Lives in Crises : What Do People Tell Us About the Humanitarian Aid They Receive?

In May 2016, the World Humanitarian Summit represented a turning point for humanitarian policies. The Summit gave the impetus to seriously reflect on how to operate in environments where people's needs don't coincide anymore with existing mandates and sectors. The OECD believes that an effective humanitarian response is the one that addresses affected people's needs in a timely and efficient manner. One way to measure effectiveness is to ask aid beneficiaries what they think about the aid they get. With this is mind, the OECD initiated a first round of surveys during the cycle 2016-2017 in six countries affected by different type of crisis: Lebanon, Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Somalia and Uganda. Two years after the World humanitarian Summit, the OECD and Ground Truth Solutions took another round of surveys in the same countries, plus Bangladesh. The purpose of this second round of surveys is to assess whether the commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit, including the Grand Bargain, are having a tangible impact on people's lives in the most difficult contexts in the world. This paper provides some answers to this question. Foreword Acknowledgements Abbreviations and acronyms Executive summary From people to policy: a call for new approaches Résumé Traduire les enquêtes : un appel pour de nouvelles approches 1 Humanitarian assistance improves conditions but does not cover all basic needs Key messages Meeting needs does not only depend on donor investment References Notes 2 Humanitarian assistance leaves some of the most vulnerable behind Key messages The current humanitarian model is fragmented and sector-based Vulnerability needs to be identified and addressed differently in protracted crises References 3 Supporting self-reliance requires a blended set of aid instruments Key messages People affected by crisis want autonomy, not prolonged assistance Restrictions on the right to work increase the burden for hosting countries Aspirations and dignity are elements of building self-reliance Host communities are also directly affected by crises International engagement can help create opportunities References 4 We are seeing limited improvements to the system Key messages Supporting education in crises is showing results The Grand Bargain is delivering in some sectors Cash-based responses are growing The participation revolution is shifting from a supply- to a customer-driven approach to aid delivery Multi-year planning and funding are becoming common features There are more joint needs assessments Reporting requirements are appropriate, but harmonisation can still improve The localisation promise is not happening References Notes 5 From people to policy: A call for new approaches Key messages Look beyond the humanitarian response Implement the humanitarian-development-peace nexus Fill gaps and build opportunities Shift from a supply- to a customer-driven approach to meeting needs Change paradigms to protect the unique role of humanitarian assistance References Annex A. Methodology Sampling methodology Question formulation Data disaggregation Language of the survey Data collection Challenges and limitations Affected people survey Humanitarian field staff survey Low response rate Self-selection bias Scoring in 2018 compared to 2017 Blank Page