Assessing the Impact of Global Funding Cuts on Youth-Led Humanitarian Action and Rethinking Youth-Led Impact

In light of recent humanitarian aid cuts by international donors, the More Than First Responders Digital Community of Young Humanitarians, facilitated by the ActionAid’s Global Platforms Network; convened an online workshop with youth from around the world who are leading locally-rooted and community-driven humanitarian responses in some of the world’s most fragile and under-supported contexts. The workshop gathered insights on the affects, but also youth-led ways forward. 

We believe the almost total collapse of the humanitarian funding system, triggered first by USAid cuts, revealed the fragility and unsustainability of the system in place. While we profoundly condemn the short-sighted and irresponsible cuts from governments, we believe these cuts have exposed the failure of the localisation agenda. Having said this, we recognize the importance of robust and accountable international coordination systems, but we believe they must be rebuilt — from their foundations — genuinely shifting towards more inclusive, locally driven, and sustainable systems. We believe youth-led organisations are already building these systems through locally rooted leadership, innovating and implementing low-cost solutions, and adopting intersectional approaches to address the need of marginalized communities.

We believe youth are more than first responders. We are leaders, organisers, connectors, and innovators who are essential in building sustainable and trusted systems. We believe that these cuts are not only financial, but they are also fundamentally destabilizing long-established efforts and trust built between humanitarian workers and crisis-affected communities.

Read more in the full Position Paper (download link above).