Protecting People in Locally Led Disaster Response

Humanitarian organizations operating in the Pacific are increasingly recognizing the importance of localized humanitarian action. Major donors have made supporting localization a strategic objective in their humanitarian work and their monitoring and evaluation frameworks. The national and international humanitarian community is also investing time and effort to track the progress and understand the impact of localized responses.

One question that arose as part of this change relates to the impact of locally-led disaster responses on the protection of disaster-affected people. Some evidence suggests that locally-led responses can exacerbate gender and cultural biases, while other studies suggest that national and local actors are better suited to identify and respond to protection concerns compared to international actors. 

This report explores the impact of locally-led responses on protection outcomes for disaster-affected people in the Pacific. It is based on field research from Vanuatu, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands.