World Humanitarian Summit Research Articles

Localisation of Humanitarian Aid: A Case Study of Cambodian Children’s Trust's Sustainable Development

Localisation of humanitarian aid has emerged as a major issue after the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 which emphasised the importance of locally-led response as a corrective to power imbalances in the humanitarian system. However, the practical complexities of localised humanitarian aid are yet to be fully discussed. This paper aims to examine the concept of localisation in humanitarian aid through a case study of a local non-governmental organisation, the Cambodian Children's Trust (CCT), in Cambodia. Drawing on the framework of localisation proposed by Baguios et al., (2021), we analyse the application of localisation of child protection programs run by CCT. We provide a holistic understanding of how localisation is conducted in practice, and the impacts it has on the wider humanitarian sector. Our study illustrates that power can be effectively developed to local entities and localisation with empowerment could be achieved despite highly challenging conditions.

The sound of silence? Listening to localisation at the World Humanitarian Summit.

Based on research with key stakeholders, this paper draws on theories of organisational and political listening to analyse the critical emergence of 'localisation' during the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. The central focus is the two-year pre-summit consultation process, engaging 23,000-plus people, mainly from the Global South, and organised specifically to bring different views and experiences to the task of reforming the global humanitarian agenda. This research explores 'voice and listening' during the consultations, investigating how these were framed by, and have framed, power differentials within the humanitarian system. The consultations were a unique event, evoking optimism among participants that change might be possible. However, the space to speak, and the listening that occurred, struggled to breach the political sphere. The 'Grand Bargain', some interviewees claim, amounted to a re-silencing. Notably, the localisation debate happened when a largely coherent message from the Global South and allies emerged, making unmet but heard claims on powerful actors.

The 'conflict paradox': humanitarian access, localisation, and (dis)empowerment in Myanmar, Somalia, and Somaliland.

Since the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, debates about the localisation of humanitarian aid have intensified. Dominant discourse focuses on reform, although calls for the broader decolonisation of aid are mounting. This paper examines the impact of neoliberal-inspired competition that incentivises institutional expansion and clashes with localisation. It introduces the concept of the 'conflict paradox' to illustrate how armed conflict and restricted humanitarian access for international actors can both empower and disempower local and national humanitarian actors (LNHAs). These themes are then demonstrated using case studies of Myanmar, Somalia, and Somaliland, revealing the potential for LNHAs to demand humanitarian system change, as well as the challenges to doing so. The paper concludes that for localisation to progress towards decolonisation, fundamental ideological shifts away from the neoliberal competitive mindset are essential. Notably, there is a need to move from low-quality localisation (subcontracting) to high-quality localisation grounded in solidarity and an emancipatory agenda.

Les Défis du Lien Entre Humanitaire et Développement le Cas du “Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development”

The article explores the links between humanitarian action and aid to development, focusing more specifically on the model Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development. Taking this model as an example, the theoretical and practical challenges of this relationship are explored, including the foundational principles of both humanitarian action and aid to development. In this respect, the contradictions between the key rules of both perspectives are underlined, especially when it comes to the influence of governments on agendas, strategies, and operational options. Yet, the practice seems to show new possibilities of articulation, if not of junction, between humanitarian action and aid to development. In the light of recent experiences, including the World Humanitarian Summit, both strategies may mutually combine, in order to benefit local populations. The principle of humanitarian subsidiary is suggested as one of the potential element in this equation.

Understanding humanitarian localization in Latin America—as local as possible: but how necessary?

This paper questions the pertinence of the humanitarian aid localization agenda in Latin America, at least in the narrow sense embraced by the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. Localized support has been the standard practice in the region for decades, thanks to at least two correlated factors: the Monroe Doctrine limiting intervention to the USA and regional efforts to resist such intervention. Instead, humanitarian action in the region is an example of a particular way of understating localization, mainly specialized support to specific issues, no distinction between humanitarian or development divisions, and coexistence of different response approaches, synthesizing international and local experiences that intermingle with community practices and traditions, under national government leadership. Governments, together with NGOs, civil protection, and other relevant actors from international cooperation and development, engage in crises based on a long-standing tradition of risk management at national and regional levels. Fears of abuses hidden behind the non-interference principle, human rights activism, and disaster risk management approaches to emergencies created a complex ecosystem for humanitarian localization.

The nutritional benefits of cash transfers in humanitarian crises: evidence from Yemen

At the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 the long-standing divide between humanitarian and development approaches was challenged with a call for responses that both meet immediate needs and protect human capital for eventual recovery. In this regard, the use of cash transfers in humanitarian settings is an emerging trend; however, it has been limited by a lack of evidence on how well cash transfers improve nutritional outcomes given the challenges of conducting rigorous evaluations in a crisis context. This study makes use of a cluster randomized control trial that was left in place when a pilot cash-plus intervention evolved during the civil conflict into a major program within the Yemen Emergency Crisis Response program. The results provide uniquely rigorous evidence of the potential for long-run nutritional benefits of cash transfers in humanitarian crisis settings. The “Cash for Nutrition” intervention provides cash transfers as well as nutritional training to targeted households with young children in Yemen in the context of what is considered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Differences-in-differences estimates indicate that the intervention significantly increased purchases of non-staple foods which translated into large positive impacts on child dietary diversity scores. Impacts on consumption patterns and dietary diversity are significant for the full sample and strongest among the poorest tercile of households where the transfers are largest relative to baseline household food budgets. In this poorest sub-group we also find large and statistically significant program impacts on height-for-age z-scores of 0.3. These results support the increased use of cash transfers and provide a benchmark for comparison with more traditional food distribution and supplementation strategies for supporting child nutrition in protracted crisis contexts.

Localisation in the Context of UK Government Engagement With the Humanitarian Reform Agenda

Localisation is a key element of the humanitarian reform agenda. However, there are continuing debates regarding its form and emphasis, linked to understandings of the local, the role of the state and the implications for interpretation of humanitarian principles of “de-internationalised” humanitarian response. This paper considers UK engagement with the localisation agenda, particularly through examination of the policies and programmes of the Department for International Development (DFID). The UK was a major contributor to dialogue on localisation at the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016 and has subsequently shown strong support for Grand Bargain commitments and implementation of a larger proportion of programmes involving cash transfers. Overall, however, advance on this agenda has been limited. The paper notes three major areas of constraint. First, logistical concerns have frequently been noted, particularly with respect to tasks such as procurement and financial monitoring. This has limited the engagement of many local actors lacking organisational capacity in these areas. Second, conceptual ambiguity has also played a significant role. Localisation is poorly theorised, and the roles, functions and capacities—beyond procurement of supplies and emergency technical assistance—that local actors may be able to fulfil far more effectively than international ones are not frequently addressed. Narrowly framed understandings of principles such as independence and impartiality, for instance, appear to severely limit confidence in engaging with local religious actors. Third, political considerations appear to have increasingly limited the space for more radical interpretations of the implications of localisation. Successive UK Secretaries of State for International Development have defended the commitment to a fixed proportion of Gross National Income (GNI) for development assistance based on strong public support for UK aid expenditure to reflect national interests and values. In this context, there are few clear political incentives to cede power over decision-making regarding UK Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to national and local actors in a manner required for fundamental localisation of humanitarian response. Even where there is a clear potential UK interest—for example, bolstering capacity of local actors in contexts vulnerable to humanitarian emergency to avert more costly emergency response—the public perception of capacity strengthening (compared to life-saving humanitarian actions) mitigates against such moves in a climate of contested public spending. The establishment of a merged Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in 2020 signals the likelihood of a reframing of localisation. While some advancement in terms of some logistical and conceptual barriers may be anticipated, issues of both national interest and public perceptions of national interest seem likely to continue to constrain a more radical implementation of localisation, particularly with current suspension of the commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA.

Exploring environment as cross-cutting issue among Humanitarian-Development Nexus Actors

Environment mainstreaming across the humanitarian operations and long-term development programs is imperative to the new way of working agreed in the World Humanitarian Summit (2016). Mainstreaming environment in Humanitarian-Development nexus is crucial to minimize the environmental impacts of humanitarian projects and to build long term resilience against environmental and climatic risks and vulnerabilities of communities. This study explores the current environmental mainstreaming strategies of humanitarian and development organizations at the institutional and operational level based on specific attributes. This study conducts the case study of leading humanitarian and development organizations, namely, WFP, IFRC, UNDP, and USAID, based on the conceptual framework on mainstreaming strategies derived from various literature. Multiple case study approach was employed based on information collected through various secondary sources and personal consultation with the organizations. The finding of this study signifies the presence of varying environmental mainstreaming practices within the studied organizations, and comparative analysis among them is also presented. Finally, this study suggests that joint contextual environmental (and climate) analysis by humanitarian and development actors and inclusion of environmental consideration in collaborative multi-year programming to minimize environmental damage in protracted crises.

Beyond aid: Sustainable responses to meeting language communication needs in humanitarian contexts

This article navigates the complexity of the humanitarian system, the potential of the humanitarian-development nexus, and the commitments of the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016 as a backdrop to designing sustainable interpreter training programmes. It argues that these programmes must be locally designed to respond to real needs and developed and implemented by local actors living and working in the contexts where building trained interpreter capacity is essential to the success of the humanitarian agenda. It further highlights the crucial importance of decolonising aid and empowering local actors in efforts to advance the cause and quality of multilingual communication in crisis contexts. Two case studies from conflict-affected regions in the Middle East and East Africa—Jordan and Kenya—illustrate how cross-cutting issues from national, regional and international politics, humanitarian agendas, international aid, Higher Education in Emergencies, and country-specific policy agendas inform the design, development, and implementation of university-level training programmes in humanitarian interpreting.

Localisation or deglobalisation? East Asia and the dismantling of liberal humanitarianism

Among the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit outcomes, localisation of humanitarian aid has received the greatest amount of attention. Localisation is described as giving more support to national first respondents, making humanitarian aid ‘as local as possible, as international as necessary’. Despite the good intentions, localisation presents a biased understanding of the local and its agency in transforming humanitarianism. Not only is localisation a failed attempt to reconfigure the international humanitarian system power relations, dominated by Western actors, but also it glosses over the crucial role of the South in moulding the humanitarian action norm. In order to address the latter, the paper reviews the history of humanitarian action in East Asia as a case of norm circulation, showing how the region’s agency was essential to accommodate the foundations of liberal humanitarianism during the Cold War and, in the last two decades, to contest them. I argue that instead of localisation, a process of deglobalisation is taking shape in the region, based on increased national ownership of crisis response, privileging reciprocal, bilateral support over multilateral action, and legitimating the rejection of unnecessary support. These changes are pushing traditional humanitarian actors to rethink their practices, bringing much-needed change but also challenges.

The Politics of the Multi-Local in Disaster Governance

‘Localisation’ became the new buzzword after the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. However, the nature of the commitment to localisation since has been questioned. What is ‘the local’? How does localisation work in practice? With little empirical research, generalities in theory and practice have prevailed, preventing a nuanced approach to conceptualising the local. This study aims to build a foundation for the understanding of connotative, nuanced ‘locals’ and to explore the multiple dimensions of the local in both theory and practice. The methodology of a case study research, with a semi-structured and flexible approach, facilitated the identification of different elements of a locally led response that resounded in each of the cases. Combined with a literature review, this article aims to answer the questions: What underlying assumptions regarding the local are found in localisation rhetoric, and how do multi-local dynamics challenge locally led disaster response in practice? Answering this question necessitates deconstructing the multi-local in theory and critically examining expressions concerning the local in practice. In this study, one dimension of the local that was observed was ‘the local as locale,’ with the local describing primarily national actors as opposed to the international, without taking local power dynamics into account. The local was also seen in terms of governance, where local–national relations and intranational strife characterised locally led responses, and the national focus excluded local actors who were not usually involved in governance. The local also became a source of legitimation, with local, national and international actors all using the discourse of ‘the state in charge’ and ‘the community knows best’ to legitimise their own role as response actors while disputing others’ capacities. The multi-local lens provides a perspective with potential to change current practices and contribute to a more transformative agenda.

Localising Humanitarianism, Peace Making, and Diplomacy: The Challenges Facing Muslim INGOs

Since the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, the concept of localisation has dominated the narrative of international donor engagement. Traditionally, this is something that Muslim charities have supposedly been doing. Yet Muslim charities are conspicuous by their absence in the global debate despite the fact that over the last 20 years, there has been an explosion in the number of International Islamic Development organisations or charities. The localisation debate highlights a weakness for the Muslim charities in terms of operations on the ground. Muslim International Non Governmental Organisations (INGOs) appear to be struggling to articulate a modus operandi for operation. As a consequence, Muslim charities respond in a schizophrenic manner brought about by a lack of information on how Muslim organisations work in the field of charity and also an internal understanding of how Muslim charities should operate. This article discusses the need for a paradigm shift for Muslim INGOs within the localisation debate in terms of how they operate, identify, and work with local partners.

국제사회의 취약국 개발협력 성과와 과제 (Foreign Aid to Fragile States: An Analysis and Implications for Korea)

최근 국제사회는 분쟁, 재해, 테러 등으로 인해 많은 피해를 입었으며, 그중에서도 취약국은 이로 인하여 가장 큰 고통을 겪고 있다. 취약국에서 발생한 분쟁 및 자연재해로 인한 난민과 이주민이 주요한 문제로 부상하면서, 취약국이 국제 안보에 위협이 될 수 있다는 인식이 퍼졌다. 이와 더불어 대부분의 취약국은 빈곤문제뿐만 아니라 인권 및 안보 관련 문제도 심각하여 국제사회의 개발 목표 달성을 저해한다는 논의도 확산되고 있다. 이에 따라 2015년에 채택된 지속가능발전목표(SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals)에는 이전의 새천년개발목표(MDGs: Millennium Development Goals)와 달리 평화와 인권에 관련된 16번 목표가 새롭게 반영되었고, UN과 세계은행은 세계인도지원정상회의를 통해 인도적 지원, 개발 및 평화구축 사업을 연계하여 추진하고자 하는 ‘인도적 지원-개발-평화 넥서스(HDP Nexus: Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus)’를 채택하여 취약국 지원에 대한 새로운 방향성을 제시하였다. The international community has recently suffered from conflicts, disasters, and terrorism, from which fragile states suffer the most. With the increasing number of refugees and migrants from fragile states emerging as a major regional and global problem, the international society has begun to perceive that fragile states could pose a threat to international security. Furthermore, most of the fragile states face not only poverty but also human rights and security-related issues that prompt global concerns over fragile states hindering the international society from achieving development goals. Therefore, considering the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) adopted at the UN General Assembly in 2015, the international community began promoting strategic plans to resolve peace and human rights-related issues under SDG 16 “peace, justice, and strong institutions.” Emphasized at the World Humanitarian Summit 2016, the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus(HDP Nexus) suggests new directions to support fragile states by connecting humanitarian aid, development, and peacebuilding practices and funding.

The politics of exclusion: fighting for patients with Kidney failure in Yemen's War.

To contribute toward the dialogue on addressing non-communicable and chronic disease in humanitarian emergencies, this article will explore the experiences of Médecins Sans Frontières in attempting to find support for the haemodialysis network in Yemen. With the changing profile of the global disease burden and a broadening concept of emergency health needs to include chronic illness and disability, the aid sector has committed through the World Humanitarian Summit and the Sustainable Development Goals to leave no one behind and thus to meet the health needs of these previously excluded and highly vulnerable people. The civil war in Yemen compromised the medical supply chain supporting the health facilities providing dialysis for patients with end-stage renal disease. The article will critique the aid sector's slow response to this issue and expose the gap between principles, commitments, and practice related to noncommunicable disease in emergencies. Following direct experiences from the authors as leaders in the aid response in Yemen, reviews of grey literature from aid and health actors in Yemen were conducted along with a review of literature and policy documents related to noncommunicable disease in emergency. Key informant interviews and press statements supported analysis and events that took place in the time span of roughly 4 years that frames this period of analysis. Examination of the impacted patient population, interviews, literature and documented events indicates that there is discord between policy, commitments stated by aid donors and practice. The aid sector must use a more contextualised approach when designing programmes to manage the burden of non-communicable diseases in health contexts where crises occur, particularly for lifesaving forms of therapy. Aid agencies and the global health community must increase pressure on donors and implementing agencies to live up to their commitments to include these patient populations.

Disaster-affected Populations and “Localization”: What Role for Anthropology Following the World Humanitarian Summit?

The international humanitarian sector has long been criticized for relying on standardized responses that make little, if any, adjustment to social and cultural differences between different disaster contexts and disaster-affected populations. Responding to such criticisms, the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit set an ambitious target for “localizing” international humanitarian funding flows so that a quarter would be provided by local and national responders. But what precisely “local” might mean was little theorized, and what humanitarian agencies themselves could learn to improve their own aid-effectiveness from the disaster-affected populations’ own responses to severe stress was not prioritized. This article identifies some of the challenges the new funding regime needs to address for it to have the best chances of meeting its stated objectives, and it explores what role anthropology could play in researching such issues in an action-investigation frame. It concludes with some reflections about effective public anthropology in that conducive frame.

Church Networks and Localisation Practice in the Pacific

The localisation agenda is the largest humanitarian reform in decades. Global research, advocacy and adaptations of localised approaches continue to mature following the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. The Summit produced The Charter for Faith-based Humanitarian Action, recognising the unique position and comparative advantage of local faith actors (LFAs) in humanitarian settings, owing to their presence in communities before, during, and after crises. More than 80% of the world’s population professes a religious faith, and international development and humanitarian work takes place within communities deeply influenced by faith, with local staff often themselves people of faith (cited in Fletcher 2018, p. 4). LFAs have consistently been among the top implementing partners of UN Agencies in undertaking humanitarian response (UNHCR Partnership Note on faith-based organizations, local faith communities and faith leaders 2014, p.8). Despite this recognition, little has promulgated on the role of LFAs in the localisation agenda and the primacy of LFAs' voices in contextualising the agenda for their communities. Accordingly, CAN DO (Church Agencies Network Disaster Operations) a network of Australian churchbased agencies with established relationships in the Pacific, is building an evidence base to inform international actors and affirm the significance of LFAs in localised humanitarian response within the Pacific region, thereby contributing towards the Charter for Faith-Based Humanitarian Action commitments. This paper is a critical reflection of the 2017-2018 localised response to the Monaro Volcano eruption in Vanuatu. Key learnings frame future collaborations with Pacific churches and pave the road ahead in shifting power differentials, including the advancement of LFAs' role within policy and decision-making at all levels of humanitarian response (Charter for Faith-Based Humanitarian Action 2016, p.2).

Protection and the Humanitarian-Development Nexus: A Literature Review

Attempts to bridge the Humanitarian-Development (HD) nexus are not new, but in recent years this idea has received renewed interest in light of the failure of traditional approaches to adequately respond to and manage complex, protracted crises. While these major policy shifts take place at the global and national levels (for example, see the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the Grand Bargain, the 2018 Global Compact on Refugees, or the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP)), few studies have considered the implications that an HD approach could have on one of the core mandates of humanitarian assistance: protection. This literature review therefore examines the potential protection implications of an HD approach to complex, emergency situations. It discusses current gaps and areas for future research that were identified in our review of the literature. Highlighting both the risks and benefits that this approach could have towards the protection outcomes for affected persons, we find that these outcomes largely depend on who is involved and whose interests are prioritized in decision-making processes in an HD approach. Consequently, this approach raises additional questions that lead us to an unresolved and ongoing debate within the humanitarian sector around its role in non-traditional humanitarian situations. This debate centres around whether the humanitarian sector should maintain a needs-based approach or shift towards a rights-based approach, which in turn raises important questions about when (and which of) the humanitarian principles are relevant and what protection really means, particularly when the perspectives of other stakeholders – such as affected persons – are taken into consideration. These issues remain unresolved and become complicated by the addition of multiple actors (humanitarian, development, civilian, private, affected persons etc.) with different roles, interests and mandates in an HD approach. We therefore propose that both the humanitarian and development sectors engage with the concepts, objectives and principles behind this debate head- on, in order to strengthen our understanding of what they mean practically. As HD approaches are likely to become the new way of addressing complex crises, finding clarity on how humanitarian and development actors can work together through shared principles and objectives is critical to ensure that affected persons are adequately protected.

Anote's Ark by Matthieu Rytz

Reviewed by: Anote's Ark by Matthieu Rytz David Lipset Anote's Ark. Documentary film, DVD, 77 minutes, color, 2018. Written and directed by Matthieu Rytz. Produced and distributed by EyeSteelFilm, Montreal, Canada. It makes for a pathetic and rather contemptible commentary on the immoral nature of global capitalism that among those fighting at the forefront of the Anthropocene are the leaders of states whose economies contributed nothing at all to its causes. For example, Sir Michael Somare, during his fourth term as the prime minister of Papua New Guinea (2002–2011), called for the establishment of a Coalition for Rainforest Nations in 2005 and gave speeches at the United Nations urging that developed countries take responsibility for greenhouse gases and help small island states adapt. In [End Page 243] 2010, he was also one of the first signatories of the Oslo partnership that established the UN Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (redd+) to begin global cooperation to safeguard tropical forests. Matthieu Rytz, a photographer and visual anthropologist, has now worked with Anote Tong, the former president of Kiribati (2003–2015), on an absorbing, if flawed, documentary, which focuses on local and international dimensions of President Tong's work on behalf of his imperiled people and their island's eroded, vulnerable beaches. The movie consists of two interrelated narratives. One introduces daily life on Kiribati. We see appealing images of the islands from above—their neighborhoods, lengthy coastlines, and modest land area—while we hear hymns. We see Kiribati outriggers sail across the surrounding turquoise seas as children play in the shallows. Boys, meanwhile, climb coconut palms. Women put toddlers to sleep. People attend Christmas services where, dressed in traditional ornaments, community members, clergy included, dance and sing. The moral heroes of this narrative are an ordinary young married couple, Ato and Sermary, who are seen in the ocean pulling in a drift net, after which Sermary cleans and cooks the catch. But the Anthropocene intrudes. Young men repair a seawall whose sandbags were swept into the water. Sermary talks about how waves broke over her house during a previous storm. The house had electricity at that time so, when she gathered up her kids to take them to safety, she worried that the water might electrocute them. Troubled about what the next storm event and the next high tide might do, she petitions President Tong to help the family leave Kiribati. As noted in the credits at the end of the movie, Sermary shares the same surname and is possibly a kinsman of the president, but the movie does not specify what their relationship is. Neighbors, however, do suspect that Sermary is trying to finagle free airplane tickets to New Zealand from him. President Tong is the moral hero of the second narrative. Before we are introduced to him, we hear him in voice-overs expressing anxiety about Kiribati's future. The first time we actually see him, he is riding a boat in the Arctic, watching huge glaciers break apart and churn in the massive ice flow. "Climate change," he observes, "is not a political issue. It is an issue of survival." Tong's itinerary makes up quite a bit of this second narrative. The president attends meetings of the UN Human Rights Council, which he challenges to "make a contribution to get some real action on the ground so we can give some sense of comfort … and security to our people." He goes to the Vatican and meets the pope. He attends the World Humanitarian Summit in Sydney. He is interviewed by Al Jazeera tv and the Australian Broadcasting Company. Perhaps the culmination of his travels occurs at the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement, where President Obama pledges funds to vulnerable populations to help them rebuild after climate-related disasters. Afterward, an interviewer asks President Tong what Kiribati will gain from the Paris Agreement, since [End Page 244] its emissions targets will have no effect on the global climate until after Kiribati is long gone. "What is going to happen to us," he proclaims, "is going to be the fate of the rest of the world." Desperate, Tong goes to Tokyo, where...

A Chance for Peace? The Humanitarian System’s Localisation Agenda and the Humanitarian -Peacebuilding Nexus

Calls for a greater inclusion of local actors into humanitarian action are far from new, but have gained momentum in the wake of the World Humanitarian Summit 2016. However, the inclusion of local actors raises a range of questions, both conceptually and regarding its implementation. This is particularly the case in the interplay of humanitarian action and peacebuilding. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate on the humanitarian system’s localisation agenda within the context of the humanitarian-peacebuilding nexus. It argues that further research should be guided by a critical localism (Mac Ginty 2015) that overcomes a simple binary opposition of the local and the international and looks at power asymmetries in the humanitarian system.

Delivering in a moving world…looking to our supply chains to meet the increasing scale, cost and complexity of humanitarian needs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of the humanitarian supply chain (HSC) as the backbone of the humanitarian operations. It further proposes feasible ways to overcome some of the main supply chain challenges identified by practitioners to achieve cost efficient and effective operations. Design/methodology/approach The challenges that the HSC faces and proposed changes to overcome them are gathered from interviews with nearly 40 practitioners. Findings Five critical issues that affect the future of HSCs are identified along with recommendations to address them. Social implications It supports the fulfillment of the agenda for humanity’s five core responsibilities: global leadership to prevent and end conflict, uphold the norms that safeguard humanity, leave no one behind, change people’s lives – from delivering aid to ending need, and invest in humanity. Originality/value The original report was presented at the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016. The reader can find it via the following link www.logcluster.org/sites/default/files/whs_humanitarian_supply_chain_paper_final_24_may.pdf