AidEx 2025: Stepping aside so others can step forward
- Olivia Barker White
- Nov 17
- 6 min read
Last month I had the opportunity to attend the AidEx and Development2030 conference in Geneva. AidEx is the world’s largest humanitarian aid event, bringing together NGOs, UN agencies, governments, donors, suppliers, and social enterprises to connect, share ideas, and showcase innovations that support humanitarian and international development work.
I was attending in both my capacity as CEO of Kids Club Kampala and as a trustee of the Small International Development Charities Network (SIDCN), of which Kids Club Kampala is a member. It was a fascinating two-day event packed with learning, discussion, networking, workshops, and the chance to meet some truly inspirational people.
One key theme dominated the agenda: localisation. In the international development and humanitarian sector, localisation refers to the process of shifting power, resources, and decision-making from international or northern organisations to local and national actors — the people and organisations closest to the communities affected. In this blog I will be discussing some of my key takeaways from the conference, and sharing some real life examples of where we are seeing the impact of international aid cuts.
The Humanitarian Reset
At AidEx, the question was no longer if the humanitarian sector should localise, but how fast and how responsibly it can do so under the new wave of reform known as The Humanitarian Reset.
The Reset represents the latest and most urgent reform effort in humanitarian aid. It has been catalysed by the shock of the US suspension of humanitarian assistance (and subsequent suspensions by other nations) in early 2025, combined with rising global needs and mounting geopolitical pressures. But its roots stretch back over a decade to the Grand Bargain (2016), when donors and aid agencies first agreed to devolve more power and finance to local actors, and to the Charter for Change, an INGO-led commitment to transform partnership practices.
The Humanitarian Reset may be the sector’s last real chance to make localisation more than a slogan. The consensus at AidEx 2025 was clear: the principles are sound, the intent is sincere - but the execution must now match the rhetoric. Localisation will only succeed if donors commit long-term funding directly to local actors, INGOs redefine their role as supporters, not saviours, and local organisations are equipped financially, technically, and emotionally, to lead.
What does localisation mean in practice?
I believe it means employing local people, not foreign expats; allowing local delivery partners to manage their own budgets and design their own programmes; not micromanaging in-country partner staff; not having Western-based trustees sitting on or chairing boards of local partners; and most importantly, listening to the needs of people on the ground and trusting that they know what they are doing. It’s about stepping back, leaving egos at the door, and recognising that Western
NGOs do not have all the answers - and in fact, have a lot to learn. As one delegate said in closing...
“Localisation isn’t about stepping back. It’s about stepping aside, so others can step forward.”
Yet with 95% of philanthropic institutions based in Europe and North America (86,000 foundations in the USA alone versus only 47 in Africa) controlling 97% of the wealth, my question is: how will this actually happen in practice? The Grand Bargain committed to channel 25% of humanitarian funding to local or national responders by 2020, but this core ambition has massively underperformed. Localisation will never be realised if the majority of wealth and power remain concentrated in the Global North.
The devastating cuts to international aid are being felt all across the globe. The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that up to 13.7 million additional people currently receiving food assistance could be pushed into “emergency” hunger levels because of funding shortfalls. UNICEF warns that global cuts to education aid could force an additional 6 million children out of school by the end of 2026. And Oxfam predicts that a further 19 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 as a result.
So often, when INGOs pull out of countries or cut programmes due to crises, it is smaller, grassroots, local actors who step in to pick up the pieces. We saw this during the Covid-19 pandemic, and we are seeing it again now in the aftermath of global aid cuts.
Is this unintentional localisation? Is this localisation happening from the bottom up rather than the top down? It’s hard to see how this can be sustained when local organisations are being pressured to do more to meet increasing need, without any additional resources, funding, or capacity to do so.
It also raises an important question: are INGOs really needed - or at least, needed on such a scale as they currently are? Grassroots organisations are best placed to respond quickly to crises. They are agile, flexible, and deeply attuned to the needs, cultures, and nuances of the communities they serve. We saw a very real example of this recently in Uganda...
Lara and Maggie
Lara* is a refugee from the DRC who recently arrived in Uganda with her sisters and grandmother. One day, while playing with friends, she wandered far from home and got lost on the streets. Maggie* was living with her aunt in Naguru slum while her father served overseas in the army. Her aunt was physically abusive towards her and did not allow her to attend school.
Both Lara and Maggie were rescued by ActionAid Uganda and taken to the Bwaise Violence Prevention and Response Shelter, one of their projects in Kampala. There they received shelter, medical care, and counselling, while social workers traced their relatives with the aim of reintegrating both children into safe family care.
ActionAid has been working in Uganda since 1982 and runs 10 Violence Prevention and Response Shelters like the one in Bwaise, providing safe, comforting, temporary accommodation for survivors of violence. As a large, multinational INGO, ActionAid receives much of its funding from international aid agencies and government budgets. Following the UK aid cuts, however, the Charity Commission reports that ActionAid lost over £4 million from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) alone. As a result, they have had to make widespread redundancies and cuts to essential programmes - one of which is the Bwaise Shelter, which has now sadly had to close.
Kids Club Kampala is a small, local, grassroots organisation led by local people in Uganda. Due to our strong reputation and trusted relationships with local and national government, we are often the first point of call when INGOs lose funding and have to cut programmes. If Kids Club Kampala were not there to respond and take in Lara and Maggie at our Ewafe home, they would have been left to fend for themselves with no hope of reuniting with their families. Both girls arrived at our Ewafe home in October, and our team of social workers is now working with the team from Bwaise to continue tracing their relatives and hopefully reintegrate them soon.
Patterns we've seen before
This mirrors what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic in Uganda. As large INGOs and aid agencies pulled out, smaller, local organisations stepped in. Once again, we were called upon by local and national government to support communities in crisis. We converted our education centres into foodbanks and provided a staggering 45 million meals to those at risk of acute hunger. During the pandemic, localisation happened overnight - local actors led the response out of necessity. Yet once the emergency eased, the system quickly reverted to old patterns - “a missed opportunity,” as one AidEx delegate described it.
At AidEx, a few voices tried to put a positive spin on the aid cuts, suggesting that reduced INGO presence could open space for grassroots actors. But how can this be sustainable without funding? Kids Club Kampala received no additional funding to care for Lara and Maggie - just as we received none to run our foodbanks during Covid. It is unlikely that localisation will truly be achieved by 2030.
While local organisations like Kids Club Kampala are doing all they can, smaller NGOs lack the systems, resources, and - most crucially - the funding and power to absorb the impact of these devastating aid cuts at scale.
If we truly want to see localisation happen, we must start putting our money and our trust into the hands of those closest to the communities affected. Real change won’t come from declarations or pledges, but from action.
If you believe in empowering local people to lead change in their own communities, please consider supporting our work. Every donation helps us provide safety, shelter, and a future for children like Lara and Maggie. With the help of our supporters we will continue building a fairer, more locally led system of development.