We are one month on from the Future of Aid 2040 report launch hosted by the Humanitarian Hub – START Network, the Inter-Agency Research and Analysis Network (IARAN), and the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (CHL) at the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi, on September 11, 2025. The report aims to reimagine the aid system by 2040. It brings together global voices to co-create an outlook for the aid system, emphasizing inclusivity, local leadership, and collective action. The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) contributed perspectives on extreme heat–affected populations and their needs for future aid in relation to cooling solutions. These perspectives helped to make the scenarios designed by the Future of Aid community all the more tangible, clearly articulating what they could mean for communities on the ground.
As discussions of this report have continued in other places - Berlin and Bogotá for example - the themes of the conversations from the discussions in New Delhi are being echoed across the other locations. Some of those key themes included:
Sneha Mishra, Chairperson of the India Humanitarian Hub (IHH), noted that the aid system faces escalating challenges—conflict, climate shocks, and deepening poverty—which cannot be addressed without tackling root causes and embracing local leadership.
Anuj Tiwari of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) observed that the current aid system often perpetuates inequality, with resources concentrated in the hands of a few unless safeguards are in place. True transformation, he stressed, requires a more equitable distribution of resources to those most affected first.
Rajesh Kapoor of Cohesion Foundation Trust highlighted the importance of empowering local communities to take ownership of aid initiatives. He shared the example of the 2001 Kutch earthquake in Gujarat, where a Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) evaluation invited affected populations to directly rate the performance of relief efforts.
Decentralized decision-making, argued Vasundhara Pandey of START Network, UK, enables more agile and responsive aid delivery, reaching the most affected more efficiently.
Kapoor further emphasized the urgency of developing a comprehensive understanding of the humanitarian ecosystem, with priority placed on local communities and crisis-affected populations.
Manu Gupta of SEEDS underscored the need for aid organizations to embark on their own journeys of transformation to increase impact through collaboration. He highlighted the importance of collective action and fostering partnerships among diverse stakeholders to achieve lasting change—something long overdue in the humanitarian system.
AIDMI shared its recent review findings, pointing out that while the role of AI in the future of aid is still evolving, it holds potential to enhance aid delivery by providing insights for informed decision-making and resource allocation, identifying areas of high risk and vulnerability, and enabling proactive interventions.
Manu Gupta also suggested that incorporating multiple worldviews and approaches is essential in the Humanitarian Reset, along with leveraging resources from governments, NGOs, and the private sector to support sustainable development for all.
By prioritizing inclusivity, local leadership, and collective action, the Future of Aid 2040 initiative seeks to create a more equitable and effective aid system—one that is better equipped to address the complex challenges of a rapidly changing future.