Evangelical Lutheran Development Service (ELDS), formerly known as Evangelical Lutheran Development Programme (ELDP), was established in 1989 in response to a request from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM) and the Government of Malawi. This was primarily to provide assistance to Mozambique refugees. ELDS transited into a local entity in 2005. The localization process transformed the ELDS from being a department of the Lutheran World Federation which is based in Geneva, to being a department / service arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM). In the context of ecumenism, ELDS is an active member of the Global ACT Alliance under Malawi Forum.