COVID-19: Vision or Fashion? (Roundtable Discussion)

This Note provides a summary of a three-hour virtual policy-consultation among humanitarian practitioners, donor representatives, and independent experts on the impact of COVID-19 on humanitarian actors and existing opportunities for (further) change towards a better fit-for-purpose sector. The roundtable provided a platform for participants to exchange, specifically to identify emerging themes and priorities for humanitarians in addressing the pandemic, and was meant to feed into the broader HERE research project – Beyond the pandemic – culminating in a conference in 2021. This Note also provides a number of reflections on behalf of HERE on the discussions and the way forward.

Leveraging the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, and through a combination of short exchanges and thematic breakout group discussions, the meeting first explored system change (what has to change and why in the humanitarian sector?) and then delved into how to best manage change and address inequalities as the most visible outcome of the pandemic.