AVSI Foundation is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1972, with headquarters in Milan, Italy and an office in Washington, DC.
Globally, AVSI’s mission is to support human development in developing countries according to the social teaching of the Catholic Church, with special attention to education and promotion of the global dignity of every person.
Since 1991, AVSI has been registered as a PVO with USAID, and is officially recognized by the Italian Government and the European Union. AVSI holds general consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, New York, with UNICEF, New York and is listed in the ILO Special List of NGOs.
At present, AVSI is operating in 38 countries in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Eurasia, the Middle East and South-East Asia in the following sectors: social and educational, distance support, urban development, healthcare, work, agriculture, food security and water, energy and environment, humanitarian emergency, migrations, international adoptions.
More than 60 organizations now make up the informal AVSI network, which works systematically on the implementation of projects, common reflection on development, to share methods and experiences. The network includes founding members and participating members, but also partners. A network bound by operative friendship.
Drawing on AVSI’s methodological approach that focuses on the needs of the person in his/her entirety and on partnerships with local institutions, AVSI’s programs and those of networked organizations often extend into more than one sector and across the divisions of civil society, business, and the state. This cross-sectoral and community-level approach makes each intervention more effective and sustainable.
AVSI-USA is a not-for profit organization registered as a PVO with USAID, with headquarters in New York and an office in Washington, DC, that supports the AVSI network by leveraging resources and contacts in the US in order to enhance and broaden the achievements of member organizations in promoting human dignity in developing countries.
