Family affected by Typhoon Yagi use a hygiene kit provided as part of an ECHO-funded project where World Vision is one of the implementors.

European Union

EU flag

World Vision’s strong partnership with the European Union (EU) is built on collaboration, advocacy and programming. Over the last 20 years, World Vision offices have been playing an active role in shaping this partnership with the EU, supported by the Brussel-based World Vision EU Representation.

This representation office facilitates engagement and programme collaboration with the EU through two main strategic avenues: advocating to ensure that children remain at the centre of the EU’s external action and driving World Vision’s expertise and knowledge around EU’s priorities and policies.  

World Vision’s partnership with the EU in action 

In partnership with the EU, in 2024-2025, we have launched new EU co-funded actions in more than 30 countries, including to: 

  • Support education in emergencies; build integrated multi-sector responses and promote access to basic services for conflict-affected populations; strengthen and consolidate national and community capacities for effective rural or urban disaster preparedness and response; 

  • Adopt integrated landscape approaches and investments in sustainable land management and food production; improve resilience through agroforestry; 

  • Boost youth employment and empower women in business; 

  • Eliminate child labour; work on digital transformation in education; promote inclusive approaches for children with disability; 

  • Build social cohesion through peacebuilding approaches. 

In addition, in a context of shrinking resources and accrued needs, World Vision and its microfinance daughter entity VisionFund leverage their private resources and investments as well as develop innovative products such as climate and health insurances or early recovery lending from the onset of disasters. This approach provides long-term solutions to the most vulnerable populations, ensuring an essential “last mile” outreach.

We leveraged World Vision’s expertise to help the EU shape key policies, such as: 

  • The EU Strategy on the Right of the Child, including its global dimension 

  • The Youth Action Plan in the EU’s external action 

  • The EU Updated Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict 

  • A number of Council Conclusions, including on Food and Nutrition security. 

We have also played an important role, as part of the Child Rights Action Group, to ensure the re-establishment of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights – a cross-party, a cross-national group of committed MEPs, who works together with child-focused organisations to keep children’s rights on top of the EU agenda.

We support the EU in ensuring that children from all over the world are heard and involved in decision-making processes. This includes facilitating the participation of children in EU events, such as in the EU’s Humanitarian Forum (EHF) in Brussels.

Partnering with the EU opens doors to deeper collaboration with both international and local organisations. A strong example of this is Regreening Africa, the EU-funded flagship initiative tackling land degradation through scalable solutions. Under the lead of the International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (ICRAF-CIFOR), World Vision will work along Catholic Relief Services, CARE, the Sahel Eco, and Agronomes & vétérinaires sans frontières. The action will strengthen the resilience of communities across the Sahel and Horn of Africa vis-à-vis the adverse impact of climate change and food insecurity through the restoration of degraded lands and the promotion of sustainable agro-ecology/agro-forestry techniques.

At the local level, our collaboration with the EU also strengthens partnerships on the ground. In Venezuela, the Educando Juntos programme supported by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), is a clear illustration of this, where we work closely with local partners Asociación Civil Tinta Violeta and Asociación para el Desarrollo de la Educación Integral y Comunitaria to support education and protection. 

Follow these links to find out more about World Vision’s work on:

Advocacy     Child Participation     Child Rights