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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2022

Contact: Elizabeth Atherton | info@nuruinternational.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nuru International applauds USAID’s recently released Local Capacity Strengthening Policy. 

As part of USAID’s increased focused on localization, this policy dictates that USAID collaborate with its local partners in the following ways: 

  • “Define their own vision for success; 
  • Strengthen their ability to be effective and relevant actors within their local communities and contexts; 
  • Elevate local ownership in sustaining development results.” (USAID) 

This policy was launched in an online event with USAID Deputy Administrator Paloma Adams-Allen on October 19, 2022. Adam Phillips, Executive Director of the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships Hub, notes that this policy “is about shifting power and centering local voices.” The policy provides a framework of seven principles grouped around two themes: 

  • “principles for effective programming of local capacity strengthening 
  • principles for equitable partnerships in local capacity strengthening.” (WorkWithUSAID) 

Nuru International began to interact with USAID in 2017 as a participant in a case study for a USAID-funded research project to examine responsible aid transitions via USAID’s Office of Local Sustainability. The resulting Stopping As Success report prominently featured Nuru Kenya as a success story and was further showcased in the follow-up book What Transformation Takes. Nuru’s local organizations in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso are eager to work with USAID to scale their proven models. Furthermore, Nuru aims to collaborate with USAID as we continue to scale across the Sahel. Both Nuru Nigeria and Nuru Kenya have secured US government funding for their organizations through USAID, but, as a new local partner, securing funding was not without its challenges. Having witnessed these challenges, Nuru International supports USAID’s efforts to shift power to local organizations through policies that center local leaders and amplify their voices ensuring that those who are driving change on the front lines have access to vital resources that make these efforts possible. 

 

 

About Nuru International

Nuru International is a member of the Nuru Collective, a group of organizations dedicated to creating lasting meaningful choices in the most vulnerable and marginalized communities in the world. Nuru organizations operate in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso.

 

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