Building a locally driven humanitarian future in Somalia
Overview
This research report examines the progress, challenges, and emerging opportunities in advancing humanitarian localization and local leadership in Somalia since 2020. Building on Oxfam’s earlier Breaking the Localization Deadlock study, it provides an in-depth assessment of how local and national NGOs (LNNGOs) are strengthening institutional capacity, accessing direct funding, and exercising leadership within coordination and decision-making spaces. Drawing on key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and the Humanitarian Country Capacity Assessment (HUCOCA) tool, the study explores evolving power dynamics, gender-transformative leadership, and state-led coordination mechanisms. It highlights evidence of progress in funding access and partnership equity, while underscoring persistent barriers in power sharing and sustainability. The report concludes with strategic recommendations for donors, INGOs, LNNGOs, and government actors to advance a genuinely locally led humanitarian system in Somalia.
Keywords
- Direct funding and financial autonomy
- Gender-transformative leadership
- Humanitarian power dynamics and partnership equity
- Local and National NGOs capacity assessment
- Local humanitarian leadership models
- Local humanitarian systems
- NEXUS Consortium
- Somali disaster management
- Somalia localization framework
- State-led coordination
Additional details
Author(s)
Publisher(s)
DOI
10.21201/2025.000097How to cite this resource
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