Localizing Humanitarian Action through the Settlements Approach

USAID/BHA Shelter and Settlements Team is proposing to provide an opportunity for substantive conversations on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus to identify ways to operationalize, finance and achieve effective durable localized humanitarian assistance in emergencies that creates pathways from disaster to resilience for human settlements.

The United States is the largest single humanitarian donor in the world. In FY 2023 alone, we provided a total of nearly $15 billion in humanitarian assistance on behalf of the American people. This assistance is in direct support of people and communities in need and ultimately impacts human settlements.

The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is the lead federal coordinator for international disaster assistance, harnessing the expertise and the unique capacities of other U.S. government entities to effectively respond to natural hazard events and complex crises around the world. BHA takes a holistic look at humanitarian aid, providing assistance before, during and after a crisis - from readiness and response to relief and recovery. This includes non-emergency programming that is foundational to linking humanitarian assistance to long-term development and the journey to self-reliance.

A key priority at BHA is Localization, which goes hand in hand with the Settlements Approach. Almost two years ago, USAID published ”The Local Capacity Strengthening Policy”. This policy guides our decisions about why and how to invest in the capacity of local partners to better achieve inclusive and locally led humanitarian assistance programming, recognizing the central importance of partnerships that result in strengthened local communities.