Degan Ali
Degan Ali | |
|---|---|
| Born | Somalia |
| Nationality | Somali American |
| Employer | Adeso |
| Organization | Network for Empowered Aid Response |
| Mother | Fatima Jibrell |
Degan Aliis the Somali-American[1]humanitarian consultant and theexecutive directorofAdeso.[2]
She is best known for her critique of power dynamics in thehumanitarian aidsystem and promotion of cash assistance.
Early life and education
[edit]Born in Somalia to motherFatima Jibrelland a father who was a Somali military officer and diplomat, her family moved toWashingtonwhen Degan Ali was nine years old.[2][3]Her family lived inChicagowhere she attended school and university.[3]
Career and advocacy
[edit]Ali was employed by theUnited Nationsand deployed to Somalia before she resigned in disillusionment.[2]After initially working as the Vice Director,[4]she became Executive Director ofAdeso(African Development Solutions)[5]where she has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts to provide more funding to local humanitarian organizations,[3][6][7]and to use more cash assistance.[8]
After speaking about the lack oflocalisationat the 2016World Humanitarian Summit,Ali became the founder of theNetwork for Empowered Aid Response.[2][9]She has called for local organizations to take power, rather than wait for it to be given to them.[10][11]
In 2020, she spoke toThe New Humanitarianand was critical of the failures to implement theGrand Bargain.[12]
In 2021, at theGlobal Steering Group Impact Summitshe warned of colonial attitudes and how they influence international aid spending.[13]
Ali runs DA Consulting, which created a framework to help international aid agencies todecoloniseand switch away from service delivery towards advocacy and solidarity with local aid agencies.[14]
Selected publications
[edit]- Degan Ali and Kirsten Gelsdorf,Risk-averse to risk-willing: Learning from the 2011 Somalia cash response,Global Food Security1.1 (2012): 57-63.[15][16]
- Degan Ali and Kate Churchill-Smith,Seeking Acceptance: The Promise of Cash in High-Risk Areas,Prepared for the Second World Conference on Humanitarian Studies atTufts University,June 2011[17]
- Degan Ali and Marie-Rose Romain Murphy,Black Lives Matter is also a reckoning for foreign aid and international NGOs,OpenDemocracy,2020
- Degan Ali, Fanta Toure and Tilleke Kiewied,Cash relief in a contested area Lessons from Somalia2005, Humanitarian Practice Network[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Fiegl, Amanda (2014-11-26)."A Somali Aid Worker Would Rather Give Out Cash Than Free Food".NPR.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^abcdThe Editorial Board (2021-02-13)."Opinion | Foreign Aid Is Having a Reckoning".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^abcWall, Imogen (2016-03-21)."'We are demanding change': the Somali woman taking on international NGOs ".the Guardian.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^Rooney, F. (2007). Exceptional Women Environmentalists. Canada: Second Story Press.
- ^"Degan Ali announced as Oceania Connect opening keynote speaker".ACFID.2020-10-09.Retrieved2022-03-27.
- ^"Does Africa need foreign aid?".The New Times | Rwanda.2021-02-21.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^"10 of the best humanitarians to follow on social media".the Guardian.2016-04-18.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^"Degan Ali".World Economic Forum.Retrieved2022-03-27.
- ^"NGOs: bridging the North South divide".The New Humanitarian.2015-06-08.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^Doane, Deborah (10 Dec 2019)."Are INGOs ready to give up power?".openDemocracy.Retrieved2022-03-27.
- ^Houghton, Irũngũ (10 Oct 2016)."Five disempowering traits that international NGOs must drop".openDemocracy.Retrieved2022-03-27.
- ^"Le mouvement Black Lives Matter contraint les ONG humanitaires à un examen de conscience".Le Monde.fr(in French). 2020-07-07.Retrieved2022-03-27.
- ^"Sir Ronald Cohen: Victory is in sight!".pioneerspost.2021-10-06.Retrieved2022-03-26.
- ^Aly, Heba(2022-08-12)."Ten efforts to decolonise aid".The New Humanitarian.Retrieved2022-11-13.
- ^Maxwell, Daniel; Fitzpatrick, Merry (2012-12-01)."The 2011 Somalia famine: Context, causes, and complications".Global Food Security.Special Issue on the Somalia Famine of 2011-2012.1(1): 5–12.doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2012.07.002.ISSN2211-9124.
- ^Coughlan de Perez, E.; van den Hurk, B.; van Aalst, M. K.; Jongman, B.; Klose, T.; Suarez, P. (2015-04-23)."Forecast-based financing: an approach for catalyzing humanitarian action based on extreme weather and climate forecasts".Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.15(4): 895–904.Bibcode:2015NHESS..15..895C.doi:10.5194/nhess-15-895-2015.ISSN1561-8633.
- ^Nor, Mohamed Ibrahim. "Do the global oil price shocks affect Somalia's unregulated exchange rate volatility?." (2018). APA
- ^Grosh, Margaret, et al.For protection and promotion: The design and implementation of effective safety nets.World Bank Publications, 2008.