Together We Stand

[ 151 ] Currently, we see that the number of people displaced has reached more than 60 million, the largest ever since the Second World War, and many of them are caught in protracted crises. To cope with this difficult situation, it is vital to involve devel- opment partners from the earliest stages of a crisis in order to further enhance collaboration with humanitarian actors, and to create the necessary environment to promote cooperation between host communities and refugees as well as inter- nally displaced persons as driving forces of development and growth. In this context, Japan actively supports the work of the Solutions Alliance, a concrete example of a collaborative project between humanitarian and development agencies, to find solu- tions to protracted displacement situations. Japan also provides Yen loans (concessional loans) to contribute to the economic and fiscal stabilization of Jordan, as well as to the improve- ment of infrastructure in local communities in Turkey facing the increasing burden of the high influx of Syrian refugees. It is also essential to promote more diverse partnerships among various actors. While the need for humanitarian assistance is growing due to the multiple large-scale humanitarian crises currently occurring simultaneously, and further due to these crises becoming protracted, the financial and human resources of the international community for humanitarian assistance are limited. With this in mind, it is crucially important to encourage the participation of and contribution by new partners, including emerging donors, the private sector and local partners. In Japan, each local government plays a leading role in disas- ter response. In order to receive smooth support from other local governments and the private sector in times of disaster, some local governments have concluded extensive advance agreements for mutual support with other local governments and companies. Based on such agreements, for example, when a disaster-affected local government does not have enough capacity to cope with the local evacuation and relief measures, other local governments can swiftly send support staff and goods at the request of the disaster-affected local government. In addition, food manufacturers and transport companies would respectively supply and deliver essential items such as food and drinking water to the disaster-affected local govern- ment, and construction companies would conduct emergency rehabilitation. These are some good examples of collaborative efforts between local governments and the private sector. Since the World Humanitarian Summit adopts a multi- stakeholder approach, it should serve as an opportunity to further promote the participation of wider partners as well as to build new partnerships to leverage different actors’ strength and wisdom. The Polio Eradication Project in Pakistan Japan’s official development assistance loan project for Pakistan, the Polio Eradication Project, introduced an innovative loan- conversion mechanism. Under this mechanism, on confirmation that the Government of Pakistan had achieved a certain level of project outcomes, then the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would repay the debt on behalf of the Government of Pakistan. The achievement of the project outcomes was confirmed, and the repayment by the Foundation was confirmed in April 2014. This is a good example of innovative public-private partnership. Image: International Organization for Migration An Afghan returnee family at the Torkham transit centre with the assistance they received on arrival T ogether W e S tand