The heart of humanitarian action is to relieve suffering by providing aid when and where it is needed. The concept of Principled Humanitarian Aid (PHA) was created to ensure that aid is provided through unbiased means and with dignity, upholding four key principles that guide humanitarian action: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, and Independence.
In Sweden, these principles are central to the country’s humanitarian aid efforts, which are managed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Notably, the 2020 strategy emphasizes impartiality, referencing it four times—more than any of the other humanitarian principles. Sida provides funding to its partners through a programme-based approach (PBA), which offers greater flexibility in how funds are allocated to meet specific needs within a country. This approach contrasts with more restrictive project-based funding models, allowing partners to adapt their interventions based on evolving circumstances.
In 2023, IRMA partner Lezlie Morinière was appointed Task Leader for Sida Helpdesk on Human Security and Humanitarian Assistance to explore Humanitarian Financing Prioritization for Severe Needs. With support from Claire Devlin, Senior Conflict and Security Adviser, Saferworld, Lezlie examined how Sida’s flexible humanitarian funding was utilized by partners to support populations in the toughest crises of our times. The study focused on activities reported in 2022 in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Yemen and Syria by eight partners receiving Sida funding through the PBA (including three NGOs, four UN agencies and one Red Cross entity). The aim was to assess whether partners’ targeting aligned with three key needs assessment sources: the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET).
The emerging trend is that Sida partners’ annual reports in 2022 do not provide adequate detail on the geographical targeting of their humanitarian action to demonstrate to what degree they targeted areas classified with the most severe needs. A pattern of impartial humanitarian assistance aligned to needs assessments can therefore not be established; the precise link between humanitarian need assessments and annual partner programming remains unconfirmed. It surfaces that either the three key needs assessment sources are not fit for purpose, or humanitarian actors are unable to use the results to improve their reach.
Humanitarian Aid Transparency: A Call for Improvement
The humanitarian sector faces a critical challenge in demonstrating the effectiveness and impartiality of its interventions:
- Lack of geographical targeting data: 2022 annual reports from Sida partners fail to provide sufficient detail on where humanitarian aid is directed.
- Unclear alignment with needs assessments: The connection between identified humanitarian needs and actual aid distribution remains ambiguous.
- Potential systemic issues: This trend suggests either:
- Inadequacy of current needs assessment methodologies: are they fit for purpose?
- Difficulties in translating assessments into actionable programming: how should humanitarian actors use these results?
Key Takeaway: To ensure that dwindling humanitarian aid resources reach those most in need, the sector must prioritize transparency in geographical targeting and strengthen the link between needs assessments and program implementation.
