Below is an excerpt of an article originally published in The New Humanitarian. Read the full article here, and learn about BRAC's critical work in Bangladesh alongside the Roghingya and host communities.
When only a few cents on the dollar are channelled to those closest to a crisis, we should stop calling that a failure. It is a system succeeding at what it was built to do.
The recent allocation of $2 billion in US funding through UN pooled funds made this painfully clear. The vast majority was given to UN agencies and international NGOs, despite widespread commitments to shift power and localise aid. In Bangladesh, not a single taka went directly to a local organisation. An explanation given in some of the 18 countries where funding was available: Six-month delivery timelines mandated by the US are too short, and local organisations are too risky.
Local actors feel frustrated. International humanitarian groups only seem interested in “localisation” when there’s no money. When there’s $2 billion on the table, the system returns to normal.
Bangladesh holds an example of a different approach. Before we get to that, we need to understand why the UN pooled funds excluded local groups, and why the humanitarian system is so resistant to change.
...
Read the full article in The New Humanitarian.
