Locally managed funds: Rethinking humanitarian financing

The post-World War II humanitarian architecture is unraveling. When aid access becomes a political bargaining chip and international teams are still calculating risks, local organizations are already on the ground pulling people from rubble. This reality drove seventeen organizations across the Asia-Pacific to stop asking for a seat at someone else’s table and start building their own.

On 21 August 2025, during the Asia-Pacific Local Leaders‘ Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal, we launched the AASHA Fund. Aasha – meaning hope –  is our response to the precarious humanitarian situation. It is not wishful thinking; it is organized preparation.

The AASHA Fund is a locally managed pooled fund. These are funding mechanisms in humanitarian and development contexts where financial resources are collected (“pooled”) from different donors and then managed at the local or community level. Instead of international agencies or large international NGOs being the main decision-makers, local organizations, networks, or community representatives decide how funds are allocated and used.

Large United-Nation- (UN) and donor-managed pooled funds (such as the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Country-Based Pooled Funds) are major financing mechanisms in humanitarian action. They collect contributions from multiple governments and donors into a single pool, which is then managed by UN agencies or designated administrators. These funds are valued for their scale, predictability, and ability to mobilize significant resources quickly, especially for large-scale or sudden-onset crises.

Due to their size and complexity, they often involve lengthy approval processes and high compliance requirements, which can make them less accessible to local organizations. Solutions are in most cases designed by external experts, often lacking cultural and contextual nuance. In addition, funds are usually allocated for short-term project cycles rather than investing in permanent local structures.

The AASHA model: A new architecture for aid

The numbers tell a stark story: In 2024, the Asia-Pacific experienced 42 per cent of global disasters, affecting 67.7 per cent of the world’s disaster-impacted population. Yet, despite managing hundreds of millions of dollars and leading frontline responses, local organizations are systematically disempowered.

The AASHA Fund is a blueprint for a decentralized, resilient, and locally-owned humanitarian ecosystem. It is distinguished by key features:

• Decentralized and agile: The fund responds to the „everyday disasters“ overlooked by global agencies. Its 72-hour disbursement capability is built on trust, not paralyzing risk assessments.
• Participatory governance: Governed by its seventeen founding organizations, the fund’s management ensures authentic co-ownership. Accountability is primarily to affected communities, not distant donors.
• Context-driven solutions: The fund operates through three integrated streams: emergency response (40 per cent), resilience building (30 per cent) supporting local early warning systems and women’s cooperatives, and locally-led innovation (30 per cent) for solutions like community seed banks.

Systemic impact: reforming humanitarianism from the ground up

The AASHA Fund makes localization a tangible reality, driving systemic reform by:

• Shifting power dynamics: It elevates local organizations from subcontractors to decision-makers, providing the direct, flexible funding needed to break dependency cycles.
• Strengthening local agency: Managing funds and designing solutions builds institutional capacity, particularly for women-led and marginalized groups, ensuring equitable responses.
• Redefining „effectiveness“: It shifts success metrics from donor-centric reports to community-centric outcomes: restored dignity, social cohesion, and community-led recovery.

A future built on organized hope

The crisis in the international system is not a void but an opening – an opportunity to accelerate a long-overdue shift to a more distributed, equitable, and effective humanitarian architecture.

The AASHA Fund is a proven, scalable model for this future. It demonstrates that when local leaders are trusted with resources and authority, they deliver faster, more relevant, and more dignified assistance. The question is whether international actors will be allies in this progress or barriers to transformation. This is the moment to build a system that empowers communities to shape their own futures.

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Muhammad Amad is member of the Central Executive Council of the National Humanitarian Network from Pakistan. As an independent and vibrant network of national and local NGOs in Pakistan, NHN is committed to promoting humanitarian values through advocacy and capacity building. NHN is a LOCALliance partner of VENRO. Find our more about this international network on our website.

 

Muhammad Amad

Member of Central Executive Council, NHN