Indus Consortium – a collaborative platform of three rights-based development organizations namely Laar Humanitarian Development Program (LHDP), Doaba Foundation and HELP Foundation – is manifestation of a joint force of the people living around Sindhu (Indus) River basin in Pakistan. The consortium represents the unity among various groups of different ethnic, linguistic and geographic features and their resolve to struggle for the development of the people around Indus River basin whose forefathers, in the ancient ages, had developed one of the most prosperous civilizations around the globe; remembered in history as Indus Civilization. The consortium is registered as a not-for-profit company under sub-section (1) of section 42 of the Companies Ordinance, 1984, with Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
During 2008-2010, the consortium was engaged in Child-centered Disaster Risk Management (CCDRM) and Emergency Response in floods 2010 as joint efforts of all the member organizations. Similarly, during 2011-14 the consortium remained engaged in advancing the agenda of safer schools in disaster prone areas, promoting democratization in rural areas through Information, Communication Technologies (ICTs), capacity building of NGOs in media and communication strategies and consultations on Right to Information (RTI).
Its Vision is Indus Consortium envisions a democratic and equitable society where all citizens enjoy equal economic, cultural and political rights.
Its Mission is Indus Consortium works for local communities to enhance their resilience and participation in development.
Indus Consortium works in following four thematic areas:
i- Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Risk Reduction
ii- Sustainable Livelihoods
iii- Water and Sanitation
iv- Climate Change
Following are the strategic objectives of Indus Consortium (2014-2018):
Objective-I: To contribute in improving and strengthening of humanitarian governance at district, provincial and national level.
Objective-II: To Influence agriculture policies, practices, programmes and promoting social protection to improve livelihoods for poor.
Objective-III: To promote accesses to safe drinking water & sanitation; sustainable use of water resources through advocating for improved management and equitable distribution.
Geographical outreach of Indus Consortium is in around 1,700 villages of 16 districts in Punjab and Sindh provinces along the Indus river belt.
Currently it is working on Tax justice, Climate Change, Women Economic Empowerment, water governance and livelihood justice.
Gender mainstreaming, budget advocacy, fundamental rights, community participation are the cross cutting of all the programmes.