The humanitarian system is being asked to do more with less. Conflicts last longer, displacement is increasingly protracted and climate shocks are compounding hunger, poverty and insecurity. Meanwhile, resources are under growing pressure. The consequences are not abstract: when budgets fall, humanitarian organisations face increasingly difficult decisions about which services can continue.
More funding is needed, and there is no partnership or innovation that can compensate for chronic underfunding. But simply asking donors to give more cannot be the only response. When resources are scarce, we also have a responsibility to ask a harder question: are we getting enough from the money, knowledge and relationships already available?
