The topic of enhancing the role of national and local actors in humanitarian response is increasingly in vogue. Supporting local capacities for disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response is a key focal issue in the discussions and preparation for both the Hyogo Framework for Action and the UN World Humanitarian Summit. INGOs have also increasingly highlighted this issue, on the basis that “Partnerships between international humanitarian actors (whether donors, UN or aid agencies) and the government and local and national organisations of affected countries are emerging as a key way to work with local capacity as part of a coordinated response.”