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Individual Commitment

• What led your organization to make the commitment?

  The contribution of local communities, the first responders to crises, in the humanitarian programming chain must be taken into account. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the latter accounted for 77% of cases when the humanitarian community attempted to assist the remaining 23% as humanitarian aid continued to decline and the humanitarian crisis became chronic. Working in prevention would save lives, minimize the costs of assistance in case of intervention on the ground. After more than two decades of humanitarian crises, communities have developed local mechanisms for responses that deserve to be valued, supported and shared.

• Achievements at a glance

  Mapping and classification of national and local NGOs in thematic areas (cluster);
  Capacity-building, information and humanitarian/development data sharing among themselves and with international actors in the DRC;
  Development process at the grassroots level;
  Strengthening forum structures at the territorial-urban, provincial and national levels;
  Facilitation of partnership between the Government of the DRC, international, national and / or local NGOs to make humanitarian actions and sustainable development more effective on the ground;
  Contextual analysis on the humanitarian situation;
  Strengthening of the communication and protection system for national and local actors;
  Advocacy with international actors for the effective involvement of local actors in the humanitarian and sustainable development process.

• How is your organization assessing progress

  Progress remains limited. However, local actors have knowledge of the environment (physical, ecological, socio-cultural, economic, political), strong capacity for rapid deployment on the ground in case of humanitarian crisis, and can provide initial responses to humanitarian crises and easy access to information at the source and local authorities. They are beginning to be accepted in clusters and other humanitarian bodies but without decision-making power at a time when the government is often absent in the humanitarian chain. Often international actors do not develop capacity-building programs for local actors.

• Challenges faced in implementation

  • Non-respect of the normative framework of the partnership between the government, the technical and financial partners and the national and local organizations
  • Absence of contingency stocks for timely and appropriate responses to humanitarian crises
  • Opportunism and lack of professionalism of most national and international actors
  • Poor control of basic humanitarian standards
  • Low capacity for planning, resource mobilization
  • Institutional and staff instability (volunteer and casual)
  • Early warning and information sharing mechanisms not very operational
  • Absence and / or difficult access to financing
  • Drafting of experts
  

• Next step to advance implementation in 2017

  - Strengthen the managerial capacities of local actors for more professionalism;
  - Develop grassroots development plans and community clusters to make local actors more proactive and innovative;
  - Work on the challenges facing the country on the specific needs of both national / local and international actors;
  - Increase the visibility of local actors through their participation in public debates on humanitarian and development issues at local, national and international level;
  - Advocate with the DRC government to make available the necessary resources to respond urgently to crises
  

• Cross cutting issues

  ☑Accountability to affected people ☑ People-centred approach

• Specific initiatives

  ☑Charter for Change ☑ Commitment to Action: Transcending the humanitarian - development divide ☑ NEAR - Network for Empowered Aid Response

• Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

  ☑5A - Invest in local capacities