In 2016, the “One humanity, shared responsibility” report of the United Nations Secretary-General for the World Humanitarian Summit called for a new paradigm for conceiving, programming and delivering humanitarian assistance. The scale, complexity and longevity of many crises are proving challenging to the international community in designing and funding interventions fit for such complex situations.
Three years after the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the OECD project, “Lives in crises”, demonstrates the need to continue on the reform path set out at the summit. The project has seen two rounds of surveys conducted in seven crisis countries since 2016, asking more than 12 000 affected people and humanitarian workers about their perceptions of aid. The surveys’ findings and additional research reinforce the call to pursue reforms in how donors support people and countries in crisis contexts:
Humanitarian assistance improves conditions but does not cover all basic needs. The surveys clearly illustrate that humanitarian assistance represents only a part of what people require to meet their most important needs. The extent to which humanitarian assistance meets people’s needs depends on the context, but affected people generally need to find other sources of income. The project shows that the quality of the response and local authorities’ management of the crisis are critical elements in recipient satisfaction, implying that meeting the most important needs does not depend exclusively on donors’ humanitarian budgets. In crisis contexts, meeting these needs requires a thorough vulnerability analysis to understand household economies so that humanitarian assistance can be combined with actions or programmes that enhance income generation and preserve assets.
Humanitarian assistance leaves some of the most vulnerable behind. Surveys indicate that assistance is not always perceived as going to those who need it most, and reveal a stark contrast between affected people’s and humanitarian workers’ perceptions of fairness. Across the surveys, those who are ill or with chronic diseases, the elderly, people without social/political connection, the undocumented and remote were perceived to be left behind by people receiving aid. Yet, humanitarian staff surveyed are confident that aid is going to those who need it most. This suggests that the system targets those most in need as long as they fall within agencies or NGOs’ mandates and programme objectives. The current fragmented and supply-driven humanitarian business model risks overlooking people – notably amongst the host populations, who fall into the cracks between traditional humanitarian sectors. A vulnerability analysis is key to ensuring that the humanitarian response leaves no one behind.
Supporting self-reliance requires a blended set of aid instruments. If humanitarian assistance is not sufficient to meet people’s most important needs, it is even less effective in achieving economic self-sufficiency. People surveyed consistently mention the lack of economic and livelihood opportunities as a primary grievance. In the protracted crises that make up most humanitarian contexts, affected people want autonomy, not prolonged assistance. Because humanitarian assistance is not designed to put an end to need, and because it is unpredictable in nature, other aid instruments needs to be mobilised to help create an enabling environment in which livelihood opportunities are available for both affected people and host communities.
Some limited progress is being made on the Grand Bargain commitments. The surveys do reveal some improvements in the way aid is delivered. Support to education in crises is increasing, showing that humanitarian-development silos can be overcome by donors. Some of the Grand Bargain commitments, such as multiyear frameworks and joint needs assessments, are starting to deliver positive initiatives that now need to be systematised. The cash agenda is becoming more widespread, though it remains sector based. Some serious challenges remain however. The localisation agenda is moving too slowly, mainly because donors’ architecture does not encourage it. The way people’s views are taken into account remains limited and people have limited clarity over why they do or do not qualify for aid, what they receive, and for how long. The humanitarian system is still supply driven, based on international organisations’ mandates and programmes, rather than on the affected people at the centre of the response.