ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has called on governments at all levels to place crisis-affected communities, especially women and youth, at the centre of humanitarian planning and response.

Andrew Mamedu, country director of AAN, made the call in a statement on Monday in Abuja to mark the 2025 World Humanitarian Day.

The Day is commemorated annually on Aug. 18, with this year’s theme: “Strengthening Global Solidarity and Empowering Local Communities”.

Mr Mamedu said empowering crisis-affected groups with decision-making power, flexible funding and resources would enable them to lead their own responses.

He urged tiers of governments to create enabling policies and budget lines that sustain women-led and youth-led initiatives, stressing that these groups are often the first to act and the most trusted in times of crisis.

According to him, urgent investment in local humanitarian leadership is crucial, especially women and youth-driven responses that have proven effective and transformative.

He said the call aligns with the ongoing humanitarian reset, a global effort to reform the aid system in response to declining international funding.

“The reset can only be meaningful if it centres on crisis-affected communities, shifts power to women and youth, and rejects technocratic fixes that sideline local voices.

“Communities are not passive recipients of aid but leaders, organisers and agents of change,” he said.

Mr Mamedu emphasised that women and young people had always been the first responders in crises, yet their leadership remained underfunded and undervalued.

He also urged governments, the private sector and international partners to urgently close the funding gap, including scaling up domestic humanitarian financing.

“The Nigerian private sector should move beyond tokenism in corporate social responsibility and play a transformative role in resilience-building.

“Investments must prioritise food assistance, nutrition, health care, education and climate resilience for crisis-affected regions,” he added.

Mr Mamedu also called on Nigerian businesses, philanthropists and financial institutions to leverage their resources and collaborate with local organisations that best understand community realities.

He said international partners must also prioritise flexible, long-term resources that flow directly to local organisations to cushion the impact of dwindling foreign aid.

“Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind in this transformation. Now is the time to reimagine humanitarian action in a way that delivers equity, accountability and lasting resilience,” he said.

(NAN)