In 1986 the Bureau de Nutrition et Développement (BND) was formed by Rob J. Padberg at the behest of Caritas Nederland and COHAN (Comité de Coopération Haitiano-Néerlandaise). The latter was determined, in view of the increasing size of the program and a general re-orientation of her overall activities, to separate themselves from the Food Aid program they were executing with the assistance of the EEC and the European NGO Caritas Nederland/Stichting Mensen in Nood. However, COHAN was looking to find another organization which could continue this important program in Haiti, a program which existed since the early 1970's. At the same time two other programs were operational in Haiti, funded by the EEC under the auspices of Father Sjef Claessens/Secofa and Father Laurence Bohnen/Pères Salésiens (Petites Ecoles du Père Bohnen), assisted respectively by the European NGO's Caritas Secours International (Brussels, Belgium) and PROTOS (Ghent, Belgium). These projects were actively seeking an opportunity to transfer their food aid activities to another NGO due to a lack of managerial expertise and the difficult socio-political climate of the late 1980's. BND is thus a Haitian, non-profit, apolitical, non-confessional, Non-Governmental Organization. BND operates under the laws of the Republic of Haïti.