If we are to meet the growing needs of disaster-affected communities around the world, we must do more to truly listen to them and, crucially, to tailor our responses accordingly. However, the fact is that the implementation of these commitments remains inconsistent and unpredictable during response.

Concerted and coordinated efforts by policy-makers will be the deciding factor if we are able to ‘walk the talk’ and truly put the people we are trying to help at the center of our humanitarian responses.

This policy brief presents the rationale and evidence for increasing investment and uptake in communications with communities, and makes recommendations for policy-makers to maximize its potential.