Guest blog from Rajeev Kumar Jha, Programme Director at Humanitarian Aid International and Start Network Member, who shares his thoughts prior to attending the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku.
The localisation of humanitarian action has been the subject of humanitarian policy and practice discussions for more than a decade. In recent years, many governments and donors have reaffirmed their commitments to localisation, including FCDO, USAID and ECHO who have either published or are currently developing guidelines and strategies to realise these commitments.
This year’s Group of Seven (G7) Presidency is under the Italian leadership. In its 2024 agenda, the year-long Italian tenure - which involves technical, ministerial, and high-level discussions - has focused on emerging economies, the climate-energy nexus, food security, and artificial intelligence, among other key worldwide challenges.
This blog is written from the perspective of someone working in an international humanitarian network, speaking to others in international humanitarian institutions.
Reflecting on humanitarian trends over the past decade, one thing is clear: localisation and/or locally led action are ways of working that are here to stay.
As Western donors and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), we most often have disproportionate power in relation to local and national organisations.
A locally led humanitarian system that is accountable to people at risk or affected by crisis is also one where communities have agency and voice over humanitarian interventions that respond to their needs.
The new Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), Martin Griffiths, has officially started his role as the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, the most senior humanitarian role at the United Nations. He will be leading the policies and strategic decisions of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) which will have an impact across the humanitarian sector and the way the sector responds to crises.
This year, our local and national members took part in the Civil Society 7 Summit hosted by the UK government and Bond. Our local and national members engaged in conversations and roundtables, discussing and making recommendations on seven priorities.
