International Geneva is in crisis - and it is not just about funding cuts. Emmanuel Tronc of the H2H Network explores how a culture of creativity, collaboration, and openness could renew Geneva’s global mission.
Even before the creation of the United Nations headquarters in 1946, Geneva had already built its humanitarian identity - nearly a century earlier - through the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the development of International Humanitarian Law.
Since then, “International Geneva” has become a powerful symbol of multilateralism and a testing ground for collective responses to global crises: war, climate change, forced migration, and now, growing geopolitical fragmentation. (See Global Geneva articles Part I and Part II on the need for International Geneva to reinvent itself)
Yet despite this proud heritage, Geneva’s humanitarian ecosystem risks becoming a victim of its own weight. The problem today is less about funding shortfalls than about imagination, notably a need to rethink structures, relationships, and priorities from the ground up.
The United Nations - a central part of International Geneva
UN Photo
With hundreds of international organizations in the Lake Geneva region alone from IUCN to UEFA, the city hosts a remarkable concentration of humanitarian expertise: UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, NGOs, and the permanent missions of donor countries.
All too often, however, their efforts unfold in parallel, limited by bureaucratic inertia and institutional silos that slow decision-making and stifle creativity. Bureaucracy hinders the capacity to operationally and rapidly engage in humanitarian emergencies. For some, too, there is a reluctance to embrace appropriate reform.
The cost of these inefficiencies can be seen in the field. In Haiti, Sudan and the DR Congo, for example, overlapping aid operations and competing mandates have led to duplicated logistics or delayed responses. Many humanitarian professionals are acutely aware of these flaws, yet systemic reform remains painfully slow.
It is time for International Geneva to stop treating collaboration as an afterthought and instead build a dedicated, agile space that rewards experimentation, co-creation, and shared strategy. Above all, too, it needs to include local NGOs and communities in its engagement.
Yemen's civil war, which erupted in 2014, has created a massive humanitarian crisis situation killing over 377,000 people, many civilians.
ICRC Photos
Above all, Geneva’s humanitarian ecosystem must learn to engage not only within itself but with those it seeks to support. Local NGOs and affected communities should no longer be peripheral to the policies that shape their realities.
The urgency and persistence of today’s crises have outpaced the institutional frameworks built to address them. Conflicts intersect with climate pressures and displacement on an unprecedented scale, while the speed and polarization of information demand decisions that institutions are rarely structured to make.
Still, established processes of coordination and review continue largely unchanged. If Geneva is to remain a place where humanitarian ideas evolve, it must renew its relevance not through improved procedures but through a genuine capacity to listen, adapt, and respond to the demands of the present.
Drawing on years of field experience and international representation with Médecins Sans Frontières and other international organizations, I believe Geneva now needs to embrace a genuine ambition as a humanitarian platform, one that brings together established agencies, small independent NGOs, and “humanitarian enablers” that provide key services or innovations.
The existing Humanitarian Hub is an example of where this transformation could take root - a space with the potential to embody the open, connected, and imaginative culture we need for our Humanitarian ecosystem. The Humanitarian Hub should exist not only for saving costs among actors but first be guided by a simple but powerful set of principles:
Governance should be inclusive but light, ensuring transparency, shared decision-making, and equitable access to resources. What matters most is creating an environment where collaboration and curiosity replace hierarchy and control.
Engaging with local aid workers and communities: a key component of International Geneva's global involvement.
World Vision.
By forming a strategic network, humanitarian actors can enhance the quality, accountability, and effectiveness of their work while building bridges with the Global South. Reform is not just about efficiency; it’s about humility and openness to learning from communities on the front lines.
Joint administrative services, shared trainings, peer coaching, and exchange visits can drastically reduce costs and encourage innovation. Within this framework, a Humanitarian Innovation Studio could incubate collaborative projects, for example, by testing new tools for data ethics, logistics, or climate resilience.
A data-driven early warning system co-designed with local NGOs could prompt collaborative projects such as a joint digital logistics platform developed across agencies and first tested during floods in Mozambique, or a locally led early-warning tool that helps communities anticipate drought impacts before they escalate.
At the same time, close partnerships with universities and research centres, such as EPFL or the Graduate Institute, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, or Swissnex, would generate actionable, field-driven insights.
Foreign correspondents reporting in Afghanistan.
Edward Girardet
Equally crucial, cooperation with credible media outlets would improve the public’s understanding of humanitarian work. Partnering with trustworthy news organizations would further raise public awareness, helping journalists report more accurately from crisis zones and highlighting effective humanitarian action such as providing logistical support to report from the field. When journalists and aid organizations collaborate responsibly, coverage becomes more accurate, context-rich, and solution-oriented. (See Global Geneva’s series: Part I Trusted Journalism Under Fire; Part II The Vanishing Newsroom & Part III How Can Credible Journalism Survive)
If International Geneva's Humanitarian Hub is to succeed, it must promote shared governance with local NGOs, diaspora-led organizations, and regional networks as co-leaders.
UNICEF
True innovation cannot happen from Geneva alone. Instead of having everything decided by the “International Geneva” community, as has too often been the case,
This inclusive approach ensures vigilance regarding the evolving nature of humanitarian crises and the shifting definitions of “needs.”
A dedicated advocacy mechanism grounded in local realities would highlight systemic blind spots and encourage proactive, early action. And where Geneva humanitarian actors engage local partners, Global South representatives, and diaspora-led organizations as co-leaders, not just consultants.
In Sudan, for instance,local NGOs have provided vital intelligence about conflict dynamics that international agencies could not match. In Afghanistan, community-based health networks have proven more resilient than centralized systems. Such partnerships are not exceptions. They must become the norm.
Anchoring in these local perspectives would help identify blind spots in the humanitarian system and enable earlier, smarter responses.
Another key function of the Humanitarian Hub should be to act as a broker and amplifier by mapping opportunities, connecting initiatives, and offering a transparent advocacy platform. Hybrid convening formats (both in-person and online) could give a voice to field-based actors in crisis settings who are too often excluded from Geneva’s discussions.
By offering such a platform, Geneva will renew its role as a global humanitarian capital, not by looking inward, or by lamenting the loss of once reliable donor funding, but by opening itself to the world, becoming a responsive, outward looking network where ideas and action meet.
Through close collaboration, a better chance for raising crucial funds for humanitarian support.
World Bank
Working as a coalition with a shared vision, the Humanitarian Hub could make a far more persuasive case for attracting and coordinating funding. Collaborative advocacy would give donors confidence that their support fuels measurable, coordinated impact. Acting as a coalition with clear, evidence-based proposals, it could convince donors to support innovative initiatives that traditional models often overlook. (See Global Geneva article by Arthur Wood on transforming crises into opportunities)
Examples already exist. The Start Network’s pooled funding system, or the H2H Network’s model of shared services, demonstrate how collaboration can unlock both efficiency and innovation. A similar approach in Geneva could blend donor contributions, membership fees, and hosted services to ensure long-term sustainability and independence.
If the International Geneva community embraces this vision, the Humanitarian Hub could, within three years, emerge as an important part of the solution. It can do this by incubating pilot initiatives, facilitating peer learning, and expanding access for independent organizations to Geneva’s resources. It could publish collaborative research on pressing themes, from digital accountability to climate adaptation, showcasing Geneva’s renewed leadership in humanitarian innovation.
The world is changing faster than the institutions built to serve it. Right now, International Geneva is in danger of becoming moribund with politicians and other actors pushing “the same old, same old.” If Geneva dares to reinvent itself, it can once again become the beating heart of humanitarian imagination, notably a place where ideas, courage, and compassion combine to meet the crises of tomorrow.
Emmanuel Tronc has worked in the humanitarian sector since the 1990s and brings extensive experience in conflict settings, medical emergency response and networking, stakeholder engagement, and dialogue with state and non-state actors. Working at MSF for two decades, he served as the Head of Mission in numerous countries and led humanitarian diplomacy initiatives. Most recently, he worked as a Senior Humanitarian Advisor at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, focusing on humanitarian negotiation in frontline contexts and the experiences of local NGOs in humanitarian access. He is currently Head of Outreach and Engagement at H2H Network.