Local Humanitarian Leadership: The View from Local Actors

The global call for localization and locally led emergency response acknowledges the reality that the humanitarian system is currently organized around international actors. More than the limited access to direct funding, the core issue is the power imbalance between local and international actors.

In the Philippines, national and local networks of humanitarian, faith-based, developmental organizations and private sector foundations have been conducting and leading small- and large-scale disaster responses for decades. However, the discourse and struggle for localization have grown in recent years due to the prominence and dominance of international humanitarian actors, especially during large-scale emergencies.

Oxfam is one of several international organizations that have signed up to the Grand Bargain, Charter for Change and other agreements that push for localization, and Oxfam in the Philippines has embraced the local humanitarian leadership (LHL) approach holistically.