Local humanitarian actors could deliver aid 32% more cost-efficiently than international organizations yet only 1.2% of international humanitarian aid goes to local NGOs. To shine the light on locally led humanitarian action, Caritas Europa has published a new report exploring the role of locally led humanitarian action in reaching the growing number of people in need worldwide and in creating a humanitarian system that is more effective and just. The report—“Unfulfilled Promises: Addressing the Gap between Commitments and Practice in Locally Led Humanitarian Action”—includes an evaluation of the progress made by donor governments, UN agencies and large international NGOs towards fulfilling their commitments to support local humanitarian organizations using a purpose-developed index. Concrete perspectives on the challenges and opportunities faced by local humanitarian organisations are included through interviews with local organisations in Lebanon and Colombia. The report was commissioned by European members of the Caritas confederation, in collaboration with SNPS (the Caritas national organisation in Colombia) and Caritas Lebanon (the Caritas national organisation in Lebanon) and conducted by the Centre for Humanitarian Action.
Read more–including the report and executive summary.