Localisation Agenda Must Be Renewed To Strengthen Humanitarian Work Amongst Local Actors In The Pacific

SUVA, Fiji (24 May 2020) -The climate crisis is an ever-growing concern for the Pacific Region, and the importance of local aid organisations to be prepared for, and respond to crises, is at an all-time high. The COVID-19 pandemic adds another layer of complexity and challenge to an already crisis-prone region of the world.

A renewed focus on the localisation agenda in the Pacific has resulted in a number of developments such as the Auckland Summit, which was aimed at operationalising Grand Bargain localisation goals agreed at the Global Humanitarian Summit in 2016.

However, while 91% of Pacific Islands Countries are part of their national coordination mechanisms for the aftermath of an emergency, only 35% are engaged in international coordination mechanisms or meetings.

Additionally, of those who received capacity development support in the previous 12 months, only 46% agreed that the support received was completely relevant and appropriate.

These figures are disclosed today in a joint Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP)’s Localisation Technical Working Group report, Humanitarian Action in the Pacific: Towards Strengthening Local Action in the Pacific. The report takes figures from a survey conducted across 19 Pacific Island Countries and Territories in 2020.

According to the survey, whilst much work has been accomplished in the region, much more remains to be done.

The report also outlined the following recommendations for priority areas:

• Capacity development in specific areas such as gender, project management, financial management
• Strategies to enable flexible and simplified funding mechanisms that are easily accessible to local aid actors
• Support to maintain and strengthen shared ownerships with beneficiaries at community level
• Ensure that the local actors - particularly in the NGO community - are well represented in regional and national level coordination mechanisms.
• Local actors both at regional and national level continue to be meaningfully engaged and consulted on the development and review of relevant policies, frameworks, and legislation related to humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction and climate change.

Ms Katherine Mafi, Acting Executive Director for Tonga Family Health Association (TFHA) based in Nukualofa, Tonga, who is also a panelist at Tuesday’s report launch, said, “the greatest strength of local actors is that they are embedded in the rubric of local community. But we must ensure that these local actors, particularly in the NGO community, are well represented in regional and national level disaster coordination mechanisms. Only then can we truly achieve the localisation agenda.”

© Scoop Media