As humanitarian organizations broaden their mindset from saving lives in emergencies to making a more sustainable impact, they increasingly consider supporting existing social protection systems in order to increase the long‑term impact of their assistance. Doing so could help them complement the activities of development organizations, strengthen local capacities and durably reduce chronic needs arising from armed conflict. But this may come with additional pressure on principled humanitarian action.
In this post, ICRC policy adviser and operational researcher Colin Walch reflects on some of the challenges and opportunities that supporting social protection creates for principled humanitarian organizations. While linking social protection and humanitarian aid require reconciling differences in terms of principles and approaches, a more systematic engagement with existing social protection systems would strengthen sustainable humanitarian impact.
