Caritas Africa

Caritas Africa

Abbreviation	CA
Established	1995 [1]
Focus	Humanitarian aid, International development, and social service
Location	Lomé [2] , Togo
Coordinates	6°08′58″N1°12′36″E / 6.14958°N 1.20992°E / 6.14958; 1.20992
Region served	Africa
Official language	English, French, Portuguese
Secretary General	Lucy Esipila
President	Pierre Cibambo
Main organ	General Assembly, Executive Board
Parent organization	Caritas Internationalis
Website	caritas-africa.org

Caritas Africa is a confederation of Catholic social service, international development and humanitarian relief organisations operating across Africa. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis. ^[3]

Caritas Africa refers to both the African network with its 46 member organizations, and its secretariat based in Lomé in Togo. The official languages of the organisation are English, French, and Portuguese.

Work

The member organisations of Caritas Africa work to alleviate poverty and provide humanitarian responses in their countries. The regional secretariat is engaged in political advocacy at African and global level, and engages in capacity strengthening of its members.

Membership

Caritas Africa has 46 member organisations spanning the sub-Saharan region, encompassing the islands in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. Caritas Africa does not extend its coverage to the entirety of the African continent, as Caritas organisations in the Maghreb, Mashriq, and partially the Horn of Africa belong to a distinct region within Caritas Internationalis, specifically Caritas Middle East and North Africa.

The national Caritas organisations are the members of Caritas Africa. In most countries, each national organisation serves as an umbrella for various diocesan Caritas organisations. Diocesan and parish Caritas groups operate locally ^[4] but are not direct members of Caritas Africa. In addition, Caritas agencies from other regions sometimes run country offices in African countries, such as CAFOD, Caritas Czech Republic, Caritas Switzerland, CRS or Trócaire, which are also not part of Caritas Africa.

List of member organisations

Country	Member organisation (English name)	Member organisation (Local or alternative name)	Established
Angola	Caritas Angola	Caritas de Angola	1957
Benin	Caritas Benin	Caritas Bénin	1958
Botswana	Caritas Botswana	—	1984
Burkina Faso	Caritas Burkina Faso	Organisation catholique pour le développement et la solidarité (OCADES Caritas Burkina)	1956
Burundi	Caritas Burundi	—	1962
Cameroon	Caritas Cameroon	Fondation Caritas Cameroun	1971
Cape Verde	Caritas Cape Verde	Caritas Caboverdiana	1976
Central African Republic	Caritas Central African Republic	Caritas Centrafrique	1960
Chad	Caritas Chad	Caritas Tchad	1986
Comoros	Caritas Comoros	Caritas Comores	1979
Republic of the Congo	Caritas Congo Brazzaville	—	?
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Caritas Congo	—	1960
Ivory Coast	Caritas Côte d'Ivoire	—	1955
Equatorial Guinea	Caritas Equatorial Guinea	?	1980
Eritrea	Caritas Eritrea	Eritrean Catholic Secretariat	?
Ethiopia	Caritas Ethiopia	Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission (ECC SDCO)	1965
Gabon	Caritas Gabon	—	1967
Gambia	Caritas Gambia	Catholic Development Office (CaDO)	2001
Ghana	Caritas Ghana	—	1960
Guinea	Caritas Guinea	Organisation Catholique pour la Promotion Humaine (OCPH) / Caritas Guinée	1986
Guinea-Bissau	Caritas Guinea-Bissau	Caritas Guiné-Bissau	1982
Kenya	Caritas Kenya	—	1973
Lesotho	Caritas Lesotho	—	1970
Liberia	Caritas Liberia	—	1990
Madagascar	Caritas Madagascar	—	1959
Malawi	Caritas Malawi	Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM)	1985
Mali	Caritas Mali	—	1986
Mauritius	Caritas Mauritius	Caritas Île Maurice	1965
Mozambique	Caritas Mozambique	Caritas Moçambicana	1977
Namibia	Caritas Namibia	—	1987
Niger	Caritas Niger	Caritas Développement Niger (CADEV)	1962
Nigeria	Caritas Nigeria	Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN)	2010
Rwanda	Caritas Rwanda	—	1960
São Tomé and Príncipe	Caritas São Tomé and Príncipe	Caritas de São Tomé e Príncipe	1981
Senegal	Caritas Senegal	—	1966
Seychelles	Caritas Seychelles	—	1975
Sierra Leone	Caritas Sierra Leone	—	1981
South Africa	Caritas South Africa	Siyabhabha Trust Caritas South Africa	1970
South Sudan	Caritas South Sudan	—	2011
Sudan	Caritas Sudan	Caritas Sudan / Sudanaid	1972
Tanzania	Caritas Tanzania	—	1971
Togo	Caritas Togo	Organisation de la charité pour un développement intégral (OCDI) / Caritas Togo	1967
Uganda	Caritas Uganda	—	1970
Zambia	Caritas Zambia	—	2001
Zimbabwe	Caritas Zimbabwe	Caritas Zimbabwe / Catholic Development Commission (CADEC)	1972
Eswatini	Caritas Swaziland	—	1977

Executive leadership

Office of Caritas Africa secretariat in Lomé.

Presidents

• 1995–2003: Charles Palmer-Buckle ^[5]
• ...
• 20??-2015: Francisco João Silota ^[6]
• 2015–2023: Gabriel Justice Yaw Anokye ^[7]
• 2023-now: Msgr. Pierre Cibambo ^[8]

Regional coordinators

• 2015–2023: Albert Mashika
• 2023-now: Lucy Esipila ^[9]

References

1. "Kenya's Lucy Espila Elected Caritas Africa Regional Executive Secretary". cisanewsafrica.com. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
2. "Caritas Africa". africaeuropemigration.org. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
3. "Caritas Internationalis | Catholic charity, humanitarian aid, social justice | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
4. Pope Benedict XVI (11 November 2012). "Apostolic letter issued 'motu proprio' on the service of charity (Intima ecclesiae natura)". vatican.va. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
5. "Archbishop Buckle is 43 years a priest today". radioangelus.com. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
6. "Caritas em África sente-se impotente para responder aos desafios do continente". rtp.pt . 25 February 2013.
7. "Ghanaian Bishop Anokye is New President of Caritas Africa". archivioradiovaticana.va . 19 May 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
8. Aduloju, Sr. Titilayo (22 September 2023). "New Caritas Africa president chairs regional commission meeting in Nigeria". vaticannews.va . Retrieved 29 April 2024.
9. Neliba, Arnold (23 June 2023). "TOGO: Caritas Africa Prioritizes Strengthening Role in Regional Coordination and Humanitarian Action". cisanewsafrica.com.

External links

• Official website (in English and French)