Where we work
World Service is present in 27 countries in Africa, Asia including the Middle East, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Currently, LWF World service is present across 21 programs in 27 countries in Africa Asia, Central America, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
LWF World Service works in the midst of some of the most intractable and challenging humanitarian and development situations globally, always focuses on the human being.
Our staff work in environments, which are unstable, and often impacted by violence and unrest.

Photo: LWF/O. Schnoebelen
Country Program
LWF Angola supports individuals and communities through livelihoods, land rights, sustainable agriculture, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities.

Members of Péline’s cooperative make woven baskets for additional income. Photo: LWF/L. Gillabert
Country Program
In 2021, the program supported more than 19,000 people through projects in the areas of livelihoods, child protection, education, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH), health, and social cohesion.

Nigerian refugee sews a skirt to be sold at the marketplace in Minawao, Cameroon. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Country Program
Present in Cameroon since 2014, the LWF responds to internal needs generated by crises and conflicts in neighboring countries. It thus helps Nigerian and Central African refugees, but also internally displaced persons, local communities and returnees.

Traders in front of their stand. Photo: LWF Central African Republic
Country Program
Following a March 2013 military coup, the Central African Republic saw an escalation of violence that often targeted civilians. We are assisting internally displaced people (IDPs), affected communities and those returning home in the Nana Mambéré, Ouham, Ouham Pendé, Mambere Kadei and Sangha Mbaere prefectures in the west of the country.

Church in Guatemala. Photo: LWF Central America
Country Program
The social, economic, environmental, and political conditions in Central America make it one of the most vulnerable regions in the world.We are advocates on critical regional issues including human rights, food security, regional financial policy, and climate justice.
Womand cooking in Daouda, Chad. Photo: LWF/A. Danielsson
Country Program
Chad has experienced chronic instability since its independence in 1960 and was heavily affected by conflicts in neighbouring countries like Sudan, the Central African Republic, Libya and more recently Northern Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger (Boko Haram conflict). The LWF works together with refugees and host communities to help meet urgent and long-term priorities.

Colombia-Venezuela
Country Program
Since 2006 in Colombia and 2019 in Venezuela, the LWF Colombia - Venezuela program responds to various emergencies and needs caused by armed conflict, natural disasters and migration, supporting affected ethnic communities, peasants, migrants, and local leaders. I

Ethiopia
Country Program
Tigray's conflict turned violent in November 2020, when the Federal government and the Tigray regional forces clashed, causing massive displacement. In our work with rural Ethiopian communities, the LWF assists with agricultural development through inputs, small-scale irrigation schemes, training and technical support, and veterinary support. We also partner with communities on water sustainability through water user associations, water facilities, and training in water supply management.

Country Program
Opened in 2017 in Port-au-Prince, the joint office of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) World Service, and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) responds to needs caused by natural disasters and social, economic, and environmental crises. The three organizations carry out joint projects in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), livelihoods, climate adaptation, food security and disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Iraq
Country Programs
The humanitarian crisis in Northern Iraq, instigated by ISIS’ capture of Mosul in June 2014 has destroyed homes, infrastructures, and economies and caused displacement, violence, loss of lives and livelihoods, social tensions, strained resources, and uncertainty. The LWF has intervened in Iraq since 2014, supporting internally displaced people, host communities and Syrian refugees.

Jerusalem
Country Programs
The work of the LWF Jerusalem Program started in 1948 as a refugee operation and continues, over 70 years later, to serve the Palestinian people. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the ongoing blockade of the Gaza strip, and a series of failed peace processes have led to a protracted protection crisis, affecting all parts of the lives of the approximately 5 million Palestinians.

Jordan
Country Programs
The conflict in Syria is entering its tenth year, and it is a protracted crisis. Following an invitation by the local Lutheran Church, LWF has been active in Jordan since 2012. Over this period of operation, LWF Jordan has built up a track record in three programmatic areas: Livelihoods, Quality Services (Education) and Protection & Social Cohesion, targeting Syrian and Iraqi refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. LWF is present in local communities and in the Zaatari camp.

Kenya-Somalia
Country Program
As a result of neighboring conflicts and regional drought, Kenya hosts close to 450,000 refugees. In response to decades-long displacement, the LWF works with refugee and host communities to support their needs and to protect their human rights.

Laos
Country Program
As the Lao People's Democratic Republic continues to grow economically, many challenges remain for the rural poor to realize fully some most basic rights: education, livelihoods, public health. The LWF partners with rural communities to help them realize their full potential to develop in sustainable ways.

The prospect of a better education is more likely for Ma Khin Nu, seven, a resident of the Ohn Taw Gyi camp, Myanmar. Photo: LWF Myanmar/Isaac Kyaw Htun Hla
Country Program
LWF Myanmar serves people since 2008. The organization works in the poorest, most marginalized, and vulnerable parts of the country and among those affected by conflict, displacement, natural disasters, and injustice. LWF Myanmar is a people-centered, rights-based, and value-driven Country Program. In 2021, the LWF Myanmar supported more than 508,000 individuals to have access to sustainable livelihoods and to use the natural resources of the community through participatory processes.

Nepal
Country Program
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has been working in Nepal since 1984 with refugees, hosts, displaced (IDPs) and people at risk with socioeconomic, and climate and disaster vulnerabilities. Voice and participation of the right holders have been enhanced through community-based organizations to ensure equal access to livelihoods, quality services, and protection and social cohesion.

Katiia Kharytoniuk (37) and her daughter Sofija (5) from Uman, Ukraine, now live in a building of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland parish in Bytom. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Country Program
The war in Ukraine sparked the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since the end of the Second World War. Almost 8 million people from Ukraine are registered as refugees in neighboring European countries, and more than 6.5 million are estimated to be displaced inside the country. (data UNHCR, Jan 2023). The majority of refugees fled to Poland.

Kenya-Somalia
Country Program
South Sudan gained its independence in 2011. The peace deal ended Africa’s longest-running civil war. Soon tensions flared up between different parties in South Sudan, culminating in another wave of civil war starting in December 2013. Subsequently, South Sudan has become one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis. LWF supports child protection with direct support to vulnerable and at-risk children in the mandated camps in Jamjang county, while also mainstreaming protection and psychosocial wellbeing in all the locations where LWF supports education programs.

Uganda
Country Program
The LWF works through a variety of programs to help Ugandans – both young and old – achieve their rights and develop sustainably. We help local grassroots and district structures to organize and manage areas such as livelihoods, water and sanitation, health, and environmental management.

41-year-old Victoria Hlushko pictured in what used to be the living room of her family home in the village of Bil’machivka. Photo: LWF/ Albin Hillert
LWF supports people affected by the war in Ukraine with renovation, winterization and communication support. Part of this work is carried out in cooperation with our local member church, the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine.

Mauritania
Closed Country Program
The country of Mauritania continues to be affected by political instability and regional insecurity. The presence of armed groups in northern Mali has led to the displacement of tens of thousands into Mauritania, and an increase in military activity in the border area. As the LWF partners with the people of Mauritania, we engage in both long-term development assistance and humanitarian action. We work through local partners and communities to support locally owned livelihood development, disaster risk reduction and preparedness, and health awareness.