Youth Think Tank Salon｜Humanitarian Action and Development Finance: Advancing Sustainable Public Goods Provision in Protracted Crises

Moderated by Wang Luo, Director of IIDC, the salon focused on “Humanitarian Action and Development Finance: Collaborating for a Sustainable Future in Protracted Crises.” The event examined the Goma water supply project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), exploring how to advance humanitarian response and systemic development in parallel in fragile and conflict-affected regions, so as to align the synergies of civilian protection with essential service improvements, transforming temporary provisions in such areas of education, healthcare, and water supply into resilient public goods.

Amid the current global landscape, humanitarian needs continue to escalate while crises tend to protract. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview, approximately 305 million people will need assistance by 2025, with demand increasingly concentrated in fragile and conflict-affected regions. Climate shock and food insecurity have intensified these pressures, transforming them from periodic fluctuations into long term structural realities. The ICRC 2024 Annual Report revealed that the organization currently operates in about 130 armed conflict settings — double the number from 15 years ago. Restricted access and harm to civilians and critical infrastructure have evolved from occasional occurrences to the norm. 

In his opening remarks, Balthasar Staehelin, Personal Envoy of the ICRC’s President to China and Head of ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, emphasized that against this backdrop, the traditional linear approach of “humanitarian aid first, development second” no longer aligns with reality. Instead, these two aspects must engage in parallel collaboration in the same location and phase, leveraging respective strengths. He illustrated the significance of “capability derived from presence in the field” with frontline data: in 2024 alone, Red Cross and Red Crescent partners facilitated 2.3 million family phone calls, reunited over 7,000 separated persons with their families, visited 678 places of detention, supported the operation of more than 1,400 health facilities, and assisted approximately 34 million people in accessing clean water. It is precisely these long-term presence and channels created through trust that enable cross-sectoral cooperation to materialize. Translating situational awareness into concrete arrangements—including on-site organization, community engagement, project site selection and operational maintenance—along with protecting medical and civilian facilities under international humanitarian law (IHL), is key to keeping projects running amid turmoil. As crises become protracted, repeated distribution of supplies alone is neither dignified nor economical. Humanitarian practice must increasingly focus on “laying the groundwork” without straying from its mission: solidifying plans and programs first, so as to pave the way for subsequent large-scale funding and construction.

His Excellency François Nkuna Balumuene, Ambassador of the DRC to China, pointed out that years of recurring instability in eastern DRC have not only caused displacement and infrastructure destruction, but also led to the persistent weakening of public service systems. The government will not and cannot normalize such suffering. In recent years, the DRC has prioritized essential services such as healthcare, water supply, energy, and communications, emphasizing the need to enhance the coverage and quality of public services while restoring order. The Goma Water Supply Project has received strong government backing precisely because it aligns with the DRC’s national Strategic Development Plan and resonates with the “Clean Water and Sanitation” goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. He stated that such projects, which “integrate humanitarian aid with systemic development,” are both urgent and sustainable and should become a focal point for bilateral and multilateral resource allocation. To ensure long-term operation, he emphasized three points: First, the government must incorporate the project into national regulations and industry standards, clarifying responsibilities and operational mechanisms. Second, jointly design fee structures and subsidy arrangements with multilateral development institutions to ensure affordability for vulnerable groups while guaranteeing the water supply system's basic self-sustaining capacity. Third, strengthen local teams capacity building to retain maintenance and management capabilities locally. The Ambassador welcomed participation from more partners including China and looked forward to collaborating with multilateral development institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to replicate proven cooperative models in the DRC and other conflict-affected regions. At the same time, he called on the international community to step up political and diplomatic efforts in supporting peace-oriented dialogue processes, thereby creating a more stable environment for the project's sustained advancement. He also emphasized that all cooperation shall align with national priorities, reinforce government leadership and ownership, and ensure long-term operation and maintenance can subsequently be implemented to benefit local communities.

On the theme of “from risk to resilience”, Juan Coderque, Senior Advisor, Humanitarian Innovative Finance Hub (HIFHUB) of the ICRC, introduced the “humanitarian blended finance”, which is not a novel financial product, but a set of approaches that allow all parties to collaborate with each other: use small-scale flexible funds to first do a solid preliminary work, come up with verifiable technology and data, and clarify the path of implementation; and then use government channels to leverage the long-term funds of development organizations and, when conditions permit, to attract the participation of enterprises. This was the case in Goma where the ICRC and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) first conducted surveys and tests to establish a credible basis, which led to the World Bank expanding its investment in Goma and moving the project from ad hoc fixes to system-building. This approach is being extended from water supply to energy access, financial inclusion and livelihood improvement. As to why the World Bank was willing to come on board and step up funding significantly, Juan pointed out that this was the result of a combination of conditions: firstly, there was already a framework for cooperation between the ICRC and the World Bank at a high level, which clarified the boundaries and modalities of collaboration for the two organizations in fragile environments; secondly, the overall program for Goma was “presented on the table”, which provided a basis for joint work for all parties; third, the DRC has introduced water-related laws and implementing regulations at key points in time, and institutional conditions are gradually being put in place; fourth, the SDC and others have provided small but critical upfront funds for “de-risking”, and have completed surveys and tests to form a credible chain of evidence; and fifth, the whole process has adhered to the principle of “co-design”, and there are key people at headquarters and in the field who continued to promote collaboration and implementation. Together, these factors have given large-volume development financing the certainty and confidence to enter.

François Moreillon, Head of the ICRC Delegation in the DRC, reiterated that eastern DRC faces both urgent security challenges and systemic weaknesses in water supply, sanitation, and healthcare. To allow large-scale funding ‘dare to enter, and able to stay’, what matters is not empty slogans but repeatedly proven credibility. Since 2009, the ICRC has adopted a strategy of incremental, swift, and periodic investments in critical areas. By committing approximately $7 million to deliver tangible results in “feasible” sectors, it progressively reduced uncertainties and implementation risks. This approach ultimately drove the World Bank to increase its Goma-related investment from around $20 million to about $57 million. According to World Health Organization, every dollar invested in drinking water yields approximately four dollars in productivity returns, creating ripple effects across education, poverty reduction, and public health. Ultimately, the so-called “de-risking” is to establish trust that all parties can rely on — through neutrality, long term presence, and professional delivery.

From the perspective of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the key lies in “laying a solid foundation for the first mile.” André Daniel Müller, Deputy Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Bukavu, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) , recalled that Goma's water shortage was not an overnight problem. The traditional approach involved drawing water from lakes, performing temporary treatment, and distributing it on an emergency basis — a labor-intensive and unsustainable method. Through close collaboration with the ICRC, the two organizations shifted their design focus to a “whole-system” dimension: prioritizing groundwater extraction and gravity-fed distribution to reduce reliance on complex electricity and chemical treatment, thereby lowering operational costs and enhancing reliability. To achieve this, SDC established dedicated small-scale upfront funding beyond its regular non-earmarked grants. This enabled a “pilot first, scale later” pace to progressively validate key assumptions. Meanwhile, a technical support network comprising Swiss academic and industry experts was introduced to provide “second opinions” on geology, hydrology, material and equipment selection, and operational maintenance protocols. He acknowledged with frankness that bilateral donors must also be accountable to parliaments and taxpayers, making “blind risk-taking” impossible. SDC's approach involves taking “justifiable risks” within established frameworks: taking incremental and swift steps, periodic evaluations, rigorous monitoring, and transparent communication. Once critical evidence chains are established, multilateral development banks are brought in as soon as possible to complete the “relay scaling” process. He particularly emphasized that replication should focus not on isolated technical details, but on “approaches and collaborative frameworks”: who leads coordination, what methods are used for early-stage data collection and verification, how on-site arrangements are adjusted when encountering security or access issues, and how community feedback is timely incorporated into design revisions. Only when these “soft elements” are in place can technology and funding find anchoring ground. 

Additionally, Pierre-François Righetti, Counselor and Deputy Head of Political Section at the Swiss Embassy in China, stated during the event that Switzerland will continue supporting the collaborative path of “solidifying the first mile — refining the evidence chain — multilateral relay scaling.” Switzerland is committed to strengthening technical and policy alignment with its partners in China, transforming the practical experience gained in partnering with the DRC into joint solutions applicable to more fragile regions.

Murtaza Syed, Head of Ecosystem in the Economics Department at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing, responded from the perspective of multilateral development banks. He stated that institutions like the AIIB do face constraints in fragile and conflict-affected settings: shareholders' demands for capital security and stable ratings influence overall risk appetite; infrastructure projects must meet fundamental requirements for on-site assessment and macro-level sustainability; and conventional lending instruments often fail to achieve risk-return parity in high-risk environments. However, this does not imply helplessness and impossibility. The key lies in refining the “project shape and structure” to reach an accessible threshold: First, incorporate a “buffer zone” in the capital structure, such as allocating approximately 15–20% as first-loss or subordinated funding, covered by grants or quasi-grants. This absorbs potential early-stage losses, thereby protecting intermediate and senior funding tranches. Second, incorporate credit enhancement mechanisms like political risk guarantees, such as collaborating with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to cover risk points of expropriation, transfer restrictions, and contract breaches. Third, solidify and refine the “early stage evidence chain”— instead of a general risk assessment, establish clear entry windows (timing and post-entry actions), credible local partners with defined roles, and locally tailored engineering, operations, and maintenance plans. Goma's ability to “scale up” stemmed from this tangible evidence and pathway. Syed added that the AIIB's swift establishment and normalization of emergency support mechanisms during the pandemic demonstrate that it is entirely possible for policy tools to accelerate iteration when major shareholders reach consensus. He looks forward to collaborating with the ICRC, the SDC, and relevant Chinese authorities and enterprises to explore more joint pathways for essential services like water supply, sanitation, and energy, with the approach of following the sequence of “from small to big, from stability to swiftness”.

During the subsequent discussion and interaction, the panelists focused on “how to transform high-risk regions into bankable scenarios.” Participants agreed that approaches and methodologies must first be aligned, followed by demonstration projects to translate “investable and financeable” concepts from paper to the ground. Official aid providers can “systematically assume reasonable risks” through: Selecting appropriate windows of opportunity, conducting small-amount periodic validation, strengthening monitoring and technical support, and engaging as early as possible with multilateral institutions to create a “relay scaling” effect. Enterprises should also participate earlier — Goma secured periodic seed funding from commercial banks, restored water and electricity through corporate collaboration during the time when the city was affected by conflict, and explored technical partnerships with equipment suppliers. As conditions improve, market-based mechanisms will become the critical fulcrum for systemic sustainability.

In his closing remarks, Staehelin emphasized that the consensus from this dialogue is crystal clear: we must break departmental silos to enable humanitarian and development efforts to operate in tandem on the same ground; and we must treat essential services like water supply, sanitation, and healthcare as the public's “first line of defense,” thereby reducing long-term costs at their source. Using Beijing as a platform, policymakers and think tanks can connect rules, processes, and tools across the “shareholder—bilateral--multilateral--humanitarian--corporate” spectrum. China, together with the ICRC, the AIIB, and partners in China, is fully capable of packaging methods tested in places like the DRC into replicable “operational blueprints” that can be implemented effectively in more fragile regions.

Wang Luo, Director of the IIDC of CAITEC, made summary remark by pointing out that humanitarian aid--development assistance--commerce should form a closed loop. Long-term reliance solely on aid and fiscal funding as a “lifeline or blood transfusion” is unsustainable. Instead, institutional frameworks and risk-sharing arrangements must be established to gradually create conditions for enterprises to enter the market, thereby realizing sustainable operations. She emphasized that China's unique role extends beyond financial contributions to encompass solution provision and technological innovation. Examples include digital metering and billing systems for water supply, leakage control, and energy efficiency optimization — all of which enhance project viability and resilience over the long term. Achieving this requires Chinese authorities, research institutions, and enterprises to better align with the genuine needs of overseas vulnerable contexts. Through localized co-creation in more specific application scenarios, “replicable methodologies” should be integrated with “implementable products and services,” fostering robust dual commercial and social values across broader regions.

Around fifty participants from government sector, think tanks, international and domestic humanitarian and development organizations, consulting firms, and universities attended this hybrid salon. The organizers extend gratitude to the speakers for their insightful contributions and to all attendees for their active engagement. We look forward to building upon this new starting point to advance collaborative innovation across the “humanitarian—development—commerce” nexus, delivering more reliable essential services and a more sustainable future for communities enduring protracted conflict.