Launched in January 1999, the Business-Humanitarian Forum`s primary purpose is to encourage dialogue and mutual support between the business and humanitarian communities. Both communities have largely unappreciated but nevertheless common interests in the stability, prosperity and democratic evolution of developing societies and countries in transition. Therefore, the Forum seeks to foment the recognition that business has a strong, long-term interest in supporting the work of the humanitarian community, which is a key element in the stabilization of developing and post-conflict societies.



To implement this concept on the ground, the BHF seeks to use the synergy of business-humanitarian cooperation to help build sustainable economies in post-conflict and developing areas.



To achieve these goals, the BHF is developing specific projects involving the private sector and humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan and other post-conflict and/or developing areas. The BHF has established a formal "umbrella" partnership with the United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] to enhance efforts to create sustainable economic projects. These projects represent the concrete expression of cooperation between business and humanitarian organizations to reconstruct the economies of war-torn countries, providing sustainable employment and locally-owned production facilities for these needy societies.