Humanitarian aid hit by Covid-19
The entire world has, to say the least, been “gripped” by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the “little” humanitarian world has not escaped. It was undoubtedly less surprised by this explosion,...
The impact of Covid-19 on African civil society organisations
Even though Africa has been relatively spared from the pandemic in terms of both infection and mortality rates, it is a different story for the continent’s organisations. The author draws...
The central role of community health in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic: the experience of Médecins du Monde Canada
Might a community approach be one of the solutions for social distancing, the scope of which has been revealed by the current pandemic? This is the argument put forward by...
Haiti: understanding the underwhelming appraisal of the international humanitarian efforts
Ten years after the earthquake that devastated “the Pearl of the West Indies”, which has become the “NGO Republic” according to some, the authors give us an opportunity to remember,...
Localisation of aid through the lens of Covid-19: a matter of choice, or a last resort?
Vanuatu is one of the countries most exposed to natural hazards and one of the few in the world that has not recorded any case of Covid-19. Having closed its...
Aid localisation: current state of the debate and potential impacts of the Covid-19 crisis
Could the debate about localising aid and actually putting it into practice undergo an unexpected resurgence due to the global health crisis? Either way, the Covid-19 crisis is an opportunity...
Lessons in localisation: the Fondation de France’s experiences in Nepal and in Indonesia
At a time when local actors’ capacities are progressively gaining recognition in the field of international aid[1]The Grand Bargain’s second commitment, established in the wake of the World Humanitarian Summit...
What does the future have in store for humanitarian aid logistics?
Often neglected, or at least “accessorized”, logistics is nevertheless essential to the success of humanitarian missions. Not to mention that it represents 60 to 80% of their costs. Based on...
The professionalisation of humanitarian action: a work still in progress
For a long time, the humanitarian sector has claimed its complete “professionalisation”. However, a recent study conducted by Bioforce puts this plaudit into perspective. Rory Downham, who led it, reviews...
The aid regime to Syria: a failed localisation
Shaped by their bureaucratic habits and destabilised by the unexpected complexity of the conflict, international organisations and NGOs alike neglected the local level. They thus deprived themselves of vital forces,...
“What have we lost along the way?” – Disenchantments of NGO
This text by Pierre Brunet found its way into the humanitarian microcosm after its publication on the website Défis humanitaires. It is certainly no coincidence that it has generated so...
From resilience to localisation, or how slogans are not enough for an in-depth reform of the humanitarian sector
At regular intervals, a new slogan echoes around the humanitarian sector, with unifying virtues that are supposed to embody its reform. Yet fads pass, and often the poor integration of innovations...