ToGETHER – Towards Greater Effectiveness and Timeliness in Humanitarian Emergency Response
With the support of the German Federal Foreign Office and Malteser International, ERA has been implementing a localization project titled “ToGETHER! – Towards Greater Effectiveness and Timeliness in Humanitarian Emergency Response” in Bangladesh since 2024. The ToGETHER (Towards Greater Effectiveness and Timeliness in Humanitarian Emergency Response) Program is a collaborative initiative dedicated to advancing the localization of humanitarian action. Together the 40 Local Humanitarian Partners and the four international consortium partners will create a space for establishing complementary partnerships and promoting local partners’ roles as leading local actors in humanitarian response, thus, putting localisation – understood as transformation – into practice. Operating in eight countries, including Bangladesh, Colombia, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Somalia, the program involves 40 local humanitarian partners and four international consortium partners from Germany (Caritas International, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, Malteser International, and Welthungerhilfe as the lead).
The primary goal of the ToGETHER Program is to support local humanitarian actors in taking a leading role in the delivery of effective, timely, accountable, and principled humanitarian actions in their respective countries. The implementation of the localization agenda is a prerequisite for achieving this overarching goal. The ToGETHER program achieves these through its four components
The ToGETHER approach
- Emphasizes the importance of local ownership and leadership in humanitarian action.
- Focuses on promoting the leadership and decision-making capacity of local and national actors within their respective countries.
- Advocates for equitable partnerships, accessibility to quality funding, and effective coordination mechanisms
- Commits to strengthening civil society and involving local actors in international discourses.
- Build lasting partnerships grounded in mutual respect and trust.
- Facilitates dialogue, knowledge sharing, collaboration, and network building.