The UN plays a central role in how humanitarian responses are organised – from coordination structures to funding decisions and leadership appointments. Yet these systems often remain distant from the realities faced by communities living through crisis. NEAR works to help ensure that the reforms now underway across the UN’s humanitarian architecture are grounded in the experience, leadership, and priorities of local and national actors.

Through our engagement in the humanitarian reset, discussions within the IASC, ECOSOC HAS, and OCHA-led reform processes, NEAR brings lived experience and clear analysis into conversations that shape how the system is governed. We support our members to step confidently into these spaces, connecting frontline knowledge with debates on coordination, pooled funds, cluster leadership, and accountability.