‘All Eyes Are on Local Actors’: Covid-19 and Local Humanitarian Action

The ongoing global pandemic of Covid-19 has caused a substantial shock across the humanitarian sector. Travel and access restrictions meaning that international staff and initiatives cannot be deployed have led to a renewed focus on the role of local humanitarian actors. Will this attention ultimately lead to a fundamental change in the humanitarian system? Will Covid-19 provide the opportunity to shift towards more local humanitarian action?

This briefing note considers the early implications of Covid-19 for driving systemic change towards more local humanitarian action and leadership, and more complementarity between international and local actors.