CAFOD welcomes the UN High Level Panel report on the growing issue of how the international community can meet the financial costs of responding to humanitarian crises.
The report released in Dubai (17 January 2016) addresses some of the challenges and complexities of humanitarian financing, such as the fact that while most humanitarian funding is short term: between 45 days and one year, over 80 per cent of humanitarian funds are spent in support of people living in on-going conflict and displacement situations, such as in Syria, South Sudan, Somalia, DRC and Central Africa, many of these humanitarian emergencies have now lasted five years or more.
Anne Street, CAFOD's Head of Humanitarian Policy said:
“In the last decade we have seen an alarming increase in humanitarian needs, the number of people affected by crises around the world has more than doubled. We only need to look at the ongoing crisis in Syria - with 7.4 million people displaced inside the country, and a further 4.3 million people registered as refugees in the region.
"We now need to urgently address the growing gap between humanitarian needs and resources, but just as importantly the stop-start nature of humanitarian funding.
“The Panel report includes some ground breaking suggestions on how to tackle the so called ‘humanitarian-development divide.’
The Panel was appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in early 2015, and is chaired by former EU Humanitarian Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva. It has focused on three vital aspects of humanitarian financing: reducing the needs, mobilising additional funds and improving the efficiency of humanitarian assistance.
A key area of CAFOD's work on Humanitarian Financing has been to address the fact that only 0.2 per cent of reported humanitarian funding was channelled directly to national and local NGOs in 2014. Alongside Christian Aid, Dan Church Aid and the Nairobi based NGO ADESO, CAFOD has led on the Charter4Change (www.charter4change.org), which commits its signatories to channelling at least 20 per cent of their humanitarian spend directly to national aid organisations.
The work of Charter4Change was commended by the Panel noting: ‘The Panel recognises and supports solid commitments made by international NGOs such as those outlined in the Charter4Change’, the Panel went to say, ‘we need more concrete commitments like these if we are to see real change.’
Anne Street said:
"CAFOD has a long history of working through local partners and organisations to deliver humanitarian aid to crisis affected people around the world.
"Local knowledge is crucial to ensure that we are always reaching the most vulnerable in communities. Our local partners understand the culture, speak the language and have existing structures in place, ensuring that life-saving aid gets to where it's needed quickly.
"Working directly with national and local organisations enables local people to lead and manage the aid response."
Panel chair, Kristalina Georgieva, has proposed a flagship Grand Bargain between donors and aid organisations (NGOs and UN agencies). The Panel is calling on donors on the one side to provide better quality multi-year humanitarian financing, with less ear-marking and urges them to work together to harmonise and simplify reporting requirements. In return, aid organisations will commit to reducing duplication and costs, and work together to undertake more joint and impartial needs assessments.
The Panel has called on aid organisations and donors to work together to ensure greater financial transparency, creating more support and funding systems to national and local aid organisations and a greater use of cash.
Anne Street concluded:
“This High Level Panel report provides strong evidence of the need for the humanitarian system to develop new and smarter ways to finance humanitarian emergencies, including protracted crises. “It is now vital that aid organisations work together to introduce the kinds of change which can deliver real benefits to the people we are working to serve. We hope many more INGOs, and indeed UN agencies, will commit to passing at least 20 per cent of their humanitarian funding to national implementing partners.
“CAFOD, along with its local, and global partners and others in the international humanitarian sector, are committed to meeting these challenges head on.”
Anne Street is available for interview, please contact Nana Anto-Awuakye on: 07799 477 541 or email: nanto-awuakye@cafod.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
CAFOD is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, which works with communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America to tackle poverty and fight for justice. We work with all communities based on their needs, regardless of religion, gender or background.
CAFOD is an active participant in the humanitarian reform process. We have co-published a number of reports examining the international humanitarian system and calling for improvements in effectiveness, predictability and speed when bringing humanitarian assistance to people in need, and we support our partners and country offices working in humanitarian response to engage in the 3 pillars of reform: participation in country-based and global clusters, humanitarian leadership, and pooled funding. Our latest report 'Looking beyond the Crisis' can be foundhere