The panel discussion will feature:
- Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, the CEO of the World Bank,
- Mr. Thomas Zahnneisen, Director of the Humanitarian Assistance at the German Federal Foreign Office,
- H.E. Mrs. Suraya Dalil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations,
- Mr. Antonio Hautle, Executive Director and Network Representative, Global Compact Network, Switzerland
- Mr. Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council
Mr. Michael Møller, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, will provide welcoming remarks.
In 2015, the former UN Secretary General appointed a High Level Panel on humanitarian financing. The Panel examined humanitarian financing challenges and identified ways in which the gap between rising needs and the resources available can be closed. The Panel also worked on generating solutions for more timely and predictable funding, as well as proposing ways in which resources can be used more effectively. The panel's report "Too important to fail – addressing the humanitarian financing gap" was released in January 2016. It highlighted an estimated funding gap of USD 15 billion for humanitarian action and provided three main solutions:
- Shrinking humanitarian needs - including preventing and resolving conflicts, increasing investments in disaster risk reduction, and building resilience by investing in development;
- Mobilizing additional funds - stressing that traditional and emerging donors must be encouraged to continue to give, whilst the private sector and other actors should be increasingly engaged; and
- Improving delivery - proposing a 'Grand Bargain' on efficiency.
The Norwegian Refugee Council is conducting a light mapping of the progress done on the first two recommendations. Preliminary findings of the mapping will inspire the panel discussion.
We kindly ask you to RSVP, if you have not done so already, to tamara.kajtazovic@nrc.no by Friday, 2 March 2018.
Please kindly note that a ground pass is required to enter the Palais des Nations. Should you require access to the building but do not own the badge, please be so kind as to register through the United Nations Office in Geneva's INDICO system.
We look forward to welcoming you at the event.
