Since the beginning of 2020, across the world, Covid-19 restrictions and risks have forced international actors to place greater focus on localisation, more from necessity than choice. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Covid-19 pandemic has the potential to deliver a timely boost for the localisation process, but to date the shift has been partial, rarely upending established power inequalities. During the pandemic, the ability to reach local communities in hard-to-access areas became a core asset – local and national organisations (LNOs) with the capacity to reach vulnerable communities achieved greater recognition and received more support. However, this came without structural change to reflect the centrality of LNOs in the response.

Covid-19 has forced the adoption of new working practices, highlighted the positive role of LNOs in handling the humanitarian response in Pakistan and Afghanistan and strengthening the locally led response. Crucially, increased funding was channelled to LNOs during the pandemic, but not at a scale that recognised their true contribution. Small local organisations rarely accessed increased funding; instead, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) preferred partnerships with established or larger national organisations. While remote working created opportunities for increased participation, these gains were still affected by digital inequalities.