CHS Alliance: New report reveals action needed to meet commitments made to people affected by crisis

H2H Network member, the CHS Alliance, is excited to share news of the launch of a landmark study – the Humanitarian Accountability Report (HAR) 2020, together with more than 150 leading aid organizations that form the Alliance. The HAR 2020 presents an evidence-based overview of how accountable the aid sector really is to people caught up in crises across the world.

“The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability is a great example of an independent, cross-cutting humanitarian-to-humanitarian tool and service” says Rebecca Petras, Interim Director, H2H Network. “It supports responders at all levels, driving accountability and transparency beyond the siloes inherent in the traditional humanitarian system”.

Overcoming vital accountability barriers

Five years since humanitarians came together to launch the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), many dedicated aid organizations are making significant progress on vital accountability issues that the sector has been tackling for decades. The HAR 2020 shows that aid organisations can tackle the toughest barriers to meeting the commitments they made to people affected by crisis. This progress shows CHS verification is a catalyst to make aid more accountable.

Accelerate change

Yet the HAR 2020 reveals that the aid sector has not reached its goals. CHS Commitment 6 on coordination and complementarity is the closest to being fully met by verified organisations, while Commitment 5 on welcoming and addressing complaints is the lowest scoring.

The HAR 2020 reveals that we are not yet seeing system-wide acceleration towards a transformative approach that gives communities and people affected by crisis strategic influence over aid. To accelerate the pace of change, the HAR 2020 finds that committed aid organisations need to harness the power of the multiplier effect; they must intensify their efforts on three cross-cutting actions that raise the standard of aid across the board:

1. Engage crisis-affected people: strive for the Participation Revolution we committed to.
2. Maximise knowledge and information: in the information age, the humanitarian system needs to get up to speed.
3. Adapt flexibly to meet current needs: organisations need to adjust rapidly to changing contexts.
   
   

Critical mass needed

Currently, more than 90 organizations have engaged in CHS verification, yet even with renewed efforts by those already applying the CHS, more need to make similar changes at the same time. No humanitarian organisation works in a vacuum. A critical mass of aid actors must unite around the CHS in concert to truly make aid work better for people affected by crisis and fulfil the commitments the sector made to crisis-affected people in 2015.

“Today we lay down a challenge to the aid sector,” said CHS Alliance Executive Director Tanya Wood at the HAR 2020 launch event. “The HAR 2020 shows that dedicated aid organisations can tackle the toughest barriers to delivering accountability commitments made to crisis-affected people; but they need the right tool – the CHS – and they cannot do it alone. We need a critical mass of organisations, including NGOs, donors, UN agencies and networks to apply and recognise the CHS in concert to effect real, urgent change. I urge every humanitarian committed to making aid work better for people affected by crisis to read, debate and share the findings of HAR 2020. Together, we can meet our commitments and Raise the Standard of our work.”

Full report findings and recommendations can be accessed on the CHS Alliance website. Read, debate and share the HAR 2020 with all your partners committed to making aid work better for people affected by crisis: www.chsalliance.org/HAR2020.