CHALLENGES OF LOCAL PARTNERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article highlights the problem of interaction between local and international partners in terms of providing humanitarian assistance to the affected population of Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. It is determined that local partners in the provision of humanitarian assistance are local or national organisations, communities or institutions operating directly in the area of origin and spread of the humanitarian crisis, having knowledge of the local context, enjoying the trust of communities and actively participating in the planning, implementation and evaluation of various humanitarian activities, cooperating with international organisations, NGOs or governmental structures on the basis of mutual responsibility and partnership.A comprehensive analysis of the main factors that have a negative impact on the overall effectiveness of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine due to the problems of cooperation between local and international humanitarian organisations was also carried out. It is established that although local non-governmental and civil society organisations have a sufficiently deep knowledge of the local context, community trust, and a high level of adaptability, their role is mainly limited to implementation functions, which leads to a decrease in the flexibility and relevance of humanitarian programmes, unbalanced coverage of needs, and duplication of efforts. The outflow of skilled workers to international humanitarian organisations, strict compliance requirements and a significant lack of institutional funding («core funding»), which undermine the motivation, sustainability and «institutional memory» of local partners, were also considered. As a result, the need to move from a subcontracting model to a true partnership, to expand long-term funding for local organisations and to adapt procedures to the socio-cultural characteristics of the regions in need of humanitarian assistance was substantiated.