Despite global aspirations to localize humanitarian response and shift decision-making authority, leadership, and resources to local actors in the lead up to and during emergencies, significant challenges remain. Enter the Humanitarian Partnership Platform (HPP) in the Philippines. Launched by CARE in 2015, HPP is a network of local NGOs, cooperatives, private companies, faith-based groups, and women’s organizations from across the Philippines, that work together to ensure a coordinated, rapid, scalable, and locally-led response to natural and man-made disasters. During non-crisis time, the Platform invests in capacity strengthening and planning for and testing preparedness measures. It switches to emergency mode during crises where it provides flexible funding and accompaniment to frontline responders.
Over the past year, local organizations in the network and communities have examined the platform through their own lens and shared their reflections, surfacing four significant shifts that offer tangible and actionable lessons on how to foster a more locally-led approach to rapid response and humanitarian action.