Africare and Accordia Global Health Foundation have merged. The new organization will be known as Africare and will be led by Robert L. Mallett, president and CEO of Africare. Mallett has previously served on Accordia’s board and held a brief tenure as the organization’s president.
Africare currently has a Washington, D.C. headquarters staff of 19 and just over 500 in field staffing. Mallett said that Africare will bring in the four employees currently operating in Accordia’s Washington, D.C. headquarters as well as about five individuals that do not work directly for Accordia, but operated in the field.
The organizations have agreed to have three to five Accordia board members serve on an advisory board on an interim basis, the goal being to bring some of the board members onto Africare’s 12-person board.
“I think the nonprofit sector has got to be able to reevaluate how it will grow and reach more people, particularly for those of us who work exclusively in Africa,” Mallett said. “There is duplication in the sector. We need to do more collaboration. We can do more when our footprint is larger.”
Africare will be able to bring on Accordia’s entire staff because there will be no duplication of roles, Mallett explained. Alissa Patrick Oram, Accordia’s vice president, will be brought on as chief compliance officer – a position that did not previously exist at Africare.
The two U.S.-based organizations have both centered missions on improving the quality of life for the people of Africa. Accordia’s main programs have been located in Uganda, Nigeria and Malawi. Africare has, too, operated in those three countries, along with 12 other sub-Saharan nations.
Africare’s mission has been to deliver community engagement, capacity building and public-private partnerships in the fields of health and agriculture, according to the organization’s website. Economic development, nutrition, water, sanitation and women’s empowerment have been key focuses.
Accordia Global Health Foundation has established infectious diseases institutes in both Nigeria and Uganda as well as the Institute for Child Wellness in Africa in Malawi. The merging organizations have had overlapping areas of interest in fields including nutrition and the fights against HIV and malaria.
Africare reported total revenues of $47.9 million on its 2014 990, down from $53.1 million in 2013 and $58.5 million in 2012. Accordia’s revenues stood at $1.9 million in 2014, down from just under $3 million in 2013 and $3.5 million in 2012.
