CCOUC is appointed as Sphere Country Focal Point for China from August 2014 to promote the internationally recognized sets of minimum standards in humanitarian response developed by the Sphere Project hosted by the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) in Geneva.
The Sphere Project established in 1997 is a voluntary initiative that brings a wide range of humanitarian agencies together around a common aim - to improve the quality of humanitarian assistance and the accountability of humanitarian actors to their constituents, donors and affected populations.
The Sphere Handbook, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, is one of the most widely known and internationally recognized sets of common principles and universal minimum standards in life-saving areas of humanitarian response. Consultants and contributors of these standards come from major international humanitarian agencies including Amnesty International IFRC, Oxfam, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN World Food Programme, WHO, and World Vision.