The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (or Triple Nexus) is often perceived as a donor-driven dynamic. On this account, following its previous events Nexus in Practice and Contested Triple Nexus – Examples from Mali, the Centre for Humanitarian Action (CHA) invited to the discussion “Triple Nexus – a donor-driven agenda?”. The event took place on 10 March 2020 and attracted representatives from key aid and development organisations as well as from the German government. The discussion revolved around the challenges and consequences of an increasing Triple Nexus engagement among the German and EU donors.
First, Celia Cranfield, Senior Advocacy Office at the NGO umbrella organisation Voluntary Organisations in Cooperation in Emergencies (VOICE), presented the recently published study “NGO Perspectives on the EU’s Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus”. Ms Cranfield stressed that the EU’s involvement in the Triple Nexus, in particular the engagement of ECHO (humanitarian aid) and DEVCO (development cooperation), originated in the resilience initiative. In her view, donors are still doing too little to provide funding modalities that induce Triple Nexus approaches. Following Ms Cranfield’s input, Fabian Böckler from Plan International presented the Plan International’s Regional Programme for the Lake Chad Region, which follows the Triple Nexus approach and is funded by twenty-five different donors.
Not all panelists shared the view that the Triple Nexus is a donor-driven agenda. The Nexus’ motivations – to work on the root causes of crises and to better coordinate need assessments – are also a concern for civil society-based humanitarian organisations, they said.
Representatives from the Federal Foreign Office (FFO) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) gave insights into their perspectives on the Triple Nexus. They reported on the new instruments such as the chapeau approach, which is designed to improve the linkage between humanitarian aid and development cooperation. They also discussed new structures, strategies, and pilot initiatives to improve cooperation in the Triple Nexus.
Panelists:
- Celia Cranfield (Senior Advocacy Officer, VOICE)
- Bodo von Borries (Head of the Humanitarian Aid Department, VENRO)
- Wolfgang Bindseil (Head of Division, Implementation of Humanitarian Assistance, Federal Foreign Office)
- Dr. Ralf Schröder (Head of Division, Transitional Development Assistance, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
The event took place under the Chatham House Rule. Other details of the event can therefore not be made public.
