This is an external event organized by UNFPA, Start Network, UNICEF, IFRC and Center for Global Development. The event fetaures CGD expert Patrick Saez.
About the Event:
Engaging Local/National Actors (L/NAs) is critical to the success of every humanitarian action but local expertise and leadership are often overlooked. L/NAs are often the first responders and provide an invaluable understanding of local challenges and potential solutions. They are able to easily mobilize local networks and offer greater access to affected populations, contributing to a more effective, efficient, and accountable humanitarian. Most of them work across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus on preparedness, response, recovery and resilience building and remain after international actors withdraw.
In the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) and ensuing Grand Bargain, a commitment was made for ‘ More support and funding to local responders’ and to make humanitarian work ‘as local as possible and as international as necessary.’ While some progress has been made to deliver the commitments around financing, capacity strengthening, coordination and partnership, transformative change is yet to happen in shifting the balance to a more locally-led humanitarian action. The COVID-19 pandemic and the broader climate crises have further accentuated the need to strengthen the role and leadership of L/NAs as localisation has become both a necessity and opportunity to effectively meet humanitarian needs as well as in preparedness, adaptation and resilience building.
This side event is being organised to present and discuss the key areas of progress to date as well as work that requires further action from the perspectives of the different stakeholder groups including L/NAs themselves. The objective is to share practical experiences in advancing the localisation agenda and reflect on specific localisation issues such as capacity strengthening and complementarity, cascading quality funding and risk management, coordination, leadership, and decision making, and locally led early action.
An outcome of this session is to identify key recommendations for the various stakeholders that take part in the humanitarian sector.
