The need for local actors amid escalating crises
At the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, leaders from governments, civil society, and NGOs committed to transforming the delivery of humanitarian aid through localisation – a shift aimed at empowering local and national actors by transferring more control and funding to them.
Fast forward to 2024, and we see global conflicts at record highs, accompanied by escalating breaches of international humanitarian law. UN figures paint a disturbing picture: civilian casualties in armed conflict spiked to 33,000 in 2023, a 72% increase from the previous year. Localisation, a challenge in 2016, has become even more complicated in today’s rapidly evolving crisis landscape where needs often outpace traditional aid systems.
With global conflicts at record highs, the need for localisation is more critical and complicated than ever.
At AidEx 2024, a summit for humanitarian strategy and collaboration, Ib Petersen, Denmark’s Permanent Representative to the UN, shared a candid reflection: “We haven’t done enough to support local people… we are far from meeting the 2016 objectives for localisation.” This is a stark truth. Empowering local actors isn’t just about financial transfers – it requires a fundamental reimagining of how aid is planned, executed, and continuously adapted to the realities faced by those on the frontlines.
Local and national actors are best placed to address the impact of crises, like CTG staff member Jovany John Mayik in South Sudan.
Challenges in shifting power to local and national actors
In regions like Gaza, Yemen and Syria – among many – where access to humanitarian resources is often delayed or blocked, local organisations face tight donor restrictions that make balancing short-term crisis response with longer-term stability a challenging task. It’s only the local actors who can adapt fastest and find alternate routes in the shifting landscape.
The challenge is compounded by the ongoing disregard for international humanitarian law. Attacks on civilian infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, have increased, placing local humanitarian workers in even greater danger. Unlike their international counterparts, local staff often lack adequate security protections due to restricted budgets, leaving them exposed to severe risks. The disparity is stark: while extensive measures safeguard international workers, local responders – who are on the frontlines and most vulnerable – are left with minimal resources to ensure their safety.
Supporting women-led localisation
As Dr Mary Okumu, PhD, Technical Director of ForAfrika put it at AidEx 2024, “Women are responsible for family care. That means providing food, water, healthcare and more. In situations where women must flee, it’s not only with their children but other people’s children – they do not only manage their own households but others, and they have to line up to access so many services each day.”
Maria Krisch, Programme Coordinator at the UN’s WPHF tells us that less than 1% of humanitarian funding reaches grassroots, women-led organisations. The often-invisible labour shouldered disproportionately by women in crises settings demonstrates why localisation must align resources with those who best understand and consistently respond to their communities’ urgent, holistic needs.
Dr Mary Okumu, PhD, and Maria Krisch discuss supporting women in conflict and post-conflict, on an AidEx panel led by CTG’s Sustainability Manager Mia Zickerman-White.
Structural shifts needed for localisation
Many argue that ‘localisation’ risks being a buzzword rather than an active and meaningful shift. To quote Cristina Muñoz Pavón, Director General of Alianza por la Solidaridad (ActionAid España), also speaking at AidEx 2024: “Do I consider a local organisation as an instrument, or do I consider it as an equal with a seat at the table?”
Do I consider a local organisation as an instrument, or do I consider it as an equal with a seat at the table?.
Ib Petersen echoes the disconnect: “Every week, there is a recommitment to local partners… but the reality is that we need new ways of thinking.” To address this, Denmark has committed to a structural shift in its approach to localisation, working through both Danish civil society organisations and UN channels. Denmark allocates only 20% of aid funding internally, dedicating the remaining 80% to strengthening local capacity directly on the ground.
Community-driven tech: practical solutions for impact
Ib Petersen advocated for technology as a potent driver of localisation, but Alyoscia D’Onofrio, Vice President and Head of Technical Excellence at the International Rescue Committee, laid bare a common flaw at AidEx: “We often have tech solutions in search of a problem.” Too often, innovations designed far from crisis zones are dropped into complex humanitarian settings without sufficient adaptation and can do more harm than good.
High-tech classroom tools, for example, can inadvertently make schools targets for theft, while healthcare apps reliant on cloud-based data become futile in areas with unreliable internet access. The missteps offer a key lesson: technology must fit the realities on the ground.
Yet, D’Onofrio also offered a glimpse of what’s possible when tech is fit-for-purpose. Simple platforms like WhatsApp have revolutionised literacy efforts across Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, while Signpost – a social media-based information hub that helps people in crises – now serves 18 million active users.
CTG’s real-time data-sharing tools, such as the Tayo and SafeTrip systems, give an efficient way to coordinate logistics and improve on-the-ground safety. The result of a collaboration between CTG’s teams on the ground and in corporate HQ, the systems are made by those who best grasp the need. CTG also caters to local actors who might not have digital access and provides training to ensure all staff are equipped with the knowledge to navigate their platforms effectively.
CTG’s Tayo platform makes it possible for local and international staff to manage their HR while also communicating and conducting safety checks in real-time.
Lessons from CTG’s localisation efforts
CTG’s staffing model includes 92% of our workforce drawn from local and national communities. By entrusting resources and authority to those who intimately understand their regions, CTG’s staff have delivered faster, more culturally sensitive responses during crises.
For instance, when severe flooding struck Derna in Libya, CTG’s local staff leveraged their familiarity with the terrain to reach isolated communities quickly, bringing aid where it was most urgently needed. When local leaders are trusted to lead, their deep knowledge of local dynamics can streamline aid in ways that top-down models struggle to achieve.
When severe flooding struck Derna in Libya, CTG’s local staff leveraged their familiarity with the terrain to reach isolated communities quickly.
The path forward: localisation in years to come
The potential of localisation lies in its ability to make humanitarian aid more adaptable, responsive, and culturally relevant. But for localisation to move beyond idealism, donors and international agencies must continue with their commitments to supporting local capacity and funding models that emphasise flexibility and local control. With genuine collaboration and adapting to the fast-evolving crisis landscape, localisation can continue to shift from a vision to a vital practice.
Read: CTG CEO Alice Laugher’s reflections on CTG’s approach to localisation and how it drives the success of humanitarian response.