On 16 June, the event brought together 22 partner organizations of Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), representatives of the PAH team in Ukraine and the organization’s headquarters, as well as representatives of the Government of the United States of America.

For us, this event was an opportunity to connect with colleagues from local organizations that work with different communities every day, hear about their experience in humanitarian response during the war, share our own, and better understand how support for affected people can be made even more effective.

During the panel discussion “Humanitarian Assistance as an Investment in Ukraine’s Development and Resilience,” we also spoke about a very important aspect: strengthening the resilience of local organizations that support communities. They are the first to respond to people’s needs, understand the local context well, and look for new opportunities in times of prolonged crisis. For this work to remain stable, institutional capacity development, long-term funding, and advocacy for the needs of vulnerable communities at the international level are essential.

Amid the prolonged war, the challenges faced by communities are only becoming more severe, while resources are increasingly limited as humanitarian funding continues to gradually decrease. This is why local organizations need consistent support, because the resilience of communities in Ukraine, and their ability to overcome these challenges  depends on them.

Our partnership with Polish Humanitarian Action is an opportunity to provide people with fast and effective assistance. Our efforts focus on comprehensive and long-term support programmes that strengthen community resilience.

Meetings like this show how important cooperation is between local organizations, international humanitarian partners, and donors. We are sincerely grateful to PAH for the opportunity to be part of this important dialogue. Above all, this is about creating new and broader opportunities for people who need our support.

This publication and the assistance it refers to were made possible thanks to the generous support of the Government of the United States of America in cooperation with Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH). Voice of Romni is responsible for the content, which does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government.