Good morning, this is Michelle. The aid sector convened in Geneva this week to discuss the future of humanitarian relief as a funding drought forces the system to shrink. An old push to let local actors take the lead has been revived – at least in rhetoric.

My colleague Paula spoke to Ukrainian humanitarians, who joined other local actors for the first time at the talks. They warn that dwindling resources are being swallowed up by big international organisations, squeezing them out.

Michelle Langrand

23.10.2026

On our radar

Photo article

Ukrainian volunteers distribute free humanitarian aid, including food, hygiene products and clothing, to local people near a local church in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, 17 February 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. As one of the main Ukrainian-held cities in the Donetsk region, it has been repeatedly hit by Russian missile, drone, and rocket strikes. (Keystone/EPA/Tommaso Fumagalli)

With no end in sight to the war, Ukrainian local aid groups continue to play a crucial role in delivering relief to people as attacks from Russia intensify. Yet, funding cuts have affected the geographic scope of their work. Several of them were in Geneva this week for global humanitarian talks to urge donors and international agencies to honour promises made 10 years ago to localise aid as of the Grand Bargain, the humanitarian sector’s last flagship reform plan.

As Ukraine prepares to enter its sixth winter since Russia’s full-scale invasion, aid is running thin. Geopolitical shifts have compounded donor cuts, while the failure of repeated rounds of talks aimed at delivering a ceasefire has led to a further decline in external support. The UN’s humanitarian reset reform plan, cooked up in 2025 in response to major aid funding cuts, has added another layer to the challenges, “hyper-prioristing” where money is spent.

🌐Read the full story on Geneva Solutions.

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