USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance has caught up with USAID’s localization train with the issuance of its Locally Led Humanitarian Assistance Policy. They face the usual challenges of local engagement with the added challenge of operating in a disaster. BHA’s humanitarian machinery of INGOs and PIOs moved over $9 billion among 76 countries in FY 2022 but only 2% went directly to local entities.
Among the initiatives is a recognition of the value of direct cash and voucher assistance. According to the policy document, $1.9 billion to $2.6 billion from FY 2021 to FY 2022, approximately 20% of BHA’s budget, has been through these direct assistance programs, typically managed by PIOs and humanitarian INGOs.