ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the launch of USAID's new Locally Led Humanitarian Assistance Policy. One of our biggest priorities here at USAID, as many of you know, is putting local leaders in the driver's seat so that they can identify and lead the changes that they want to see in their own communities.
All around the world, in every sector of development, we have seen how these are the leaders who drive the most transformative and enduring change. But, changing our mindsets and our methods across the agency has, of course, been challenging. It has proven time-consuming to reach beyond our established partners to build relationships with these local groups. It has often taken more staff resources to help new partners navigate the sometimes-complex process of partnering with USAID.
And, of course, these challenges are especially relevant to you and your efforts to provide humanitarian assistance, as speed is especially essential during emergencies. You all operate in circumstances when life-saving assistance is needed now.
This is likely one of the main reasons that our Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance gave just one percent of its budget to local partners in 2022, and two percent in 2023. But despite all of the reasons why increasing partnerships with local organizations is hard, we know why it is imperative.
Local organizations are often the first to respond to humanitarian crises; they offer unique contextual knowledge and expertise; and they foster deep and lasting connections with affected communities. Local responders often operate in dangerous, isolated places where major international organizations cannot.
In Sudan, for example, as the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces keep international organizations from reaching large portions of the population, local leaders have created groups called emergency response rooms that are distributing food and water to people in need, arranging accommodation for displaced communities, and organizing evacuations for those fleeing violence.
And, local leaders are also uniquely positioned to respond to crises in a way that doesn't just meet the immediate need, but sets their communities up for sustained, long-term recovery.
Just a few months ago, I visited a community in the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, who were hit hard by last year's devastating earthquake. Even as these local leaders help people meet their most urgent needs, from providing health and nutrition support to getting schools operating again, they are also helping women, young people, and individuals with disabilities start or restart their own businesses – so that these individuals can move from requiring assistance to building sustainable livelihoods of their own.
We recognize the very real challenges that make it difficult to partner directly with local leaders, associations, and organizations in the humanitarian space. But, the more that we can navigate and overcome these barriers, the better we will be at getting lifesaving and life-changing aid to the places where it is most urgently needed around the world.
This new policy lays out how we can do so – not only by funding local leaders directly, but also by advocating for local organizations to serve in decision making roles in bodies like the UN-led Humanitarian Country Team and humanitarian clusters; and by encouraging our international partners to channel resources directly to local actors as well.
And, the policy includes lessons that we hope can inform these efforts and spur lasting change – not only here at USAID, but across the entire humanitarian space. Together, we have the chance to unlock the extraordinary potential of our local partners to meet emergency needs and to accelerate lasting recovery.
Thank you so much.