.
We were able to share lessons from our nutrition programmes at a number of events throughout the year, including a UNICEF and FCDO roundtable on nutrition financing; a World Food Programme (WFP) parliamentary roundtable, where Lubaba Hussein, Concern’s Nutrition Coordinator in South Sudan, shared insights on wasting prevention; and at an FCDO roundtable on its approach to Ending Preventable Deaths. We also engaged with the FCDO in the run up to the UK’s Global Food Security Summit, including submitting a briefing note and working with development network Bond and ICAN UK to coordinate civil society recommendations.
In August, the FCDO launched a consultation on its new white paper on international development. Published in November, the document sets out the UK’s approach to 2030. We provided input to the consultation, drawing on programme evidence and learning, and took part in a number of consultation meetings.
The one-year anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine and the one-year anniversary of the Pakistan floods were an opportunity for us to demonstrate the impact of Concern’s response and build trust with our audiences so they continue to support our work. We worked closely with the DEC on their campaigns around these key moments. Notably, one of Concern’s programme participants had their story painted onto the side of truck when artist Ali Salman Anchen and his team of artists travelled to meet some of the people affected by the floods. The story of the painted mobile aid truck generated national media coverage. For the Ukraine
**Above left:** Ali Salman Anchan and his team of artists met some of the people impacted by the devastating monsoon rains in Pakistan. They set to work covering an aid truck with vibrant images to share people’s stories of resilience and recovery.
Photo: Zoral Khurram Naik/DEC
**Above right:** One of Concern’s billboards on display across Northern Ireland, thanks to a charity partnership with JCDecaux Ireland.
Photo: Concern Worldwide
anniversary, we received several media mentions, including in the Irish News and Belfast Telegraph which published five articles, four of them quoting Concern’s Head of Emergency Operations. A member of our partner organisation was interviewed by LBC radio.
We secured significant media coverage of the impact and our response to the Türkiye and Syria earthquakes. This included broadcast and online coverage in Northern Ireland with Concern spokespeople interviewed on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC TV News NI and three reports on UTV Live. Our Acting Programme Director in Türkiye, Ali Fuat Sutlu, took part in a live interview on Sky News, while Country Director Andy Buchanan was interviewed twice on BBC Radio Cumbria. Lamyaa Abod Aslan, District Team Leader in the Protection Programme, herself a Syrian refugee, was featured on Channel 5 News, along with some of our footage.
In 2023, we secured a two-year charity partnership with advertising company JCDecaux Ireland to enable us to post almost 300 outdoor printed billboards across Northern Ireland on free voidage space, as well as digital billboards in Belfast and Derry and digital
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screens in six shopping centres, to help build our brand and raise awareness of our work.
The post-primary school debates programme, which gives students the opportunity to reflect on global issues, continued in a new hybrid format, with initial debates being held online and later, in person. The programme remained popular, with 26 Northern Ireland schools registered to take part in the 2023-24 academic year. In 2022-23, we piloted a primary school debating competition and, following its success, we moved ahead with plans for its implementation in 2023-24, with the first primary school debate commencing in early 2024.
We are members of the Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies in Northern Ireland (CADA NI) working together with other charities to enhance awareness and create a better understanding of development issues in Northern Ireland. We supported the CADA One World Festival in 2023 assisting with the planning and promotion of the festival including the flagship event, exploring the festival theme, ‘Health of Our World’, through music, dance and poetry.
In November 2023, the Stormont All Party Group on International Development (APGID) was reconvened, and CADA NI will provide secretariat support and work with Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to agree plans and objectives for the group.
## **Strategic Goal 3: Be a diverse, responsive and inclusive organisation**
A strategy review in 2023 confirmed that progress towards becoming a more diverse, responsive and inclusive organisation was being made, and only small modifications were made to strategic actions for this goal.
With assistance from a consultant, we reviewed our current Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan to ensure that it is effective, relevant and meets our ambitions. The staff EDI Reference Group monitored progress made to date, and the Expanded Leadership Team (ELT) reviewed timelines against the milestones set out in the action plan.
We continued our conversations on anti-racism, diversity and equality by enabling staff to attend quarterly sessions to discuss and share views on diversity. The sessions focused on self-awareness, organisational culture, engagement and belonging. The consultant found that although staff found the sessions challenging, they were more confident in discussing EDI issues openly.
The ELT, an initiative to have a more diverse and inclusive leadership, as well as creating more opportunities for staff development and exposure, had its first year of meetings. Broadly welcomed, the team will conduct a review at the start of 2024 to determine its future direction.
In 2023, we continued to focus on staff mental health and wellbeing. We created opportunities for line managers to access ‘Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace’ training, and all staff were invited to attend ‘Personal Resilience’ training. We also appointed and trained new Mental Health First Aiders to ensure that staff members are supported.
A review of available London office space was conducted in 2023 to source more suitable premises to facilitate hybrid working requirements, enabling staff to work collaboratively and effectively while providing a cost-effective alternative to the existing office space and adhering to our environmental guidelines. Following the selection of office space at The Foundry, we moved into the new premises in January 2024.
During the year, we continued to review our processes which led to developing new policies to strengthen our compliance and make our processes more transparent. We developed a structured document library on the new organisational intranet to ensure staff can access information quickly, and launched our own homepage on the intranet, enhancing our existing work around internal communication.
Hiring high quality and experienced candidates for certain positions remained challenging in 2023, and significantly impacted workloads in some teams. Despite this, we remained focused on the delivery of our annual plans. As part of a revision of our global pay policy, we carried out salary benchmarking and created new salary bands, moving towards a global banding framework that will enable us to treat roles more equitably across the organisation.
## **4.2 Financial review**
The financial outcome for 2023 is set out in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 68.
Our final position for the year shows net expenditure of £3.3 million, decreasing total funds to £6.1 million. Total income for 2023 was £24.9 million and we are incredibly grateful to all of our supporters and donors, large or small, who enabled us to continue to help support people living in extreme poverty. A more detailed commentary on the financial results reflected in the 2023 Annual Report is set out below.
## **Income**
Concern (UK) raised a total of £24.9 million in 2023 (2022: £30.7m), a decrease of £5.8 million (19%) in income when compared to 2022, primarily caused by a significant decrease in income from emergency appeals. The income detail is outlined below. We continue to raise income from diverse sources to mitigate the challenges of the current economic environment.
## **Income from donations and legacies**
Income from donations and legacies comprises donations from individual and corporate donors, community groups, trusts and foundations and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). We received £12.5 million (2022: £17.0m) in donations and legacies in 2023, a decrease of £4.5 million (26%) on the amount received in 2022 due to a significant decrease in emergency appeals income.
In the year, income from individuals of £4.8 million decreased by £0.4 million (8%) (2022: £5.2m) while income from corporates, major donors and trusts of £1.4 million increased by £0.1 million (8%) (2022: £1.3m). Although we saw a drop of £4.4 million (47%) in emergency appeals income to £5.0 million (2022: £9.4m), 2022 was an exceptional year with three successful emergency appeals. The public continued to support us generously in response to our appeals throughout 2023 enabling us to deliver life-saving support across our countries of operation. We are very grateful to our dedicated supporters who respond swiftly and generously to our requests for support. During the year, despite the challenging economic environment, we continued to engage with the compassionate UK public, developing important relationships with key donors enabling us to secure the vital funds needed to deliver our charitable objectives in 2023 and beyond.
In 2023, we received £5.0 million from the DEC generated by appeals launched in 2022 and the 2023 emergency appeal in response to the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria: Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal
£1.4 million (2022: £7.5m), Coronavirus Appeal £0.3 million (2022: £1.2m), Pakistan Floods Appeal £0.4 million (2022: £0.7m) and Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Appeal £2.9 million (2022: nil).
Our community fundraising income was £0.3 million (2022: £0.6m). The £0.3 million (50%) decrease on the previous year was due to us suspending our Ration Challenge because of low participation levels in the previous year.
Legacy income increased by £0.1 million (25%) to £0.5 million (2022: £0.4m).
An analysis of voluntary income by source is in note 2(a) to the accounts.
## **Income from governments and other co-funders:**
Concern (UK) received a total of £11.6 million (2022: £13.1m) from governments and other institutional donors, a £1.5 million (11%) decrease from the previous year.
Although the UK government continues to remain the single largest donor in 2023, contributing £8.7 million (2022: £12.1m) which amounts to 75% (2022: 92%) of total co-funding income, we continue to experience the effects of the foreign aid budget reduction imposed in previous years. The UK government contributed to 21 projects in 11 (2022: 13) of the countries where Concern works.
In 2023, we continued to build relationships with new co-funders in support of our programmes. We received funding from UN agencies of £1.2 million (2022: nil), a grant of £0.6 million (2022: £0.8m) from European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), a grant of £0.5 million (2022: £0.2m) from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and £0.1 million (2022: £15,000) from Guernsey Overseas Aid.
During the year, we also received £0.5 million from Comic Relief for our East Africa crisis response in Somalia and Kenya.
An analysis of grant income by donor is shown in note 2(b) to the accounts.
## **Trading and other income:**
We raised £648,000 in income from trading activities in our charity retail stores in 2023 (2022: £552,000). Throughout the year, the shops also received donations of £67,000 (2022: £43,000) which are included in public donations. We are very grateful to our dedicated team of shop volunteers and employed staff for their continued commitment and support of our retail function. In 2023, we had seven shops in Northern Ireland (2022: 6).
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## **Expenditure**
The board are confident that future incoming resources to the charity will be adequate to support the continuation of existing projects and activities, and also to meet other needs which may arise. Accordingly, Concern (UK) continues to adopt the ‘going concern’ basis in preparing the financial statements.
Our total expenditure was £28.2 million (2022: £25.1m) and made up as follows:
**£m %** Charitable activities **24.2** (20.9) **86** (83) Raising funds **4.0** (4.2) **14** (17) **28.2** (25.1) **100** 100
## **Reserves and financial position**
It is Concern (UK)’s policy to commit the maximum amount of resources possible to current programmes that directly impact those we support and therefore retain only what is necessary to safeguard the continuity of its operations.
Total expenditure in 2023 increased by £3.1 million (12%) due to greater support provided to overseas programmes.
The cost of raising funds decreased by £0.2 million (5%).
The total funds held of £6.1 million at 31 December 2023 (2022: £9.4m) are detailed in note 16 to the financial statements and fall into two categories:
The board adopts a number of key performance indicators in order to measure the charity’s performance, efficiency and financial strength. The indicators over the four years to 2023 are shown in the table below.
**Restricted funds** (£3.2 million): These are funds that can only be used for purposes specified by the donors. Our policy to apply funds for the purposes for which they were donated as soon as possible. The decrease of £3.3 million in restricted funds in 2023 is mainly due to utilising emergency appeals funding raised in the previous year for their purpose. The trustees plan that all of the restricted funds held at that date will be fully utilised during 2024.
The variances in the table are partly influenced by the level of emergency income raised each year and the significant contributions in the last two years, £5.0 million received from the DEC in 2023 and £9.4 million in 2022, is reflected below. The board continues to be satisfied with the efficiency of fundraising, the level of support costs and reserves held, and is confident that these are all in line with the agreed strategic direction.
**Unrestricted funds** (£2.9 million) are made up of £1.9 million designated funds and £1.0 million general funds.
Unrestricted income is available for the Board to use for the purposes of the charity in fulfilling its charitable objectives. We use unrestricted income where flexible funding is needed most, for example to:
**Designated funds** (£1.9 million) are funds set aside by the Board of Trustees for specific purposes. At the end of 2023, these funds were designated for two specific purposes:
- develop, test and demonstrate the effectiveness of new approaches
- respond quickly to emergencies, before dedicated appeal funding is secured
- To ensure the continuity of operations in the event of a temporary downturn in income: £1.6 million
- finance our policy and campaigns work
- To earmark funds required to be invested in fixed assets to continue operations which are therefore not readily available for other purposes: £0.3 million
- meet essential running costs that enable the charity to function properly
Restricted income must be used only for the purpose specified by the donor. We use this income to finance particular programmes or elements of our humanitarian responses, as stipulated by and agreed in advance with the donor.
The trustees reviewed the level of designated reserves required at 31 December 2023 in order to ensure that they are sufficient to cover both purposes stated above (see note 16 (b)).
**Indicator Concern (UK) 2023 2022 2021 2020** Return on fundraising investment* 3.3x 4.2x 2.1x 2.5x Support costs as a percentage of total costs 3.7% 3.3% 3.9% 2.2% Unrestricted reserves as a percentage of total income 11.7% 10% 11% 7%
*Return on fundraising investment is the sum of Income from Donations and Legacies
(note 2a) and Retail Income (note 2c) divided by the total cost of raising funds (note 4).
**General funds** (£1.0 million) represent unrestricted funds which may be used to further the objects of Concern (UK).
The board believes that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, the board continues to adopt the ‘going concern’ basis in preparing the financial statements.
## **4.3 Plans for future periods**
Globally, the organisation continues to broaden its work in terms of scope and impact for people living in extreme poverty and in need of humanitarian assistance. In 2023, a new country programme was opened in Yemen where over 21 million people are in humanitarian need. Concern will continue to grow this programme and deepen and expand our work in other fragile and conflict-affected places.
Plans for Concern (UK) have been guided and informed by a strategy mid-term review which took place in 2023. The review noted solid progress in a number of areas, and 2024 will focus on progressing and consolidating these. A refreshed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan will guide continued learning, development and progress to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. The Carbon Action Plan will be reviewed in the light of actual carbon footprint data and some new actions may be required. Two years of learning about hybrid working will be consolidated into new office layouts for both London and Belfast along with revised and refreshed policies and salary scales. Alongside this, work will continue on a range of initiatives to ensure staff are valued and supported and to create time and opportunity for reflection and creativity.
As a result of the strategy review, there is an increased drive to grow our public fundraising. For 2024, this means that there will be a greater focus on regular giver growth and innovation while continuing with successful income streams such as the retail strategy.
Due to successive UK aid cuts, institutional co-funding had been declining since 2021. However, changes in leadership at the FCDO and the new white paper for international development are framing a more positive future direction with a renewal of focus on least developed countries. As a result, additional funding has already been secured for 2024 and we hope to grow this further by continuing to strengthen Concern’s relationship with the FCDO both in the UK and through our country programme offices.
There is huge potential for greater influence and advocacy in 2024, acknowledging that there will be a general election before the end of the year. A clear set
of messages for the organisation around climate change will drive our advocacy for change in this area and will be complemented by a similar initiative around food security and nutrition. A new campaign is planned to launch in 2024 to increase supporter numbers and help drive forward our efforts to deliver better outcomes for people living in extreme poverty through our advocacy and influencing work.
Plans for 2024 are set out below.
## **Strategic Goal 1: Grow our public fundraising and institutional funding**
In July 2023, the UK government announced a significant boost in its allocation to the overseas aid budget for the 2024-25 financial year, rising from £7.4 billion in 2023-24 to £8.3 billion in 2024-25. This includes a doubling of bilateral aid to Africa in 202425. Despite the government’s overall aid budget still being below pre-2020 levels, this signals a renewed focus on poverty alleviation and supporting fragile and conflict-affected states in line with the recently published white paper on international development.
We aim to position Concern as a key FCDO partner in eight to 10 countries for both grants and contracts, while ensuring that current commitments are delivered on time and to high standards. We will continue to engage with the DEC and the Start Network to strengthen and add value to our partnership, while strengthening our efforts to deliver currently funded programmes. We will also aim to build partnerships and relationships with FCDO suppliers and international NGOs to mobilise resources and increase our internal and external impact.
Additionally, we will continue to engage with various humanitarian forums based in the UK.
Having signed the Global Development Delivery (GDD) Framework at the end of 2023, we will work with our consortium partners in applying for projects under Education, Gender and Social Inclusion (Lot 3), where we are the lead agency, while partnering with other agencies for Climate and Nature (Lot 1) and Health and Humanitarian (Lot 2). We will work to deliver robust applications under the GDD Framework as a lead and in consortia/partnerships. We will complete some of the strategic initiatives started in 2023, such as strengthening our donor intelligence, a joined-up support plan for institutional funding and advocacy to prioritised countries, and finalising our UK engagement strategy with the International Programmes Directorate and country programmes.
In 2024, we will build on the work we started in 2023 with the creation of the Public Fundraising and
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Fundraising Innovation Teams. A review of our organisational strategy conducted in 2023 reconfirmed the importance of generating flexible, ‘unrestricted’ income and this will remain the focus of both teams.
The Public Fundraising team will focus on a number of priority areas in 2024. These include a review of our fundraising events strategy to grow our events offering to supporters. We will continue to invest in attracting new donors to Concern through social and digital channels, especially through alternative Gifts, emergency appeals when they occur, and through new product launches. We will also increase our communications to supporters conveying the benefits of legacy giving to the long-term impact Concern is able to achieve.
Building our base of regular givers and cash donors remains core to our strategy and will remain a priority in 2024. We will launch the first of the new fundraising products developed by the Fundraising Innovation Team, which focuses on growing our base of regular givers. The team will also develop the work it started in building our understanding of the interests and motivations of our supporters, using this insight to develop further new products for testing later in the year and into the future.
Thanking our existing supporters and engaging them through impactful communications will remain a priority in 2024. Having launched our new customer relationship management system last year, in 2024 we will focus on maximising the value its improved functionality offers, improving our capacity to deliver even better quality, more individualised communications to our supporters and so increase their engagement with the work they are helping to make possible.
We remain committed to growing our engagement with corporate and philanthropic organisations and in mutually beneficial partnerships with them. In 2024, we will review our strategies for engaging with companies and individuals capable of making significant philanthropic donations to ensure we are working in the most effective and efficient way to grow these areas. We will continue to recruit members and associates to the Concern Philanthropic Circle to increase support for the new Green Graduation Programme in Ethiopia.
We will open our eighth retail outlet in Northern Ireland, piloting a ‘boutique-style’ approach, and begin planning for a ninth shop. We will also test new local retail partnerships and explore new online opportunities.
## **Strategic Goal 2: Be a credible and powerful voice to drive policy change and urgent action on extreme poverty**
With a General Election on the horizon in the UK for 2024, we will continue to see changes within the political and policy space. We will use opportunities over the year to collaborate with others in the sector, engage with decision makers, mobilise our campaign supporters and push for transparency, accountability and the funding commitments and policies that will best meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty across the world.
In July, we will be holding an event in parliament to push the issue of global poverty up the political agenda. The event will bring together leading thinkers and practitioners from various fields to engage in a constructive dialogue on the key issues and trends impacting extreme poverty worldwide. At this event, we plan to launch a manifesto outlining our recommendations and immediate steps the incoming government will need to take following the election.
With our new customer relationship management system now in place, we plan to build and strengthen engagement with our campaigners throughout the year, making sure we are developing content that best fits their interests.
We will continue to hold the government to account on its existing commitments on climate and nutrition, as well as looking to influence future commitments. The next Nutrition for Growth Summit will be held in 2025, hosted by the French government in Paris. The build up to this summit has already begun and we will be engaging with francophone civil society to ensure a successful pledging summit, with a specific focus on accountability on commitments made in 2021. The 2024 climate negotiations (COP29) in November will focus on climate finance. The next collective goal on climate finance is one of the key issues on the negotiation agenda. This goal will supersede the $100 billion climate finance commitment, which has been a focus of much of our climate advocacy to date. We will be sharing lessons from how that commitment has been delivered, and working with others to contribute towards discussions around what the new goal should be and the principles underpinning it. Finally, we will share programme lessons to inform policy decisions, building on the FCDO’s priorities outlined in the government’s white paper on international development.
In early 2024, our communications work will focus on two key reporting back moments. There will be the second anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine and the first anniversary of the Türkiye-Syria earthquake. We
will use these anniversaries to highlight the work Concern has delivered and support the DEC’s plans to thank the UK public who donated to the appeals. In addition, we will continue efforts to raise awareness of the crisis in Sudan, where there are more displaced people internally and externally than anywhere else in the world.
We will be launching Concern on a brand-new social media platform for us – TikTok. Along with our other social media channels, we will focus our content production on raising awareness of extreme poverty, building trust and reinforcing credibility.
## **Strategic Goal 3: Be a diverse, responsive and inclusive organisation**
The drive to become a more diverse organisation will continue to be our priority. We aim to increase workforce diversity by reviewing our current recruitment practices to ensure they meet our ambitions.
We will monitor our EDI targets by conducting a baseline diversity survey. Engagement with an external consultant will continue to create a safe platform for discussions and to ensure our organisational culture supports diversity, inclusion and equality, enabling all our staff to thrive. The culture of inclusion also encourages a supportive and collaborative environment which is key to achieving our organisational goals.
Establishing a hybrid working policy, based on learning from our current practices, will be crucial to creating a working environment that supports our values and staff wellbeing while meeting our operational needs.
Mental health and wellbeing will remain a focus throughout the year to ensure our staff feel valued and appreciated. We will also create further opportunities for staff members to take part in wellbeing sessions.
We will engage staff with the proposed implementation of a revised global pay policy and salary bands. We also aim to roll out a new global performance appraisal process based on competencies to support the personal development of staff members.
We aim to revise some of our HR policies and practices to ensure they support and reflect our organisational culture and values.
## **4.4 Principal risks and uncertainties**
The major risks to which Concern (UK) is exposed, as identified by the management team and reviewed by the trustees, have been ranked by likelihood and impact as part of the annual risk review process.
The trustees have given consideration to the major risks to which the charity is exposed and satisfied themselves that systems or procedures are established in order to manage those risks.
The main risks identified, together with the methods adopted to manage and mitigate them, are summarised below. The risks listed below are embedded in a global risk register and some are common across Concern Worldwide and Concern (UK), although relative rankings vary across the two organisations. Both organisations work together in order to manage common risks.
## **Slow economic growth, inflation and high cost of living affecting fundraising income**
In 2024, the UK enters an election year with a weak and uncertain economic growth prospects. At the end of 2023, the UK slipped into recession following successive falls in GDP and very low growth overall, and despite inflation falling, it may remain above the 2% target set by the government. Challenges with the economy and a continued high cost of living will likely combine to affect our supporters’ capacity to contribute to charitable causes.
## **Staff wellbeing and staff turnover leading to gaps, a drop in motivation and performance and/or overwork**
Our ability to achieve organisational goals relies on our workforce. In 2023, the staff turnover rate dropped following a high in 2022. Initiatives planned for 2024, such as reviewing the UK pay policy, implementing a new salary structure from January 2024, developing EDI action plans, and promoting wellbeing, including mental health support, will contribute to enhanced staff retention. Despite these efforts, staff turnover and motivation remain an important risk due to competition for experienced staff, the high cost of living in the UK and the impact of gaps within teams.
## **Challenging institutional funding environment limiting our ability to reach our annual target**
Globally, humanitarian needs are on the rise, driven by an increasing number of conflicts. However, humanitarian funding is not keeping pace. There are significant gaps in humanitarian funding across all countries where Concern operates. The UN and NGOs are grappling with the challenge of supporting more people in need with limited resources, impacting the quality of their response and reputation. The UK government’s white paper on international development has shown a commitment to addressing extreme poverty by allocating at least 50% of overseas aid to the least developed countries. While this has led
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to increased allocation for some countries, there is no commitment to overall funding growth for international development. Although Concern secured several large grants in 2023, the global surge in humanitarian needs and donor inability to keep pace with this, may affect our ability to meet our annual target for institutional funding needed to support our work across the globe.
## **A compliance issue, either from the statutory or donor perspective, leading to additional cost or impact on reputation**
This risk is broken down into the different areas of compliance relevant to the organisation. There are compliance requirements related to institutional donors and the knock-on effect of non-compliance of downstream partners in consortia arrangements. The risk of failure in regulatory compliance with external and statutory regulations is managed with a large number of measures in place. The Senior Management Team and Board regularly monitor and review a compliance framework and action plan as a part of managing this risk. There is a risk to reputation of poorquality donor care and experience and the Fundraising Committee on the Board of Trustees provides important oversight to reduce the risk of non-compliance with this and other fundraising regulations. Management of risks related to data management and processing is overseen by the Data Protection Working Group which is led by the Director of Finance and Operations. Finally, in an election year, we are closely monitoring the extent and nature of our campaigns and how the incoming Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) will affect the work of organisations like ourselves.
## **Fraud, corruption, other criminal behaviour or significant error**
While fraud or corruption could both damage the organisation’s reputation and result in loss of resources, Concern limits the likelihood of fraud though continuous review and strengthening of existing systems and processes. Although fraud continues to be uncovered, these are minor incidences, and it is felt that fraud control mechanisms are well embedded in all Concern operations.
## **Safeguarding**
As an organisation which works to improve the lives and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable people in the world, maintaining the safety and protection of the communities with whom we work and of our staff is of primary importance to Concern. Robust policies and processes ensure strong management of this risk and there is an internal serious incident monitoring group to ensure any incidents are managed appropriately, rapidly and in accordance with policy and guidance. We
will continue to engage and train staff and volunteers to ensure our safeguarding policies are followed.
## **A cybersecurity breach or system failure**
A number of precautions are in place to mitigate the risk of systems failure and Concern uses a diversity of technologies and approaches to conduct our backups including multiple sites and cloud technology. There is a general increase in cybercrime and Concern continues to employ preventative measures like new anti-virus software, upgrades to firewalls, implementation of multi-factor authentication and introduction of new protocols and policies reviews.
## **5. Staff and volunteers**
The organisation acknowledges with gratitude the work of its staff and its volunteers in 2023. The major achievements during the year are due to their dedication and belief.
Concern (UK) is an equal opportunities employer. The aim of its equal opportunities policy is to ensure that all people receive equality of opportunity regardless of gender, race, religion, disability, nationality, marital/family status or sexual orientation.
## **6. Political donations**
No political donations were made during the year (2022: nil).
## **7. Post balance sheet events**
No significant events have taken place since the year end that would result in adjustment of the financial statements or inclusion of a note thereto.
## **8. Auditor**
In accordance with Section 485 of the Companies Act 2006, a resolution for the reappointment of KPMG as the auditor of the company is to be proposed at the forthcoming Concern Worldwide Annual General Meeting.
## **9. Subsidiary undertaking**
Details of the subsidiary undertaking are set out in note
By order of the Board
**Bernadette Sexton Victoria Akinboro** _Trustee Trustee_ 16 May 2024
As part of a response to support people displaced by conflict in DRC, 60-year-old Jeanne Kalunga Fatuma has received cash assistance and business training from Concern in Tanganyika Province.
Photo: Ariane Rwankuba/Concern Worldwide
**62**
> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **63**
**Concern Worldwide (UK)**
## **Statement of trustees’ responsibilities in respect of the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements**
The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group’s and the Charitable Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and the Charitable Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Group and the Charitable Company and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law they have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with _FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK._
Under Company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and the Charitable Company and of the income and expenditure of the Group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Charitable Company’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
> On behalf of the board 0 Viet **Bernadette Sexton Victoria Akinboro** _Trustee Trustee_ 16 May 2024
- assess the Group’s and the Charitable Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern; and
- use the going concern basis of accounting unless they either intend to liquidate the Group or the Charitable Company or to cease operations or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Concern Worldwide (UK)**
Reporting Council (FRC)’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
**Report on the audit of the financial statements**
## **Opinion**
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
We have audited the financial statements of Concern Worldwide (UK) (‘the Charitable Company’) for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, consolidated and company balance sheets, the consolidated cash flow statement, and related notes, including the summary of significant accounting policies set out in note 1. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is UK Law and FRS 102 _The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland._
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
The trustees have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis as they do not intend to liquidate the Group or the Charitable Company or to cease their operations, and as they have concluded that the Group’s and the Charitable Company’s financial position means that this is realistic. They have also concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt over their ability to continue as a going concern for at least a year from the date of approval of the financial statements (“the going concern period”).
In our opinion:
- the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the Charitable Company’s affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of the Group’s income and expenditure for the year then ended;
In our evaluation of the trustees’ conclusions, we considered the inherent risks to the Group’s business model and analysed how those risks might affect the Group’s and Charitable Company’s financial resources or ability to continue operations over the going concern period.
- the financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with FRS 102 _The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland_ ; and
- the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on Group’s and the Charitable Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, for a period of at least twelve months from the date when
## **Basis for opinion**
We have been appointed as auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and under section 44 (1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with regulations made under those Acts.
However, as we cannot predict all future events or conditions and as subsequent events may result in outcomes that are inconsistent with judgements that were reasonable at the time they were made, the above conclusions are not a guarantee that the Group or the Charitable Company will continue in operation.
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the _Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements_ section of our report. We are independent of the Group and of the Charitable Company in accordance with ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of financial statements in the UK, including the Financial
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
**64**
> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **65**
**Concern Worldwide (UK)**
## **Report on the audit of the financial statements**
**(continued)**
## **Detecting irregularities including fraud**
revenue recognition. We did not identify any additional fraud risks.
We identified the areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements and risks of material misstatement due to fraud, using our understanding of the entity’s industry, regulatory environment and other external factors and inquiry with the directors.
In response to risk of fraud, we also performed procedures including: identifying journal entries to test based on risk criteria and comparing the identified entries to supporting documentation; evaluating the business purpose of significant unusual transactions; assessing significant accounting estimates for bias; and assessing the disclosures in the financial statements.
In addition, our risk assessment procedures included: inquiring with the directors and other management as to the Group’s and the Charitable Company’s policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations and prevention and detection of fraud; inquiring whether the directors and other management have knowledge of any actual or suspected noncompliance with laws or regulations or alleged fraud; inspecting the Group’s and the Charitable Company’s regulatory and legal correspondence; and reading Board and committee minutes.
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it.
We discussed identified laws and regulations, fraud risk factors and the need to remain alert among the audit team.
In addition, as with any audit, there remains a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.
The Group and Charitable Company are subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including companies and financial reporting legislation. We assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items, including assessing the financial statement disclosures and agreeing them to supporting documentation when necessary.
## **Other information**
The trustees are responsible for the other information, which comprises the Trustees’ Report (which constitutes the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report), About us section, A message from the Chair of Trustees, A message from the outgoing Executive Director, Our overseas work in 2023 section, How we work section, Income and expenditure section, Legal and administrative information, and the Appendix. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except as explicitly stated below, any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
The Group and Charitable Company are subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify noncompliance with these non-direct laws and regulations to inquiry of the directors and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. These limited procedures did not identify actual or suspected non-compliance.
Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether, based on our financial statements audit work, the information therein is materially misstated or inconsistent with the financial statements or our audit knowledge. Based solely on that work we have not identified material misstatements in the other information.
We assessed events or conditions that could indicate an incentive or pressure to commit fraud or provide an opportunity to commit fraud. As required by auditing standards, we performed procedures to address the risk of management override of controls. On this audit we do not believe there is a fraud risk related to
## **Report on the audit of the financial statements**
## **(continued)**
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the**
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
Based solely on our work on the other information undertaken during the course of the audit:
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue our opinion in an auditor’s report. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but does not guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users
- we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Report;
- in our opinion the information given in the Trustees’ Report, which constitutes the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report for the financial year, is consistent with the financial statements; and
- in our opinion, the Trustees’ Report has been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
A fuller description of our responsibilities is provided on the FRC’s website at
Under the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.
## **The purpose of our audit work and to whom we owe**
## **our responsibilities**
- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
This report is made solely to the Charitable Company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the Charitable Company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 44 (1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charitable Company’s members and the Charitable Company’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charitable Company, its members, as a body and its trustees, as a body, for our audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
We have nothing to report in these respects.
## **Respective responsibilities and restrictions on use**
## **Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements**
As explained more fully in their statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out on page 62, the trustees (who are the also the directors of the Charitable Company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements including being satisfied that they give a true and fair view; such LAs nw. Ubi internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are 16 May 2024 free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; assessing the Group’s and the Charitable Richard Hobson Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, **Senior Statutory Auditor** disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern; and using the going concern basis of 1 Stokes Place, accounting unless they either intend to liquidate the St Stephen’s Green, Group or the Charitable Company or to cease Dublin 2, operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Ireland
**for and on behalf of KPMG, Statutory Auditor** 1 Stokes Place, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
# **Financial** rr 7
A selection of vegetables, fruit and spices grown by Anita Rani in her kitchen garden in Shoronkhola, Bangladesh. Photo: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan/Concern Worldwide
**68 Concern Worldwide (UK)**
> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **69**
## **Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities**
## **for the year ended 31 December 2023**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
||||
|---|---|---|
|Notes Restricted Unrestricted Group Total|Restricted Unrestricted|Group Total|
|Funds Funds 2023|Funds Funds|2022|
|Stg£ Stg£ Stg£|Stg£|Stg£ Stg£|
|Income from:|
|Donations and legacies 2a|7,529,752 4,987,757 12,517,509|12,144,486 4,891,226 17,035,712|
|Charitable activities –|
|grants and contracts|
|from governments and|
|other co-funders 2b|11,598,113 - 11,598,113|13,093,772 - 13,093,772|
|Trading and other income 2c|- 760,241 760,241|- 572,061 572,061|
|Total income 19,127,865 5,747,998 24,875,863|25,238,258 5,463,287 30,701,545|
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
||||
|---|---|---|
|Expenditure on:|
|Charitable activities 3|22,420,980 1,771,335 24,192,315|20,104,826 801,174 20,906,000|
|Raising funds 4|- 4,009,818 4,009,818|- 4,232,136 4,232,136|
|Total expenditure 22,420,980 5,781,153 28,202,133|20,104,826 5,033,310 25,138,136|
|Net (expenditure)/income|(3,293,115) (33,155) (3,326,270)|5,133,432 429,977 5,563,409|
|Transfers between funds 16 (b)|(1,536) 1,536 -|13,022 (13,022) -|
|Net movement in funds (3,294,651) (31,619) (3,326,270)|5,146,454 416,955 5,563,409|
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Reconciliation of funds:**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Total funds brought forward|6,453,361 2,937,886 9,391,247|1,306,907 2,520,931 3,827,838|
|Total funds carried forward|16|3,158,710 2,906,267 6,064,977|6,453,361 2,937,886 9,391,247|
**----- End of picture text -----**
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised during the year. All income and expenditure derives from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 71-84 form part of these financial statements.
As permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the individual charity’s statement of financial activities has not been included in these financial statements. The gross income of the charity is £24,457,252 (2022: £30,099,157) and the net result for the year is net expenditure of £3,326,973 (2022 net income of £5,562,091).
## **Consolidated and Concern (UK) Balance Sheets**
## **as at 31 December 2023**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Notes Group|Group|Charity|Charity|
|2023|2022|2023|2022|
|Stg£|Stg£|Stg£|Stg£|
|Fixed assets|
|Tangible assets 9|253,452|214,156|200,230|191,233|
|Total fixed assets 253,452|214,156|200,230|191,233|
|Current assets|
|Debtors and prepayments 10|9,807,700|11,667,501|10,346,047|12,096,053|
|Cash at bank and in hand 11|11,207,811|6,230,500|10,683,083|5,791,088|
|Total current assets 21,015,511|17,898,001|21,029,130|17,887,141|
|Creditors:|
|amounts falling due within one year 12|(15,203,986)|(8,720,910)|(15,173,170)|(8,695,211)|
|Net current assets 5,811,525|9,177,091|5,855,960|9,191,930|
|Net assets|16|6,064,977|9,391,247|6,056,190|9,383,163|
|The funds of the charity:|
|Restricted funds 16|3,158,710|6,453,361|3,158,710|6,453,361|
|Unrestricted funds 16|2,906,267|2,937,886|2,897,480|2,929,802|
|Total funds 6,064,977|9,391,247|6,056,190|9,383,163|
**----- End of picture text -----**
The notes on pages 71-84 form part of these financial statements.
The financial statements on pages 68-84 were approved by the Board of Trustees on 16 May 2024.
0 Vict **Bernadette Sexton Victoria Akinboro** _Trustee Trustee_ 16 May 2024
**70**
> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **71**
**Concern Worldwide (UK)**
## **Consolidated Cash Flow Statement**
## **for the year ended 31 December 2023**
**Notes Group** Group **2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ **Cash flows from operating activities**
**Net (expenditure)/income for the year (3,326,270)** 5,563,409 **Adjustments for:** Depreciation of tangible assets **50,067** 46,797 Interest earned **(111,845)** (12,610) Decrease / (Increase) in debtors **1,859,801** (6,619,575) Increase/(Decrease) in creditors **6,483,076** (1,767,884) **Net cash from / (used in) operating activities 4,954,829** (2,789,863)
**Cash flows from investing activities** Purchases of tangible assets **(89,363)** (6,363) Interest received **111,845** 12,610 **Net cash from investing activities 22,482** 6,247 **Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year 4,977,311** (2,783,616) **Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 6,230,500** 9,014,116 **Cash and cash equivalents at end of year** 11 **11,207,811** 6,230,500
As permitted by paragraph 1.12 of FRS 102, Concern (UK) has not prepared a statement of cash flows for the parent entity. The consolidated cash flow statement above includes both the parent and subsidiary entity.
The notes on pages 71-84 form part of these financial statements.
##
## **(forming part of the financial statements) for the year ended 31 December 2023**
sufficient reliability. In the case of monetary donations from the public this income is recognised when the donations are received, with legacies it is when it is probable that it will be received (i.e. where there is a grant of probate, the executors have established that there are sufficient assets in the estate and any conditions attached are within the control of the entity), whereas with Gift Aid income it is when all legislative requirements have been met and the amounts can be measured with reasonable certainty.
## **1. Accounting Policies**
The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the group financial statements of Concern Worldwide (UK) (‘Concern (UK)’ or ‘the Charity’) and its subsidiary (collectively ‘the Group’).
## **a) Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102), the Charities Act 2011, and the Companies Act 2006.
Grants from corporates, major donors and trusts are recognised on the same basis as Grants from governments and other co-funders (see below).
## **Grants from governments and other co-funders**
Grants from governments and other co-funders, are recognised when the entity is legally entitled to the income because it is fulfilling the conditions contained in the related funding agreements. Grants from government and other cofunders typically include the following conditions:
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes and on a going concern basis. In the application of the accounting policies the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions and the most important areas where the judgements affect the financial statements and could impact the results of reported operations are listed in note 20.
- Performance based conditions – Concern (UK) is contractually entitled to funding only to the extent that the core objectives of the grant agreement are achieved. Where the entity is meeting the core objectives of a grant agreement it recognises the related expenditure, to the extent that it is reimbursable by the donor, as income.
## **Basis of consolidation**
The financial statements of Concern (UK) and ‘Concern (NI)’ are consolidated, on a line by line basis, to produce the Group financial statements. The consolidated entity is referred to as ‘the Group’.
- Time based conditions – Concern (UK) is contractually entitled to funding on the condition that it is utilised in a particular period. In these cases the entity recognises the income to the extent utilised within the period specified in the agreement.
Concern (UK) is a company limited by guarantee (registered number 04323646) and is a registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1092236) and with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (charity number SC038107). Concern (UK) meets the definition of a Public Benefit Entity under FRS 102. Concern Worldwide (Northern Ireland) (‘Concern (NI)’) is a company limited by guarantee registered in Northern Ireland (company number NI019332) and as a charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (charity number 108592). Concern Worldwide (UK) (‘Concern (UK)’) is the sole member of Concern (NI), therefore, Concern (NI) is regarded as a subsidiary of Concern (UK). Concern (NI) meets the definition of a Public Benefit Entity under FRS 102. **Consortia arrangements**
In the absence of such conditions, assuming that receipt is probable and that the amount can be reliably measured, grant income is recognised once the entity is notified of entitlement
## **Trading and other income**
Trading and other income includes retail income from the sale of donated goods through shops. Income is recognised net of value added tax.
Donated goods for resale are recognised within retail income when they are sold.
## **Gift in Kind**
Concern (NI) recognises volunteers support in running the shops and valued their contributions by estimating the cost that Concern (NI) would have incurred through employing additional staff if volunteers were not available to provide the service. The estimate is based on current market rate salaries of staff that would need to be employed to replace volunteer support. Any other gifts in kind are measured at their actual costs that would have been incurred.
Income receivable and resources expended by Concern (UK), as a member of a consortium, are reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities only to the extent that the organisation is directly responsible for the management and utilisation of the funds. Amounts received by the Charity, as an agent for other consortium members, are not recorded as income. Cash held on behalf of consortium members is included in creditors. **b) Income**
## **Other income**
Other income includes bank interest and income arising from government employment and retail-related grants. It is recognised in the period in which it becomes receivable. **c) Expenditure**
Income in the statement of financial activities is recognised only when the Group is legally entitled to the income, the amounts involved can be measured with sufficient reliability and it is probable that the income will be received by the Group.
Resources expended are analysed between costs of charitable activities and costs of raising funds. The costs of each activity are separately accumulated, disclosed and analysed according to their major components. Expenditure is recognised when a legal or constructive obligation exists as a result of a past event, a transfer of economic benefit is required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
## **Donations and legacies**
This income (which consists of monetary donations from the public, corporates, trusts, legacies, major donors (including Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeals together with related Gift Aid income) is recognised in the period in which the Group is entitled to the resource, when receipt is probable and when the amount can be measured with
**72 Concern Worldwide (UK)**
> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **73**
Support costs, which cannot be attributed directly to one activity, are allocated in proportion to estimated staff time spent on each activity.
The costs of public campaigns, together with related salary costs, which are undertaken to meet the dual purposes of raising funds and of promoting awareness of issues in the developing world, are split between costs of raising funds and costs of charitable activities on the basis which seem the most reasonable and appropriate for each type of campaign.
## **Costs of charitable activities**
The cost of charitable activities comprises costs of overseas programmes and of policy, advocacy and campaigning work together with related support and governance costs. Concern (UK) works in the developing world by providing resources to the overseas branches of its parent company, Concern Worldwide. All costs of charitable activities are recognised on an accruals basis. Governance costs (which are included under this heading) represent the salaries, direct expenditure and overhead costs incurred on the strategic, as opposed to day to day, management of Concern (UK), and on compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
## **Costs of raising funds**
Fundraising costs include the costs of advertising, producing publications, printing and mailing fundraising material, staff costs in these areas and an appropriate allocation of central overhead costs. All costs of raising funds are recognised on an accruals basis.
## **d) Funds**
Concern (UK) maintains various types of funds as follows: **Restricted Funds**
Restricted funds represent grants, donations and legacies received which can only be used for particular purposes as specified by the relevant donor. Such purposes are within the overall aims of the organisation.
## **Unrestricted Funds**
Unrestricted funds represent amounts which are expendable at the discretion of the Board of Trustees (‘the Board’) in furtherance of the overall objectives of Concern (UK). They consist of designated funds and general funds.
Designated funds represent amounts that have been set aside for specific purposes, which would otherwise form part of the general reserves of the organisation. Specifically, Concern (UK) sets aside funds so that it can protect its ongoing programme of work from unexpected variations in income and to finance fixed assets for on-going use. General funds represent amounts which are expendable at the discretion of the Board in furtherance of the objectives of the Charity. Such funds may be held in order to finance working capital or to finance the start-up of new programmes pending receipts of funds.
## **e) Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Assets which cost less than £750 are not capitalised.
Depreciation is calculated to write off the original cost of the tangible fixed assets, less estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives, on a straight line basis at the following annual rates:
Leasehold premises ....................3% Furniture & equipment ..............10% Other equipment........................20% Computer equipment ................33%
A full year’s depreciation is charged in the year of acquisition with none in the year of disposal. Provision is also made for
any impairment of tangible fixed assets below their carrying amounts.
## **f) Stocks**
Unsold donated items (donated to Concern (NI)’s shops) are not included in closing stock since their cost is nil and their value is uncertain until sold.
## **g) Financial instruments**
Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any discount offered. Income recognised by the Company from governments and other co-funders, but not yet received at year end, is included in debtors.
Cash at bank in hand is comprised of cash on deposit at banks requiring less than 3 months notice of withdrawal. These are carried at amortised cost.
Creditors are recognised where the entity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be reliably measured. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due and at their present value where the time value of money is deemed significant. Funds already received from donors, that do not meet the criteria for recognition as income, are shown in creditors.
## **h) Provisions**
Provisions are recognised where the Group has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be reliably measured or estimated. Provisions are normally recognised at their estimated settlement amount and at their present value where the time value of money is significant.
## **i) Pensions**
Concern (UK) makes payments into individual externally administered defined contribution pension schemes for qualifying members of staff. The payments to the schemes are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year to which they relate (note 8).
## **j) Foreign Currencies**
The financial statements are prepared in sterling (Stg£) which is the Company’s functional currency because the majority of the funds raised by the Company are in sterling. Transactions denominated in other currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange prevailing at the transaction date or at a contracted rate. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in other currencies have been translated into sterling at the exchange rates ruling at the balance sheet date or the contracted rate, and any resulting gains or losses are taken to
## **k) Taxation**
Concern (UK) is a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the Charity is exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the costs when they are incurred
## **l) Leases**
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the lease terms. Rent incentives are recognised on straight line basis over the lease term (length of the lease) or to the break clause if in place.
## **2. Incoming Resources**
## **(a) Income from donations and legacies**
**Restricted Unrestricted Group Total 2023 2023 2023 Stg£ Stg£ Stg£** Individual giving **1,306,809 3,539,860 4,846,669** Corporates, major donors and trusts **1,195,540 212,739 1,408,279** Concern Worldwide grant (Note 18) **- 533,000 533,000** Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)* **4,976,030 - 4,976,030** Legacy income **- 496,334 496,334** Community fundraising **51,373 205,824 257,197 Total 7,529,752 4,987,757 12,517,509**
*DEC is an umbrella group of UK charities which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises around the world.
Restricted Unrestricted Group Total 2022 2022 2022 Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Individual giving 1,646,887 3,527,078 5,173,965 Corporates, major donors and trusts 1,029,312 256,925 1,286,237 Concern Worldwide grant (Note 18) - 215,842 215,842 Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)* 9,403,852 - 9,403,852 Legacy income 500 386,660 387,160 Community fundraising 63,935 504,721 568,656 Total 12,144,486 4,891,226 17,035,712
**(b) Income from charitable activities – grants and contracts from governments and other co-funders**
**Group Total** Group Total **2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ **Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) 8,702,690** 12,126,709 **Other government income** SIDA **515,588** 197,240 Guernsey Overseas Aid **105,496** 15,033 **Other co-funding** UN **1,178,189** - ECHO **596,150** 754,790 Comic Relief **500,000** - **Total 11,598,113** 13,093,772
Income from government grants comprises grants to fund the charitable activities of Concern (UK).
## **(c) Trading and other income**
**Group Total** Group Total **2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ Retail income **648,396** 551,738 Deposit interest **111,845** 12,610 Other income **-** 7,713 **Total 760,241** 572,061
All trading and other income was unrestricted in both the current and prior year. Retail income includes Gift in Kind of the value of £99,696 (2022: £95,866).
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## **3. Expenditure on charitable activities**
Expenditure on charitable activities can be analysed as shown below. Expenditure on overseas programmes represents contributions by Concern (UK) to the overseas programmes of Concern Worldwide.
**2023 Direct Support Group costs costs* Total Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Overseas programmes** Livelihood 1,033,454 18,048 **1,051,502** Health 1,189,026 20,765 **1,209,791** Education 757,122 13,222 **770,344** Integrated 2,945,007 51,430 **2,996,437** Emergency 16,772,570 292,910 **17,065,480 Total overseas programmes 22,697,179 396,375 23,093,554** Policy, Advocacy and Campaigning 741,850 234,753 **976,603** Governance (Note 5) 36,227 85,931 **122,158 Total charitable expenditure 23,475,256 717,059 24,192,315** 2022 Direct Support Group costs costs* Total Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Overseas programmes Livelihood 514,418 8,289 522,707 Health 1,065,646 17,172 1,082,818 Education 2,131,030 34,340 2,165,370 Integrated 802,472 12,931 815,403 Emergency 15,021,062 241,698 15,262,760 Total overseas programmes 19,534,628 314,430 19,849,058 Policy, Advocacy and Campaigning 780,214 185,028 965,242 Governance (Note 5) 23,013 68,687 91,700 Total charitable expenditure 20,337,855 568,145 20,906,000
*See note 6
## **4. Cost of raising funds**
**Occupancy & other Total 2023 Campaign Staff direct direct Support Group costs costs costs costs costs* Total Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£** Individual giving 1,075,563 1,244,157 282,766 **2,602,486** 260,393 **2,862,879** Corporates, major donors and trusts 16,975 432,617 105,223 **554,815** 52,547 **607,362** Legacy 9,390 - - **9,390** - **9,390** Community fundraising - 82,823 23,447 **106,270** 6,460 **112,730** Retail costs 8,082 258,597 143,401 **410,080** 7,377 **417,457 Total 1,110,010 2,018,194 554,837 3,683,041 326,777 4,009,818**
Occupancy & other Total 2022 Campaign Staff direct direct Support Group costs costs costs costs costs* Total Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Individual giving 1,576,059 1,071,708 245,769 2,893,536 172,266 3,065,802 Corporates, major donors and trusts 19,634 399,825 99,882 519,341 40,987 560,328 Legacy 10,182 - - 10,182 - 10,182 Community fundraising - 175,366 42,615 217,981 24,661 242,642 Retail costs 5,511 217,425 117,504 340,440 12,742 353,182 Total 1,611,386 1,864,324 505,770 3,981,480 250,656 4,232,136
*see note 6
## **5. Governance costs**
**2023** 2022 **Support Group** Support Group **Direct costs* Total** Direct costs* Total **Stg£ Stg£ Stg£** Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Staff costs - 52,022 **52,022** - 49,910 49,910 Legal and professional fees 21,891 648 **22,539** 12,171 381 12,552 Office and other costs 14,336 33,261 **47,597** 10,842 18,396 29,238 **Total 36,227 85,931 122,158** 23,013 68,687 91,700
*see note 6
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## **6. Support costs**
Where support costs are attributable to a particular activity they are allocated directly to it. Where support costs are incurred to further more than one activity they are apportioned between the relevant activities based on the amount of staff time that each activity absorbs. The allocation of the main types of support costs is detailed below.
**Policy, 2023 Overseas Advocacy & Group programmes Campaigning Governance Fundraising Total Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£** Administration and finance 210,119 154,114 85,931 282,542 **732,706** - Other support costs 186,256 80,639 44,235 **311,130 Total support costs 396,375 234,753 85,931 326,777 1,043,836** Policy, 2022 Overseas Advocacy & Group programmes Campaigning Governance Fundraising Total Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Administration and finance 131,924 111,416 68,687 204,262 516,289 Other support costs 182,506 73,612 - 46,394 302,512 Total support costs 314,430 185,028 68,687 250,656 818,801
## **7. Other information**
**2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ The surplus for the year is after charging the following items: Depreciation of tangible fixed assets **50,067** 46,797 Auditor’s remuneration (including expenses) **26,440** 17,927 Direct reimbursement of expenses to Trustees **1,230** 323 Payments under operating leases for premises **228,133** 186,634
## **8. Staff**
## **(a) Numbers and costs**
The aggregate payroll costs of employees were as follows:
**2023** 2022 **Group** Group **Stg£** Stg£ Wages and salaries **2,294,703** 2,159,104 Social welfare costs **233,020** 229,754 Other pension costs **175,150** 156,280 **2,702,873** 2,545,138
Other pension costs include employer contributions to individual staff member pension schemes of £134,891 (2022: £122,035) as well as the cost of insurance policies that provide benefits in the event of the death or ongoing incapacity of staff members totalling £40,259 in 2023 (2022: £34,245).
Remuneration, including pension contributions, paid to the key management of Concern (UK) (the executive management team as detailed on page 39 of the annual report) amounted to £458,102 in 2023 (2022: £429,622).
The average number of employees during the year analysed by function was as follows:
**2023** 2022 **No.** No. Management **6** 6 Development **5** 5 Marketing **42** 47 Administration **8** 7 **61** 65
## **(b) Salary range**
The number of employees whose remuneration amounted to over £60,000 in the year was as follows:
**2023** 2022 **No. employees** No. employees £60,001 to £70,000 **1** 2 £70,001 to £80,000 **1** 2 £80,001 to £90,000 **2** -
Remuneration includes salaries but excludes employer pension scheme contributions. Contributions to defined contribution schemes amounted to 7.5% of salary in 2023 (2022: 7.5%). No contributions were made to defined benefit schemes for employees.
Concern (UK) has a remuneration policy that has been agreed by the Board. This policy states that the Charity seeks to be competitive within each market in which it operates. As a principle this means that Concern (UK) has pitched its salaries at the median of the market place. A salary grading structure has been in place for a number of years and has been approved by the Board.
## **(c) Remuneration of Board members**
None of the Trustees of the Concern (UK) received remuneration for their services. Total costs of £4,243 (2022: £323) were incurred by the Trustees in travelling to and attending meetings of the Board in 2023 or training of which £1,230 (2022: £323) were paid directly to six (2022: 2) Trustees while £3,013 (2022: nil) was paid to third parties by Concern (UK).
Concern (UK) has a programme in place whereby the Trustees periodically visit a Concern Worldwide country of operation in order to ensure that they are familiar with Concern’s work on the ground. The costs of these visits (which comprise medicals, visas, economy flights and basic accommodation) are generally borne by the Charity and in 2023 amounted to £4,464 (2022: nil).
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> Annual Report and Accounts 2023 **79**
## **9. Tangible assets**
**Leasehold Furniture Computer premises & equipment equipment Total Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Group tangible assets Cost** At beginning of year 318,393 319,382 55,859 693,634 Additions in year 37,625 38,074 13,664 89,363 **At end of year 356,018 357,456 69,523 782,997 Depreciation** At beginning of year 196,606 228,981 53,891 479,478 Charge for year 9,552 33,164 7,351 50,067 **At end of year 206,158 262,145 61,242 529,545 Net book value At 31 December 2023 149,860 95,311 8,281 253,452** At 31 December 2022 121,787 90,401 1,968 214,156 **Charity tangible assets Cost** At beginning of year 318,393 284,752 55,859 659,004 Additions in year 37,625 - 13,663 51,288 **At end of year 356,018 284,752 69,522 710,292 Depreciation** At beginning of year 196,606 217,274 53,891 467,771 Charge for year 9,552 25,388 7,351 42,291 **At end of year 206,158 242,662 61,242 510,062 Net book value At 31 December 2023 149,860 42,090 8,280 200,230** At 31 December 2022 121,787 67,478 1,968 191,233
## **10. Debtors and prepayments**
**Group** Group **Charity** Charity **2023** 2022 **2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ **Stg£** Stg£ Amounts due from governments and other co-funders **8,744,149** 9,720,912 **8,744,149** 9,720,912 Gift Aid receivable **850,141** 1,746,895 **840,081** 1,746,895 Accrued income **38,301** 13,464 **35,860** 11,744 Sundry debtors **106,915** 97,248 **100,496** 91,560 Prepayments **68,194** 88,982 **58,299** 86,832 Amount owed from subsidiary undertaking **-** - **567,162** 438,110 **9,807,700** 11,667,501 **10,346,047** 12,096,053
## **11. Cash at bank and in hand**
**Group** Group **Charity** Charity **2023** 2022 **2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ **Stg£** Stg£ Funds held in UK banks **11,207,811** 6,230,500 **10,683,083** 5,791,088
## **12. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
**Group** Group **Charity** Charity **2023** 2022 **2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ **Stg£** Stg£ Trade creditors **623,981** 410,774 **617,133** 398,082 Amounts advanced by governments and other co-funders (i) **2,871,760** 2,722,750 **2,871,760** 2,722,750 Accruals **2,907,516** 289,458 **2,883,658** 277,458 Amount owed to parent company (ii) **8,776,585** 5,257,313 **8,776,585** 5,257,313 Sundry creditors **24,144** 40,615 **24,034** 39,608 **15,203,986** 8,720,910 **15,173,170** 8,695,211
(i) Balances with co-funders comprises amounts received from donors that do not yet meet the criteria for recognition of income.
(ii) The amounts owed to the parent company comprise of operational expenses paid on behalf of Concern (UK) by the parent company and is repayable on demand.
## **13. Activities of consolidated subsidiary – Concern (NI)**
## **Activities of consolidated Concern (NI)**
**2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ Income **715,112** 602,388 Expenditure **(714,409)** (601,070) **Net income 703** 1,318 Assets **611,319** 475,732 Liabilities **(602,532)** (467,648) **Net assets 8,787** 8,084
All amounts included within debtors and prepayments fall due within one year.
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## **14. Movement in receivables and advances from governments and other co-funders**
**Opening Balance Movement Closing Balance 2023 during the year 2023 Stg£ Stg£ Stg£** Amounts due from governments and other co-funders (note 10) 9,720,912 (976,763) **8,744,149** Amounts advanced by governments and other co-funders (note 12) (2,722,750) (149,010) **(2,871,760)** 6,998,162 (1,125,773) **5,872,389 Analysis of movement:** Cash received during the year **(18,318,384)** Income earned during the year **17,194,568** Exchange Rate Movements **(1,957) (1,125,773)**
**15. Analysis of changes in net debt**
**At 1 Jan 2023 Cash flows At 31 Dec 2023 Cash and cash equivalents** Cash 6,230,500 4,977,311 **11,207,811 Total** 6,230,500 4,977,311 **11,207,811**
## **16. Group and Charity funds**
## **(a) Reconciliation of funds**
**Restricted Unrestricted Total** Total **Funds Funds 2023** 2022 **Stg£ Stg£ Stg£** Stg£ **Group** Total funds at beginning of year **6,453,361 2,937,886 9,391,247** 3,827,838 Net movement in funds for the year **(3,294,651) (31,619) (3,326,270)** 5,563,409 **Total funds at end of year 3,158,710 2,906,267 6,064,977** 9,391,247 **Charity** Total funds at beginning of year **6,453,361 2,929,802 9,383,163** 3,821,072 Net movement in funds for the year **(3,294,651) (32,322) (3,326,973)** 5,562,091 **Total funds at end of year 3,158,710 2,897,480 6,056,190** 9,383,163
## **16. Group and Charity funds (cont.)**
## **(b) Group movements in funds**
**Opening balance Closing balance 1 January 31 December 2023 Income Expenditure Transfers 2023 Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Restricted funds** Afghanistan 533,005 758,566 (1,291,571) - - Bangladesh - 66,469 (10,122) - 56,347 Burkina Faso - 140,957 (140,957) - - Burundi 40,013 129,829 (119,829) - 50,013 DR Congo 102,667 1,363,986 (1,398,420) - 68,233 Central African Republic 20,749 242,088 (262,837) - - Ethiopia - 1,227,287 (987,287) - 240,000 Haiti - 84,110 (84,110) - - Syria-Iraq 36,062 54,618 (90,680) - - Kenya 65,241 530,424 (495,361) - 100,304 Lebanon - 102,387 (102,387) - - Liberia 5 190 (195) - - Malawi 1,502 13,287 (14,789) - - Niger (2,094) 410,287 (410,287) 2,094 - Nepal 2 - (2) - - Pakistan 691,883 2,755,679 (3,058,180) - 389,382 Republic of Sudan 42 142,903 (142,895) - 50 Sierra Leone - 193,869 (193,869) - - Somalia 270,217 3,268,429 (3,467,229) (3,630) 67,787 South Sudan - 668,790 (668,790) - - Chad - 328,966 (328,966) - - Turkey - 4,166,290 (3,195,793) - 970,497 Ukraine 4,691,959 1,021,653 (4,497,515) - 1,216,097 Yemen 2,108 - (2,108) - - HQ Projects - 1,456,801 (1,456,801) - - **Total restricted funds (i) 6,453,361 19,127,865 (22,420,980) (1,536) 3,158,710 Unrestricted funds** General funds (ii) 1,175,433 5,747,998 (5,781,153) (126,517) 1,015,761 Designated funds: Tangible asset fund (iii) 222,055 - - 109,207 331,262 Programme continuity fund (iv) 1,540,398 - - 18,846 1,559,244 **Total unrestricted funds 2,937,886 5,747,998 (5,781,153) 1,536 2,906,267 Total funds 9,391,247 24,875,863 (28,202,133) - 6,064,977**
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## **16. Group and Charity funds (cont.)**
## **(b) Group movements in funds (continued)**
## **The above funds carried forward at 31 December 2023 represent:**
(i) Income from appeals and donations which were not yet applied in the countries to which the appeals related.
- (ii) Funds for use at the discretion of the Board to expand the activities of Concern (UK).
(iii) The net book amounts already invested in or contractually committed to tangible fixed assets for use by Concern (UK).
(iv) The net amount that the Trustees have agreed to be set aside to ensure that the organisation can protect its ongoing programme of work from work from unexpected variances in income.
- (v) Analysis of net assets between funds:
**Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Funds Funds Stg£ Stg£ Stg£ Group** Funds balances at 31 December 2023 are represented by: Tangible fixed assets - 253,452 253,452 Current assets 3,158,710 17,856,801 21,015,511 Current liabilities - (15,203,986) (15,203,986) **3,158,710 2,906,267 6,064,977 Charity** Funds balances at 31 December 2023 are represented by: Tangible fixed assets - 200,230 200,230 Current assets 3,158,710 17,870,420 21,029,130 Current liabilities - (15,173,170) (15,173,170) **3,158,710 2,897,480 6,056,190**
## **17. Pensions**
The Charity contributes to individual pension schemes for eligible staff. The total pension contributions charged to the statement of financial activities amounted to £134,891 (2022: £122,035). An accrual of £24,907 (2022: £21,948) in respect of pension costs is included in creditors at 31 December 2023.
## **19. Commitments and contingencies**
- (a) The 2024 Annual Plan, as approved by the trustees, allows for overseas expenditure in 2024 of £22,017,639 (2023: £7,403,376). Any increases over this amount requires the approval of the Board of Trustees. Concern (UK) is also committed to assisting certain overseas projects for periods in excess of one year.
- (b) The total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases in respect of premises for use by the Charity are:
**2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ Total payments due within: – one year **194,161** 190,854 – two to five years **463,772** 180,607 – more than five years **641** 641 **658,574** 372,102
c) During 2023, Concern (UK) was the lead agency in three consortia of non-governmental organisations (2022: 2) that were awarded grants and contracts from institutional co-funders to fund programme activities. The total value of these grants and contracts is £63,673,930 (2022: £6,360,071). Of this amount, £23,818,827 is expected to be spent by Concern (UK) (2022: £3,837,388) and the balance will be utilised by the other consortia members. In 2023, expenditure of these grants and contracts totalled £658,808 (2022: nil). Of this amount, £470,463 (2023: nil) was utilised by Concern (UK) and the remainder was utilised by the other consortia members.
As Concern (UK) signed the agreements and contracts with the institutional co-funders, it has obligations in relation to monitoring and reporting the full expenditure of these grants, and these obligations remain until the projects have been fully concluded. Concern (UK) may also have liability for any disallowances by the donor that cannot be recovered from the other consortia members. No provision or disclosure has been made in these accounts for any such liabilities (for which Concern (UK) is jointly and severally liable), because the likelihood of them materialising is believed to be remote.
The analysis of funds held, received on behalf of and paid to other consortia members during the year is outlined below:
**Opening Funds received Funds transferred to Closing Balance during the year the consortia members Balance Stg£’000 Stg£’000 Stg£’000 Stg£’000 Funds relating to consortia members - 3,836 (1,280) 2,556**
## **18. Related party disclosure**
In order to achieve its mission, Concern (UK) supports the overseas programmes of Concern Worldwide. During 2023, Concern (UK) provided total funds of £22,697,179 (2022: £19,534,628) to Concern Worldwide for those programmes (see Appendix 1 for details).
During 2023, Concern Worldwide awarded Concern (UK) a grant of £533,000 (2022: £215,842) to fund elements of its UK based activities. This amount is reflected in income from donations and legacies (Note 2) and is included in the net amount owed to parent company at year end (Note 12).
The Charity is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and in the year paid a subscription of £30,000 (2022: £30,000). Concern (UK)’s Executive Director is a trustee of the DEC. Concern (UK)’s income for the year (Note 2) includes £4,976,030 (2022: £9,403,852) from DEC appeals. Of this amount, £4,650,713 (2022: £5,785,318) was outstanding at year end and is included in amounts due from governments and other co-funders (Note 10).
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## **20. Accounting estimates and judgements**
In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Trustees are required to make estimates, judgements and assumptions. The most important areas where the judgements affect the financial statements and could impact the results of reported operations are listed below.
## **Income recognition**
In applying the income recognition principles of the Charities SORP at contract inception, where contract terms are less formal, Management are occasionally required to apply judgement to ascertain whether a contract is performance or nonperformance based. Furthermore, unless inappropriate to do so based on the terms, Management typically uses incurred expenditure as means to measure contract progress. In doing this a qualitative assessment of the status of a project is made in addition to the quantitative analysis prior to income recognition. Management monitors the pattern of income recognition at a donor contract level and assesses the impact of contract modifications on an ongoing basis in order to ensure the pattern of income recognition is in line with the accounting policy.
## **Cost allocation**
Support costs (note 6), which cannot be attributed directly to one activity, are allocated in proportion to estimated staff time spent on each activity. Management perform the cost allocation process annually with due regard to prior year consistency and assess if a change in allocation basis is appropriate from time to time.
## **21. Post balance sheet events**
There have been no post balance sheet events that would require adjustment to or disclosure in these financial statements.
## **22. Approval of financial statements**
These financial statements were approved by the Board on 16 May 2024.
## **Appendix**
## **(not forming part of the financial statements)**
## **Expenditure on charitable activities by country**
In order to achieve its mission, Concern Worldwide (UK) supports the overseas programmes of Concern Worldwide. During 2023, Concern Worldwide (UK) funded Concern Worldwide operations in the following countries:
**2023** 2022 **Stg£** Stg£ Afghanistan **1,333,295** 1,390,490 Bangladesh **208,022** 98,520 Burkina Faso **296,951** 68,957 Burundi – Rwanda **174,272** 298,316 DR Congo **1,498,907** 2,941,940 Central African Republic **299,687** 445,036 Ethiopia **1,235,058** 1,337,317 Haiti **96,886** 95,409 Syria – Iraq **119,304** 91,135 Kenya **560,713** 381,375 Lebanon **102,387** 218 Liberia **190** 29,774 Malawi **14,788** 370,932 Niger **410,287** 142,071 Nepal **2** - Pakistan **3,376,104** 1,497,730 Republic of Sudan **257,429** 102,593 Sierra Leone **193,869** 1,694,232 Somalia **3,532,868** 4,264,627 South Sudan **833,883** 392,676 Chad **328,966** 151,317 Türkiye **3,248,733** 112,159 Ukraine **4,513,794** 3,627,804 Yemen **60,784** - **Total direct overseas programme costs 22,697,179** 19,534,628 Support costs **396,375** 314,430 Total overseas programme costs **23,093,554** 19,849,058 Policy, Advocacy and Campaigning (UK) **976,603** 965,242 Governance **122,158** 91,700 **Total charitable expenditure 24,192,315** 20,906,000
**86 Concern Worldwide (UK)** “y “ - « : **support** 4 * O15 | :
## **Thank you for your support**
We would not have been able to carry out our work in 2023 without the generous support of many individuals, institutions, organisations, trusts and foundations, some of whom are listed below.
A sincere thank you to our community groups and volunteers for their hard work and everyone who donates on a regular basis, giving us the confidence to plan ahead. We are also very grateful to individuals who have thoughtfully left us a legacy.
**Catholic Relief Services Comic Relief**
**Concern Philanthropic Circle Members Disasters Emergency Committee European Union innocent foundation JCDecaux Ireland Klaus and Gertrud Conrad Foundation Milton Damerel Trust Norwegian Refugee Council One Foundation READ Foundation Start Network States of Guernsey Swedish government UN International Organisation for Migration UK government Whole Planet Foundation**
**Left:** Charlotte Bankundiye (33) and Joel Nkurunziza (37) are one of 2,700 vulnerable families who have taken part in Concern’s Graduation Programme in Gisagara, Rwanda. Photo: Eugene Ikua/Concern Worldwide
**concernuk concernni**
**concernworldwideuk concernworldwideuk concernuk**
## **London**
The Foundry 17 Oval Way London SE11 5RR 0800 032 4001 **enquiries.info@concern.net**
**Belfast** 47 Frederick Street Belfast BT1 2LW 028 9033 1100 **enquiries.info@concern.net**
## **www.concern.org.uk**
Concern Worldwide (UK) registered charity numbers 1092236 (England and Wales) and SC038107 (Scotland). A charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales under company number 4323646.