Rome SOHS 2018 panel discussion: The humanitarian-development nexus, resilience and gender

Organised by the Offices of Evaluations for UN Rome-based agencies WFP and FAO, this event brought about an intense and engaging exchange among high-level humanitarian actors.

One hundred participants attended the event and questions from the audience touched on gaps between funding and requirements, protection and coverage, gender, interlinkages with the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, as well as the practical implications of aligning humanitarian, development and peace actions.

Andrea Cook and Masahiro Igarashi, kicked-off the event as Directors of Evaluation of the two Rome-based UN agencies.

In their opening remarks, they reiterated the importance of the report and flagged the key contribution of evaluations to The State of the Humanitarian System 2018. 'In fact, over 200 evaluations of humanitarian action contributed to this report, together with interviews, case studies, aid recipient and aid practitioners’ surveys' the two Directors remarked. 'It provides a solid understanding and evidence of what has been happening since 2015, a period of turmoil for humanitarian response and globally.'

After presenting on the architecture of the humanitarian system and on the gaps between its funding and needs, Paul Knox Clarke, lead author of the report and Head of Research at ALNAP, zoomed in on the progress made on three key performance areas: accountability and participation, localisation and the humanitarian-development nexus.

Discussions around these three areas were also echoed by the panellists and the audience in over an hour-long and highly engaging exchange of views.

Particular attention was drawn to the nexus between humanitarian aid and development actors as well as the interlinkages between resilience building and national initiatives. The report presents the evidence that humanitarian actors have been effective in building resilience activities when they have been part of larger government led initiatives, whereas “when that was not the case, resilience programmes struggled to have any impact at all on the long term’ stressed Knox Clarke.

How to deliver on the nexus?

Delphine Borione emphasised that ‘strengthening local capacities, ensuring adequation of needs and sustainability is absolutely key and we need to develop this”. In this context, she also stressed the importance of taking gender issues seriously.

How to deliver on the nexus continues to be so crucial yet not closer to a solution. Dominque Burgeon, gave his perspective as Director of Emergencies and Resilience Division at FAO: “How can we put flesh on the bones, for example, how can we develop and use a toolbox for resilience that includes practical solutions for social protection and safety nets? Adding to this, Gianluca Ranzato, Save the Children Italia asked ‘How can we avoid disasters that are a failure of development policies?”

Nevertheless, it was recognised that much progress has been made in recent years. According to Ute Klamert, some good comes from some bad. 'Pressures prompted change. At least the humanitarian system and the development system have started talking to each other'. Five years ago this exchange was not happening.

The importance of collaboration was reiterated many times by the panellists. Delphine Borione hopes that the UN reforms can be an opportunity for collaboration. 'Working together is absolutely important. We need to break the vicious cycle: it is key that we integrate the humanitarian dimension as part of a comprehensive approach to fragility management. We hope that the UN Development Reform brings together the two communities'.

 

This event summary was written by Silvio Galeano and Federica Bottamedi from the World Food Programme (WFP).

Event details

The Rome launch of the SOHS 2018 took place on 8 April 2019. It consisted of a short presentation by Paul Knox Clarke, lead author of the report and ALNAP Head of Research, followed by an interactive discussion to explore what has shaped the humanitarian landscape since 2015 and the challenges to be faced going forward with four panelists:

  • Delphine Borione, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France
  • Dominique Burgeon, FAO Director of Emergency and Resilience, 
  • Valerie Guarnieri, WFP Assistant Executive Director
  • Gianluca Ranzato, Save the Children Italy Head of Humanitarian Strategy