TheHumanitarian-Development Nexus is the concept of increased collaboration between organizations working in short termhumanitarian aid and long terminternational development promoted since 2016.^[1][2]

The concept is supported by European governments, but has been met with both praise and criticism by humanitarian practitioners.

Traditionally, the two areas of humanitarian aid and international development have operated separately,^[3][4] with the former working on short-term life saving goals and the later working towards longer-term objectives including theMillennium Development Goals.^[5] Humanitarian organizations follow thehumanitarian principle of independence from government action, in contrast to international development work which is done in close proximity with governments.^[1]

The concept of the Humanitarian-Development Nexus came to prominence at the 2016 at theWorld Humanitarian Summit when it was promoted by government funders of humanitarian aid.^[6][5] At the summit, it was stated by government donors that collaboration between humanitarian agencies, and international development actors, should be encouraged and programs that work towards addressing humanitarian needs and longer-term development goals should be funded.^[6]

The encouragement of humanitarian aid agencies working closer with international development institutions was met with strong resistance by theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,Médecins Sans Frontières, and theInternational Committee of the Red Cross, with the later two expressing concern about contradictions between the Nexus and humanitarian principles.^[5]

In February 2019, theOECD stated their collective intent to fund complimentary humanitarian, development, andpeacebuilding actions.^[7][8]

The New Humanitarian reported concerns of tension between the humanitarian imperative of working independent from government, and of the risk that by trying to do three things simultaneously each would be done badly.^[9] Lorenzo Angelini of theEuropean Peacebuilding Liaison Office expressed concern about varying definitions of peacebuilding, specifically the common confusion with use of military force.^[9]

Both the UK'sDepartment for International Development and German'sFederal Foreign Office expressed enthusiasm for the commitment to the Triple Nexus.^[9]

Harvard Humanitarian Initiative's analysis of applying the Triple Nexus approach inMali concluded that humanitarian organizations should push in the "opposite direction" of the Triple Nexus,^[10] and recommended a "urgent introspection" of the new way of working.^[9]

• Humanitarian aid
• Global politics

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