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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.

More than 30 Start Network members have supported a letter to the UK Prime Minister, raising our concern over the decision to merge the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office because of its potentially devastating consequences for humanitarian aid.

SOURCE:IFRCThis World Disasters Report makes the case for a different approach to humanitarian action, one that strives to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable and at-risk communities.

In Nairobi in February 2016, the Humanitarian Leadership Academy co-hosted a global conference, with Kenya Red Cross Society and Start Network, for civil society.

The current international humanitarian system, dominated by large international organisations, is being stretched to its limit. Dealing with growing frequency, unpredictability and complexity of emergencies, it appears increasingly unfit to deal with these challenges, let alone address future ones. One opportunity to address these is getting the balance right between international and local response.