Putting localization at the center of the humanitarian future

As humanitarian organizations find themselves faced with supporting more populations impacted by natural and man-made crises, they must embrace localization as a way to make the sector more responsive and innovative, experts said at the recent 2019 Asia Pacific Humanitarian Leadership Conference.

But it is still a work in progress according to Lan Mercado, Asia regional director for Oxfam. Despite the barriers, a range of experts showed how a new way of thinking about encouraging greater locally led leadership will improve humanitarian responses. One area is in compassionate palliative care in conflict settings, which Rachel Coghlan from the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership told Devex can be better enabled through localization. A greater focus on localization may also help to better understand and address the violence facing female aid workers — which Tanya Stelmach, a doctoral candidate at RMIT University, said is underexamined and underreported in the humanitarian space.

Despite the challenges of increasing localization, progress has been made in enabling local leadership. The only barriers were international partners who, at times, continue to undermine local leadership.