Literature monitoring

From Aid to Solidarity: Local Voices on the Future of International Cooperation, Peace Direct, Acapaca, 2026

This report brings together the voices of over 400 change-makers from more than 70 countries on how the current funding crisis is affecting communities and what needs to change. The stories shared within reveal how aid cuts have disrupted services, undermined peace efforts, fractured community trust and placed unbearable strain on local organisations. The report shows how communities are responding through mutual aid, community donations, local philanthropy, and South-South partnerships. The message from local actors is clear: we cannot return to the old model of “aid.” We need a shift toward solidarity and shared responsibility—with communities in the driver’s seat.

https://www.peacedirect.org/content/uploads/2026/05/From-Aid-to-Solidarity.pdf

Show me the Money: Efficiency and Effectiveness in Humanitarian Response, Ruco Van Der Merwe, Kareem Sadik, CALP Network, 2026

This report provides a robust analysis of how humanitarian aid can be delivered more efficiently. It assesses how efficiently different transfer modalities and delivery approaches perform across Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) and in-kind food aid, analysing how much of the total resource spent ultimately reach people in crisis. There has been a long-standing call by so many in the sector, and from people in crises themselves, for a greater use of cash assistance as a flexible, effective, and dignified form of support. This new research provides powerful evidence to strengthen that case, and clear recommendations for doing more with less at a time of shrinking aid budgets and rising humanitarian need.

https://www.calpnetwork.org/publication/show-me-the-money-efficiency-and-effectiveness-in-humanitarian-response/

No easy choice: A humanitarian’s guide to ethical, principled decision making, Nigel Timmins, Manisha Thomas, Humanitarian Outcomes, UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub, 2026

Humanitarians often face difficult ethical dilemmas: from immediate operational choices to bigger strategic questions. Humanitarian principles (humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence) alone do not always help us make the best decision. Principles themselves may ‘create’ the dilemma. When we face only bad options, or the principles are in conflict, ethical deliberation can help us decide on the best way to carry out principled humanitarian action. This guide offers a tool and a process for structured deliberation to help organisations and individuals make better choices for principled humanitarian action. It is based on an applied ethics approach, which addresses real-world challenges using ethical theories and principles.

https://humanitarianoutcomes.org/humanitarian_ethics_guide