HOMEGROWN non-governmental organisation Mercy Relief has won enough international recognition for it to be invited to speak at a United Nations conference.

This is the International Disaster and Risk Conference 2008 (IDRC), which opens today in Davos, Switzerland.

The five-year-old relief agency's chief executive Hassan Ahmad will address the 1,000 participants from 100 countries at the week-long conference on Wednesday.

His topic: Peace-time strategies that can ease relief operations and the management of risks during and after such calamities.

In an interview, Mr Hassan said Mercy Relief has learnt the importance of building up relationships with government agencies and local NGOs in peace time. Such ties play a crucial role in reducing stumbling blocks when access or other support is needed to help victims of natural disasters.

He said: 'As a non-governmental organisation, we are closer to the ground and able to understand the challenges faced by the communities. Also, because we are small, we are able to adapt and move around easily.'

He added that continuous engagement during peace time 'builds goodwill and leads to easier access and greater efficiency when it comes to cutting down risks before and after a disaster strikes'.

When the tsunami slammed into Aceh in December 2004, for example, Mercy Relief rode on the goodwill it had built up in Medan to gain access to affected areas within a week, paving the way for other NGOs to set up base there.

And in Wenchuan, China, after the May 12 quake, its response team was at Ground Zero on the fourth day, thanks to goodwill with the local authorities.

Mercy Relief's work in Myanmar, on the other hand, was only piecemeal, so when Cyclone Nargis hit in May, it had not built up strong-enough ties to open doors to the disaster zone as quickly.

The authorities' hesitation in admitting foreign groups meant that the victims could not get aid sooner, he said.

He noted that while military relief teams have the supplies needed by disaster-hit areas, ties between governments take time to develop, which can hamper the entry of foreign military teams offering help. NGOs should thus open the way into disaster zones to provide aid.

Mercy Relief is setting up a coalition of NGOs and corporate bodies in Asia to share resources and run regular exercises - a development to be announced at the IDRC. The new body will address the issue of coordination between civilians and the military, said Mr Hassan.

Other areas the conference will discuss include adapting to climate change and reducing the risk of disasters, critical infrastructure, risk management and pandemics and diseases.