Humanitarian - ACT Alliance

Interview with Andrij Waskowycz: Being the Convener of the ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum in Turbulent Times

At the beginning of July, Andrij Waskowycz assumed the role of convener of the ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum, which unites 13 member organizations providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Andrij, who has been in Ukraine since 1991, brings a wealth of experience to his new role. This interview delves into his perspectives on recent events, the Forum’s priorities, and his outlook on humanitarian aid and the recovery process in Ukraine.

Q: Andrij, you’ve recently taken on the role of convener of the ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum. Can you tell us about your background and what led you to this function?
Andrij Waskowycz: Since Ukraine’s independence in 1991, I have made the country my home, residing in Kyiv for the past 33 years. Born in Munich to Ukrainian parents, my roots naturally drew me to Ukraine. I have been involved with humanitarian organizations since 2001, and in June 2023, I assumed the role of Head of Mission for Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe in Ukraine. Mark Mullan, the previous convener of the ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum, invited me to take on this role. I accepted because I believe the Forum is a vital platform for member organizations to exchange ideas and collaborate.

Q: Just days after you took over as convener, Kyiv experienced a devastating missile attack. Can you describe that day and its impact on the city?
Andrij Waskowycz: On July 8th, Kyiv endured one of the most tragic days since the full-scale invasion, as a missile attack struck the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital, another hospital, and several apartment buildings. Thirty-three people, including many children, lost their lives, and over 100 were injured that day. The Okhmatdyt Hospital, known for treating children with cardiac diseases and cancer, was severely damaged. The shock and devastation were immense, with people rushing to offer assistance. Even our office felt the tension; we heard the air sirens and explosions, knowing this attack was different and more destructive.

Q: How do such events affect the daily lives of people in Kyiv and the humanitarian efforts of your organization?
Andrij Waskowycz: The constant threat of missile attacks creates a pervasive sense of tension. People try to lead normal lives, but war is always present in their subconscious. For humanitarian organizations, these attacks also pose significant challenges, putting sometimes the lives of aid workers at risk. They underscore the urgency of our work and the need for coordination and preparedness.¨

Q: What do you consider to be the main priorities for the ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum?
Andrij Waskowycz: Our primary focus is enhancing cooperation, coordination, and exchange among member organizations. We’re working on joint advocacy efforts, such as ensuring humanitarian workers can be exempted from military enlistment to prevent the loss of qualified personnel. Additionally, we’re exploring ways to foster closer collaboration through the establishment of different Working Groups, for example in the field of HSS (Health Security and Safety), which are of common interest to all our member organizations. We are also considering establishing a Working Group on Mental Health and Psycho-Social Assistance. Many Forum members are active in this field, and a broader exchange of ideas regarding support for people with mental health issues could benefit various projects. Mental health is a significant issue in Ukrainian society, with estimates indicating that over ten million people in Ukraine need psycho-social assistance due to trauma from shelling, violence, and loss.

Q: You recently attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin. What were the key takeaways from this event?
Andrij Waskowycz: The conference was highly significant, bringing together over 3,500 participants, including many from civil society for the first time. It served as a crucial platform for networking, discussing Ukraine’s recovery, and forming new partnerships. The presence of high-ranking politicians and the discussions on funding and rebuilding efforts underscored the international community’s commitment. The conference emphasized the need for immediate recovery actions to restore hope and normalcy for those living in devastated areas.
However, I believe that civil society representatives should have been more involved in the official program of the Conference. Civil society plays a crucial role in Ukraine’s reconstruction, especially given the declared focus on the „human dimension“. Reconstruction must extend beyond restoring material infrastructure to include renewing the social fabric, with appropriate social protection systems and effective social services. Much advocacy is still needed to ensure that the “human dimension” and the role of civil society in Ukraine’s reconstruction process receive the attention they deserve, particularly concerning the follow-up Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in Italy next year.

Q: How important is the role of local organizations in your work, and what lessons can other countries learn from Ukraine’s experience?
Andrij Waskowycz: Local organizations are crucial because they understand the needs of their communities intimately. Ukraine has a very vibrant civil society and therefore very strong local organizations in the humanitarian sphere. Other countries can learn the value of empowering local organizations. These organizations often start from volunteer initiatives, responding quickly to crises, and as they grow, they must balance maintaining their agility with meeting donor requirements. “Localization” is a very important topic in the context of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum could be a good platform to advance the debate around “Localization” within the civil society and the international humanitarian community in Ukraine.

Q: What are the main challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in Ukraine, and how should they address these challenges to improve their effectiveness?
Andrij Waskowycz: The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has seen a troubling trend where the funding for aid is decreasing even as the demand for assistance continues to rise. The decrease in funding can be attributed to donor fatigue, economic pressures on donor countries, and shifting global priorities. Simultaneously, the demand for aid is rising due to the ongoing war, displacement, and deteriorating living conditions. To address this situation, humanitarian organizations need to diversify their funding sources, increase advocacy efforts to highlight the urgency of the humanitarian crisis, and collaborate more closely with local partners to maximize the efficiency and impact of available resources. These challenges and topics concern all members of the ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum, and it is therefore their joint responsibility to discuss these topics and find proper solutions to these difficult questions. To initiate and facilitate such a discussion among the members is also a task for the convener of the ACT Alliance Ukraine Forum.

Reimagining how to fund cash transfers to communities

This article has been written by the Christian Aid communications team and has been previously published on the Christian Aid webpage .If you are interested in Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), Christian Aid has recently published a new insightful report, Who holds the levers of design?: Insights and ideas for cash locally led response

Christian Aid has long recognised that giving people money rather than things is a fast and effective way to assist those impacted by humanitarian emergencies.

In 2023, an eighth of all our project funding and a fifth of all our humanitarian project funding was used this way. At the same time, Christian Aid is committed to the localisation of aid, putting power and resources in the hands of those affected by crisis. This allows them to make decisions that are right for themselves, their family and their community.

Localising cash assistance

In recent years, there’s been a wide debate about how cash and voucher assistance (CVA) can be localised. We’ve noticed that this debate is often founded on several assumptions:

We need to bring more local actors into the aid system to help with the design and delivery of cash assistance.
The best way to achieve scale and efficiency gains is by harmonising approaches and often this involved linking with existing government social protection schemes.

Neither of these are inherently wrong. In fact, these ideas are doing a great deal to drive positive change in the international aid sector. However, they are not the full picture.

Challenges for local responders

Firstly, not all local responders want to be part of the international system. Many may wish to either fill gaps that the larger system has left, or simply change their existing activities onto a humanitarian footing in response to a crisis.

For example, those working with marginalised groups may now want to continue working with these people, but offering humanitarian aid as well as their existing services.

Secondly, ‘mutual aid’ and other locally led responses, such as local church groups, already do reach a vast scale, but international agencies find this hard to recognise because we don’t have a strong way of measuring and counting it.

Two approaches to localising CVA

In our new discussion paper and briefing note who hold the levers of design – insights and ideas for cash and locally led response, we explore how there is a difference between localising institutional CVA , which focuses on equipping local actors to work within international CVA systems, and enabling CVA as part of locally led response, which focuses on equipping international aid systems to support and strengthen endogenous responses.

Working together for better aid

We hope that this distinction can carve out a space where international donors will develop tools and processes to work with local groups and spontaneous responders on their terms rather than asking them to adapt to international standards.

This is not to say all standards are wrong, but we believe there should be space to redraw the relationship between the institutional aid world and local responders. The aim is to complement wider aid efforts by recognising that affected communities are always the first and the last responders to any crisis, continuing to work towards long term recovery and development years after international agencies have completed their programmes.

Bracing for an Intense Hurricane Season in Haiti

This blog was written by Prospery Raymond, the ACT Haiti Forum Convenor, and originally published in Spanish here. It was written before Hurricane Beryl (the second named storm of the year) reached category 4 and battered a number of Caribbean islands before turning towards Mexico this week. He highlights the complexity of vulnerabilities for populations in Haiti who already experience so many challenges, should a storm like Beryl strike the island.

As the 2024 hurricane season started on June 1st in the Atlantic, forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) paint a concerning picture for the region. According to NOAA, this year the hurricane season is ‘hyperactive’, and forecasts show an 85% chance of an above-normal season, and only a 10% chance of a near-normal season and a 5% chance of a below-normal season. These intense storms are expected to be fueled by the effects of climate change and the ongoing La Niña phenomenon. As the hurricane season officially began on June 1 and runs until November 30, various actors are preparing to address the situation.

The agency predicts between 17 and 25 named storms, with 8 to 13 potentially becoming hurricanes (winds exceeding 119 km/h), and 4 to 7 reaching Category 3 or higher (winds over 178 km/h). If Haiti is struck by a Category 3 or stronger hurricane this year, the consequences could be catastrophic, particularly in a context in which more than 50% of the population are in acute food insecurity, 580,000 displaced people have fled gang violence and the spread of cholera has already killed 1278 people since its reappearance in 2022.

Given this multidimensional, complex, and complicated crisis, the question arises: How can we better approach this hurricane season, given the intensifying needs for planning, prevention, and response? Significant efforts have been made, such as identifying over 1,400 shelters across the country using geospatial information. However, these shelters do not all meet the required criteria for adequately housing displaced individuals, lacking proper sanitation facilities, potable water, and food storage capabilities. Moreover, with access to many routes already blocked, delivering aid could be challenging if the country experiences a Category 3 hurricane or higher. Even tropical storms may cause important flooding.

In a conversation with Aldrin Calixte, the Director of the local NGO Haiti Survie, who specializes in natural resources and sustainable development, he shared that his organization has already developed a contingency plan to better participate in the response to storm or hurricane crises that could affect the communities in the South and Northeast departments where they operate. Calixte’s plan takes into account the significant challenges of the moment, such as difficult access, rising prices of basic goods, and their availability in the Haitian market and intervention areas.

I also discussed the matter with Salomon Brutus, an Agronomist and the Humanitarian Coordinator for the joint office of DKH, LWF, and NCA in Haiti. He believes it is crucial for civil society organizations, the structures of civil protection and local authorities to work together, to foster better coordination and support to communities in the process of reducing risks, in conducting anticipatory actions before crises to reduce the impacts of the disasters, as well to work in synergy during the response phase by assisting affected people efficiently and on time. For this season, he is collaborating with a network of nine ACT Alliance member organizations in Haiti, aiming to cover at least five departments with a plan to help vulnerable communities to be better prepared. While creating the plan is one thing, implementing it is another challenge, but significant efforts are being made in both preparation and execution.

An interesting approach utilized by several organizations and communities in Haiti is the SCLR (Survival Community Lead Response) in which support is provided to initiatives and actions led by the communities themselves and a hand is given to amplify the impacts. This approach, employed by DKH, LWF and NCA with their partners in Haiti, is a crucial aspect of helping communities, especially leaders, guide anticipation efforts, plan with local authorities, prepare, and intervene in within 24h to 72h after a disaster response without external intervention. Some communities are better prepared to take charge before, during, and after crises, thanks to valuable experiences gained from various challenges the country has faced over the past five years. For me, SCLR is the way forward to help have more resilient communities in Haiti.

OCHA and the DGPC (Directorate of Civil Protection) are already working to facilitate better planning for this year’s hurricanes. The 1,400 temporary shelters identified and set up across the country are important. However, the question remains: How will they implement this plan given the challenges we already face? Communication about the severity of the situation is lacking, and the population should be on alert regarding potential disasters. The rainy season of May 2024 already highlights the shortcomings and challenges the country could face if communities see more torrential rain and severe wind.

Resources are lacking, but communication about potential dangers is not up to par. Some communities receiving support from local authorities and external aid may be able to cope, but not all communes are in the same situation. Insecurity and population displacement remain challenges that are difficult to predict but easy to address if the Haitian state prioritizes preparedness and prevention. With more prevention efforts, we can reduce the need for response in the event of a hurricane, for example.

Angeline Anesteus, Action Aid director and CLIO President mentioned how they are very focused on anticipatory actions with multi–year projects to carry out activities in the field, particularly in the Grand Anse area. They have emergency funds to implement rapid actions if a hurricane should hit Haiti. CLIO members are encouraged to work together to avoid duplication and have more effective interventions in many communities.

For several years, one of the manifestations of climate change in Haiti has been prolonged periods of drought in various regions. Some communities in the south and Grand Anse departments did not receive a drop of rain from November 2022 to July 2023, making it extremely difficult for thousands of farmers to find drinking water and sustain their crops and livestock, as water sources were on the verge of drying up. However, 2024 has brought a different scenario, with significant rainfall starting in February and increasing in May, leading to minor flooding and even tornadoes in some areas, including the Bassin Bleu region in northwestern Haiti.

During my visits with farmers in the in the South-West region in August and November 2023, they complained about the drought affecting their work areas in the year before. They told me they continued to pray for rain in the coming months, but hoping not to experience excessive rainfall or storms. For now, they have received enough rain in early 2024 to aid their planting efforts and hope for a good harvest during Haiti’s spring season from April to July 2024. I hope their prayers will continue to be answered, and Haiti will not be affected by serious storms this year. Even with good prayers, effective preparation and prevention remain crucial. We must continue to inform populations and communities on how to behave before, during and after meteorological events like storms, hurricanes, tornadoes. Haiti cannot withstand another disaster. Many decision-makers know what to do, but will we unite with a strong will to protect the population this year, setting aside political considerations and instead focusing on saving the already drifting economy and – most importantly – innocent lives, with the potential to grow and better serve the country in the future?

Together, we can make a difference!!!

Surviving Amidst Gang Violence in Haiti: Resilience and Recovery

The situation in Haiti remains extremely precarious, with gang violence devastating communities and disrupting lives. For many Haitians, simply existing and going about daily activities means navigating constant threats and traumatic experiences. With the resurgence of violence related to armed groups’ activities in Port-au-Prince since 29 February, thousands of people have been killed, injured, or forced to flee for safety and protection, according to Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Haiti. So far more than 360,000 people left their communities and hundred of thousands are based in some camps around Port-au-Prince(schools, churches, state offices…)

Rampant violence continues in several districts of Port-au-Prince, where coordinated attacks are affecting hundreds of thousands of people. On 10 May, an attack in the Gressier commune (West Department) caused the displacement of around 4,400 people.

The number of survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) increased fivefold between the first two months of the year and March 2024, rising from 250 to 1,543. Sexual violence accounts for 75 per cent of the incidents reported, according to OCHA, on the 16^th of May 2024.

The accounts shared here provide a sobering look at the realities on the ground, but also inspirational examples of resilience and the vital work being done to support survivors.

Psychologist Kate Ulysse paints a distressing picture of the violence playing out in areas like Croix des Bouquets and Cité Soleil near Port-au-Prince. “The different forms of violence people face include robberies, murders, rapes, intimidation and threats,” she explains. Armed gangs exert control over neighborhoods, setting up checkpoints and subjecting residents to searches and abuse. “At that moment, anything is possible.”

The impact on mental health is severe. Ulysse describes survivors grappling with post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, anger and suicidal ideation in the aftermath. “These women’s psychological balance is delicate,” she laments. Many develop pathological conditions like panic attacks, reliving the trauma, and they “always feel in a state of imminent danger.” The stigma and dislocation compound the harm, leaving some feeling they must abandon their communities entirely.

Despite the daunting challenges, local organizations like ACT members Service Chretien d’Haiti (SCH) and partner organizations like ORRAH working with ACT members DKH and LWF/NCA are doing vital work to protect survivors and help them reclaim their lives. Psychosocial support workers like 31-year-old Liliane Joseph provide a lifeline, conducting door-to-door outreach in hard-hit areas. “After, we had to open an office to receive survivors in complete confidentiality, so they feel confident to express themselves,” Joseph explains. “The survivors need support so they don’t continue being victimized.”

Empowerment is key, helping each woman to “know that she is a person, and she has rights – and needs support to guide her to necessary services.” This holistic approach encompasses psychological care but also economic empowerment, like the financial grants SCH provided. As Polone Cadet, a 49-year-old mother of three, expressed: “The support from SCH was very important and came at the right time… otherwise, we could die.”

The gratitude in the survivors’ own words is palpable. Cadet conveyed, “She was happy with the conversation and to see that people are interested in her story and what she is experiencing in her community.” For Helena Prophete*, a young woman who became pregnant after a brutal gang rape at age 14(now, she is 19 and she is at baccalaureate dreaming to be a doctor in the future to support as many girls and women as possible), SCH provided a vital outlet: “By talking about it more and more, I feel better. With SCH, I had this opportunity to find a space to talk, to discuss, and people who understand me.”

While sharing such traumatic accounts is undoubtedly difficult, giving voice to the survivors is crucial for driving awareness, empathy and action to address these crises. Ulysse underscores that supporting the psychosocial and economic needs of women and child survivors “is an expensive but essential program.” NGOs and aid must prioritize Haiti’s local organizations at the forefront of this work.

As Ulysse emphasizes, “Violence harms thousands of people and endangers the lives of thousands of women and children, and it is imperative to support survivors after this trauma so that they can rebuild and take their place in society.” The resilience of the human spirit shines through in these stories of perseverance against adversity. While the road ahead remains long, survivors like Cadet plead: “May God change the situation in Haiti, and may the leaders find a way to agree and provide security in the country.”

Experts and advocates working in communities in Haiti have identified several critical steps to effectively address the issue of violence against women and children:

Increased Funding: Allocate adequate resources to support organizations providing essential services to survivors, including medical care, psychological counseling, legal aid, and economic support.
Improved Coordination: Foster collaboration among various organizations involved in addressing violence against women and children to ensure seamless access to services and prevent duplication of efforts.
Prevention Strategies: Implement comprehensive prevention programs that promote gender equality, respect for women and girls, and challenge harmful social norms that perpetuate violence.
Support for Survivors: Provide tailored support services to survivors, considering their individual needs and circumstances, including medical care, psychological counseling, legal assistance, and economic empowerment opportunities.
Community Engagement: Engage community members, including men and boys, in awareness-raising campaigns and prevention initiatives to foster a culture of respect and non-violence.
Strengthening the Justice System: Ensure accountability for perpetrators of violence against women and children by strengthening the justice system and ensuring fair and timely prosecution.

The situation in Haiti is dire, but there is a glimmer of hope. With concerted efforts from governments, international organizations, local communities, and individuals, we can collectively work towards ending the cycle of violence that plagues Haiti, particularly against women and children.

LWF and NCA; two members of the ACT Alliance, in Haiti urge you to join us in this fight by raising awareness, supporting organizations working on the ground, and advocating for policies that promote gender equality, protect human rights, and build a more just and peaceful society in Haiti.

Together, we can make a difference.

Cash and Voucher Assistance: the future of people-focused humanitarian operations?

How a flexible approach to Cash Assistance could be an exceptional pathway to rapidly assess and meet vulnerable people’s immediate needs.

Daniela Varano

The use of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) is considered one of the 2016 Grand Bargain’s most successful achievements.

Cash transfers are direct payments of money as humanitarian assistance, usually given through physical cash, mobile money, smart card transfers or vouchers for local suppliers.

According to the World Bank, the use of cash transfers as a form of aid increased significantly during the COVID pandemic , with the number of individuals receiving CAV support increasing by 240% over pre-Covid levels.

Giving cash to people affected by disasters or conflict is effective. It is a transparent and immediate way of providing support to those in need whilst respecting their dignity and freedom to decide how to best invest in their recovery. It helps the humanitarian sector shift the focus from simple and outdated “aid” to assistance and partnership with local communities, prioritising their agency.

For these reasons, cash assistance is normally preferred by affected communities. An International Rescue Committee project in Lebanon found 80% of people in crisis preferred cash transfers to in-kind aid.

Rather than shipping humanitarian relief goods from their countries to the affected areas, when donor agencies, humanitarian NGOs and governments invest in CVA they support local markets and producers. This encourages local solutions and facilitates post-crisis sustainable recovery.

Relying on local providers also reduces logistical and operational costs and complexities, which is extremely important in a world where the number of humanitarian crises is growing, and the financing is slowing down.

Providing cash can also offer people support before the shock hits. In July 2020, pre-empting a severe flood in Bangladesh, the UN WFP sent cash assistance to more than 20,000 households. When the flood hit, more than 1 million households were inundated. Those that received the cash assistance were better prepared and many were able to evacuate household members and livestock compared to those who received no cash support.

Research suggests that if cash and voucher assistance were delivered where possible and appropriate, it could account for between 30% to 50% of international humanitarian operations.

Although to date, CAV accounts to only 19% of the international humanitarian assistance, international humanitarian actors are pledging to focus on it much more in the future. For instance, the IFRC is committed 50% of their humanitarian assistance through cash and vouchers by 2025.

According to the report “Increasing the use of Humanitarian Cash and Vouchers Assistance” published by the Calp Network, donors and the private sector see the potential of scaling up CVA: it means less transaction costs, time and less contracts.

But scaling up CVA means that the humanitarian sector needs to let go of some of its outdated assumptions and structures that prevent it from meeting the needs of people facing a crisis.

Cash assistance: localization as a core principle

The humanitarian sector stands at a crossroad. It is a well-known fact that the sector is struggling to keep pace with the growing demands placed on it. The CAV debate and efforts to implement it more efficiently could be an opportunity for bold reform and for placing accountability to affected people (AAP) at the very core of policy and decision-making.

But cash assistance is no silver bullet. Old challenges, biases, and roadblocks must not be underestimated. For instance, there is already a tendency to concentrate funding towards UN agencies and INGO consortia which can be seen to be at odds with commitments to localise humanitarian responses and funding. Limiting the number of organisations receiving funding can be financially sensible from a donor perspective but can also create a centralised and exclusive club of humanitarian players.

This concentration of funds and resource can also create inefficiencies in the system and a disconnect between local actors and governments hindering the potential of CVA. According to the report, Cash Coordination: Placing people’s needs at the center, engaging and respecting the leadership of local actors is critical to the success of any humanitarian action. They often are the first responders and will remain active long after international humanitarian actors have departed.

But tensions between action and commitments taken towards achieving localisation are growing. According to the report, “Locally-led responses to cash and Voucher in the Middle East and North Africa”, international actors must challenge existing unconscious bias and “demand and advocate for financial institutions to facilitate more collaborative funding models and increase accessibility of funds to local actors. Actionable steps would include facilitating direct conversations between donors and local actors, accounting for indirect costs for local actors into proposals, promoting alternative and innovative project design and ensuring contract provisions include local agencies in leadership positions for the project design and delivery”.

What we have learned so far

When a crisis hits, responders face the complexities of addressing people’s needs in an effective, timely and impactful way. When used flexibly, cash assistance has proven to be an exceptional pathway for rapidly assess and meet vulnerable people’s immediate needs.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine in 2022, Christian Aid and partner organisations adopted a Cash for Protection (C4P) approach called Assess and Assist. The premise of this approach was to rapidly light-touch assess the protection needs of those affected by the conflict and provide cash support for urgent unmet necessities. The approach was easily adopted by local and national actors and international agencies alike and proved to be an excellent way of operating on the ground.

Notwithstanding the challenges with cash coordination, the Assess and Assist methodology adopted by Christian Aid complemented other locally-led approaches, such as the survivor and community led response (sclr), and global commitments, and filled the gaps and complications related to the multi purpose cash assistance’s targeting criteria and transfer value. The people-centered and intuitive nature of the newly established Assess and Assist, proved to be a strong element in a successful appeal delivered by ACT Alliance members in Ukraine.

“For Assess and Assist we wanted to have an approach that was people-centred, but also locally led. The Ukraine team had seen that MPCA alone was not meeting all needs. Partners wanted the flexibility to assist people in a comprehensive way by covering additional needs and linking them with other services. The broader aim was to have cash assistance tailored to people’s needs, but also in line with what partners were already doing, or wanted to do”, says Matthew Tebbutt, Global Cash and Markets Adviser at Christian Aid.

The core goal of humanitarian support in a situation of crisis is to make sure that the dignity, wellbeing and human rights of those who are in need of support are upheld. For these reasons the different forms of CAV are one flexible and intuitive tool in the toolbox of Protection in Humanitarian Emergencies.

However, cash assistance works best with local actors. Local and National actors are chronically underrepresented in the multi purpose cash assistance process and those who deliver on it, are service contractors who feel they have little say in shaping it.

“To meet people’s basic needs Multipurpose Cash Assistance is generally a great approach. However, it is not the only way to use cash, we are trying to use cash approaches that are locally- led as well as encouraging the use of MPCA. We see localising MPCA as different to Locally-Led cash. Locally Led Cash is where local actors use cash to meet their own objectives, localising MPCA is more where harmonised and systematic cash is increasingly locally accountable and responsive to contextual realities. We are keen to explore how Locally Led cash and MPCA can complement each other”, points out Matthew Tebbutt.

National and local flexibility is paramount to ensure effectiveness and meet the real needs during a crisis, but this need is often downed by the pressure to harmonise and coordinate on Multi Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA).

“The ACT Secretariat is committed to supporting members in the use of cash in humanitarian programming. Currently, approximately 7% of RRF funds (ACT GRRF 2023 Annual report) are used for the purposes of cash programming. This statistic places our Alliance significantly behind the wider humanitarian sector in terms of the use of cash. We are keen to understand why this is the case and to work with members to help strengthen our common understanding and use of cash for high quality and effective humanitarian programming”, explains Niall O’Rourke, Head of Humanitarian Affairs for ACT Alliance.

Learn more:

https://www.calpnetwork.org/cash-and-voucher-assistance/

https://odihpn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HPN_SCLR-Network-Paper_WEB.pdf

https://www.christianaid.org.uk/our-work/policy/letting-go-control-sclr

Bravery, resilience and solidarity: Ukraine 2 years after the invasion

For the Ukrainian people displaced or still living in the country, ACT Alliance has truly been hope in action. Tirelessly responding to the ever-changing needs of those affected by what has been the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War, for the past two years our members have been a model of holistic and coordinated approach. Our humanitarian aid workers have been operating in a very dangerous and volatile setting, putting their lives at risk every single day. Regrettably, two HEKS staff recently lost their lives during a drone attack, sending shock waves across the whole community.Incredible bravery, resilience, and solidarity has marked the Ukraine response all along, following the illegal full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.Since the beginning of the conflict our response has focused on providing lifesaving support to the communities who faced this tragedy, in 2023, ACT Alliance launched a revised Ukraine appeal (UKR221), with Christian Aid joining as requesting member.Our Total ACT reponse for Ukraine is constantly changing to meet the need for psychological, spiritual and practical support, strengthening the Survivor and Community Led Response approach – which relies on the partnership with communities and local organisations to assess the situation on the ground and be in the driving seat of the response. We have prepared a gallery on our Media bank where you can find images, testimonies and interviews that picture the past two years of our work. Thank you for your unwavering support which is vital to our efforts to help all those affected by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.Your help matters.UKR 221 appeal informationShould you need assistance please contact:klara.jiricna@actalliance.org, Communications Officerdragana.levicanin@actalliance.org, Humanitarian Officer Europe

ACT Global Advocacy: for a future where everyone thrives

“We bring members in the Global South to speak to the UN in New York and at other global forums. Equipping them to tell their own powerful stories is a central part of our advocacy work,” says Alison Kelly, right, with ACT members at the United Nations in New York. PHOTO: Simon Chambers/ACT.

We spoke with Alison Kelly (UK) the ACT Alliance Representative to the United Nations, based in New York, and Dr. Marianna Leite (Brazil), ACT Alliance’s Global Advocacy and Development Policy Manager about their goals and hopes for ACT’s global advocacy work.

By engaging in effective advocacy at local, national, regional and global levels, ACT Alliance contributes to positive and sustainable change in the lives of people affected by poverty and injustice. ACT’s advocacy work is faith- and rights-based, grounded in evidence and rooted in the experience of forums and members.

Q: Why is advocacy important for ACT Alliance?

“I think everyone should carve out at least ten percent of their time to think about advocacy,” says Dr. Marianna Leite, ACT’s Global Advocacy and Development Policy Manager.

Marianna Leite (M): It’s our responsibility to fundamentally change how things are now and envisage a future where everyone and the planet thrives. Policy and advocacy are deeply connected to humanitarian and development work. There is also a theological aspect to it – really believing in our prophetic voice and raising a faith voice and the voices of the communities we serve.

Alison Kelly (A): There’s an increasing sense of urgency. With climate now being seen as an existential issue, there’s an urgency to advocate for transformational change.

M: We need to make some waves – positive waves of change. ACT has a role both in attending to urgent needs and striving for everyone to be able to enjoy basic rights in future.

A: Transformation also means switching our thinking. The economy is a human system that should work for people and the planet. Our advocacy strategy is solutions focused. That’s really important. We know what works from our members’ experience in their communities.

M: And we are all advocates. We all try to influence each other; it’s part of being human. One of the things we say in the ACT Advocacy Academy is that advocacy can be as big as your creativity can reach.

A: It’s opening the discussion. Advocacy can be local, it can be behind the scenes, it can be private; there are all these different mechanisms.

M: Informal and silent advocacy can be much more impactful than any visible external advocacy. It is crucial for members to consider when to say yes or no to advocacy and to do a risk analysis.

Q: What are the challenges and opportunities facing ACT’s global advocacy programme?

M: A major challenge is the toxic anti-NGO or anti-civil action narrative that now permeates society. Governments are cutting funding for the lifesaving work we do. The same negative undertone comes from fundamentalist groups that are backtracking hard won human rights. It’s hard to avert more damage because a narrative has a life of its own. Yet this is also an opportunity for ACT. We are a faith actor promoting human rights as part of a transformative approach to sustainable development. We can push back against the pushbacks. ACT is unapologetic about our support to International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, and their principles.

A: We speak to the moral and ethical dimension of issues, and we have the technical expertise to be credible. Holding faith and rights together gives us a strong platform.

M: How to maintain hope is also part of our role as faith actors. We can hope for a better future, and we can be the change that we want to see in the world. I see that as part of ACT being prophetic.

Recent global advocacy initiatives

Addressing COVID vaccine inequity

By early 2022, it was clear that global COVID-19 vaccine distribution was not as rapid as the virus’ mutation and spread. Most doses of the vaccines were acquired by and administered in developed countries. The most vulnerable people, especially in developing nations, were yet again left behind.

ACT responded by continuing to advocate for vaccine equity and addressing vaccine hesitancy. We published resources and hosted regional workshops on Vaccine Equity and Hesitancy in the Africa and Asia Pacific regions. ACT called on governments to support the creation of a binding treaty on pandemic preparedness. ACT’s General Secretary, as a civil society representative to the COVAX facility, pushed funders to make sure that vaccines reach those in developing nations.

New Advocacy Package

Developed over three years with ACT’s advocacy and policy reference group, an approvals process for all documents produced under the ACT banner was piloted in 2022. Created for forums and all groups of ACT Alliance members that want to do joint advocacy, it is part of a new advocacy package meant to ensure that ACT always speaks with one united voice with coherent and mutually reinforcing language. Member suggestions led to adjustments and user-friendly resources and design templates along with a forum-centred advocacy guidance, all part of the final package to be launched in 2023.

This interview appears in the ACT Alliance Annual Report 2022, available in English, French and Spanish.

Hungarian Interchurch Aid consignment reaches Kharkiv

The aid organisation helps civilians living in bomb shelters and subway stations of the city besieged since the start of the war

Article shared by HIA

Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine in close proximity to the Russian border has received its first aid consignment from Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA). Half of the 1.5 million inhabitants have already fled due to the constant attacks on the city since the outbreak of war. Most of those who stayed have nowhere to go, or are unable to flee to a safer environment because they need to care for their small children, elderly and those needing constant medical care. Taking refuge in bomb shelters, cellars, basements and subway stations these people are subjected to 5-6 air raid warnings and subsequent attacks often lasting hours.

Several utility services are out of order, apartments are left without running water, gas or heating. Electricity is also frequently cut. Returning to flats in housing blocks – even if only for a couple of hours and presuming the flats are still intact – is very hard or the socially most disadvantaged civilians with health problems, as elevators have stopped working city-wide. Although in the city some grocery stores are still open, they can be hard to reach since public transport isn’t operational either. Travel is already risky due to the constant fighting, frequent missile attacks and air raids especially targeting infrastructure.

Sergei Babin and his wife have stayed in the city nevertheless. Their association “International Bridge” aims to help the citizens of Kharkiv suffering the effects of the war and is affiliated with HIA partners Zlatograd Foundation of Dnipro. Altogether, they have 50 volunteers helping them in their efforts. Despite all war-related difficulties, HIA managed to deliver an aid consignment to the besieged city on 30 April. The 70 food parcels and almost 100 hygiene kits were distributed to civilians who had been holed up in the subway stations and bunkers for a good part of the two months since the start of the invasion.

„There is a great need for food and hygiene products, potable water and flashlights. We receive a huge number of requests for aid from the hospitals, maternity wards of the different districts of the city, and there is also a shortage of medicine. We are grateful for any kind of help, as the people of Kharkiv have been suffering from this serious humanitarian crisis for many weeks now” said Sergey Babin, expressing his gratitude for the HIA aid consignment.

In the two months since the outbreak of the war, HIA has been able to continuously expand their assistance to new methods and geographical areas. The humanitarian operations now stretch from the extreme west of the country to the Dnieper bend in the east, encompassing 10 regions of Ukraine. Until 24 April, the HIA response has reached 70,921 people, providing emergency access to basic food and non-food items, health & hygiene products, protection and links to transportation services. In total, HIA has sent 40 trucks filled to brim with core relief – every week 4 or more trucks cross the Hungarian border. In addition to the tangible, in-kind aid, in cooperation with partner organisations the aid organisation is also able to provide psychosocial assistance to the traumatised people fleeing the horrors of war. Furthermore, the organisation also supplies over 200 community shelters for IDPs with all kinds of aid.