Holding the Keys: Humanitarian access and local organisations

Humanitarian action will never be effective if it does not reach those who need it the most. However, international humanitarian organizations often struggle to gain access to areas affected by conflict or crisis. In order to mitigate this problem, international actors have been looking to collaborate with local organizations that have greater access to areas and communities in need. The understanding of local organizations’ ways of delivering protection and aid could inform humanitarian action by organizations on other levels, but the knowledge on local actors’ strategies remains limited.

This report aims to address this knowledge gap by looking at the role of local organizations in humanitarian responses in Ukraine and Syria. It also reflects more broadly on how local knowledge on humanitarian access can be better used to serve those in need.