Board Member of the East SOS Charity Foundation Advocated for the Localization of Humanitarian Aid in Geneva

On October 6–7, 2025, Oksana Kuiantseva, Board Member of the East SOS Charity Foundation, took part in a series of advocacy events in Geneva, Switzerland, ahead of the annual meeting of the Grand Bargain signatories.

Together with representatives of the Alliance of Ukrainian Civil Society Organizations, Oksana participated in meetings at the Strategic Priorities and Practices Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the headquarters of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), focusing on localization efforts. She also joined discussions on international cooperation with representatives of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).

On October 6, the Alliance of Ukrainian Civil Society Organizations, with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine and international organizations Refugees International and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, hosted an event to showcase innovative approaches to direct funding for local Ukrainian humanitarian organizations.

During the discussion, representatives of the Alliance member organizations presented:

• proposals for establishing pooled funds to finance thematic support programs;
• a consortium model with Ukrainian civil society organizations (CSOs) in the leading role and the participation of international partners;
• practical experience in attracting direct funding from USAID/BHA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the European Commission, and the German Federal Foreign Office.

“Ukrainian non-governmental organizations are piloting direct funding projects with institutional donors, creating pooled funds and consortia led by local organizations. Meanwhile, local organizations still have access to only 6% of global humanitarian funding. It’s time to change the attitude towards local actors and treat them as equal, reliable, and responsible partners. This will open access to direct funding models for civil society organizations around the world,” — Oksana Kuiantseva, Board Member at East SOS Charity Foundation.

On October 7, Oksana presented East SOS’s experience of direct partnership with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) during a workshop on developing a future funding plan for women-led organizations. The event was organized by the Humanitarian Policy Group of the ODI Global think tank (UK).

We are proud to be part of the Alliance of active Ukrainian civil society organizations and express our deep gratitude to all its members for their unwavering commitment to advancing and advocating for the localization of humanitarian aid.

This advocacy visit was carried out with the financial support of the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) of the ODI Global think tank (UK).