The challenges of localised aid in
conflict
Organisation:
Location:
Date:
29 November 2016
Time:
15:00 – 16:30 GMT
The idea that local actors should be at the forefront of humanitarian
response in their own country is increasingly widely accepted.
One message,
which resounded loud and clear at the first World Humanitarian Summit, was the
need for greater localisation of aid.
However, the current localisation agenda
gives little consideration to the different humanitarian contexts and their
different operational challenges. Can local actors deliver impartial emergency assistance on a meaningful
scale in armed conflicts, if they find themselves caught up in the political
and military game of the warring parties
?
Our expert panel of observers and practitioners from international and local
organisations discuss and debate the nuances of the situation on the ground.
Informed by new research from
Médecins Sans
Frontières which highlights operational challenges to locally led responses
in conflict and highly politicised environments, this discussion asks:
- What are
the practical implications of locally-led responses in acute conflicts?
- What
are the key issues to overcome?
- How can we ensure that locally-led responses
conform with key humanitarian principles?
Contributing chair
Wendy Fenton @WendyFenton1 - Coordinator,
Humanitarian Practice Network
Speakers
Ed Schenkenberg @ed_heregva - Executive Director,
Humanitarian Exchange and Research Centre
Luz Saavedra @alnap - Former Research Fellow, ALNAP
Zaidoun Alzoabi @UOSSM - Chief
Executive Officer, Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organisations (via video
link)
Charlie Rowley @oxfamgb -
Humanitarian Capacity Development Advisor, Global Humanitarian Team, Oxfam
Teresa Sancristoval @MSF - Emergency Desk
Manager, Médecins Sans Frontières