Opinion: To achieve global migration goals, invest in local solutions

Migration is a global issue. But to address it, funders must invest in solutions at the local level. Collectively, as the mayor of Amman and the leaders of philanthropic and nonprofit organizations, we are calling on funders and donors to join us in supporting migrants and refugees in cities by investing directly in the leaders well-positioned to welcome them. As leaders from around the world gathered recently for the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City to address today’s most pressing global challenges, among them were mayors — the local leaders at the forefront of driving local solutions that achieve global impact. One of the topics discussed at UNGA was migration and how cities can continue to be thriving, welcoming places for migrants and displaced people as well as the residents that receive them. The truth is, in the coming years, more and more international migrants are projected to arrive in urban areas, with 1 in 5 moving to just 20 global cities. But the system for getting money from donors to local governments is broken, leaving too many cities that are unable to meet overly complex, stringent, and costly compliance requirements struggling to support migrants and refugees in their communities. In a meeting organized on the sidelines of UNGA by the Mayors Migration Council, philanthropic leaders joined the mayors of Amman, Jordan; Milan, Italy; Bristol, United Kingdom; Barranquilla, Colombia; Quezon City, Philippines; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Dhaka North, Bangladesh, to hear first-hand about the challenges these cities are facing and to discuss how donors can better support city-led solutions. Bringing together mayors and funders at the same table was a rare yet crucial opportunity, as the number of displaced people globally continues to rise. Today, almost 110 million people have been forcibly uprooted from their homes as a result of climate change, conflict, and civil unrest. Seventy percent of them seek refuge in urban areas like Amman, where nearly 200,000 registered Syrian refugees live, with unofficial estimates passing 400,000. But while mayors are stepping up as problem solvers, they face systemic barriers to the finance they need to deliver solutions at scale. In 2022, only 1.2% of the billions of dollars spent on international humanitarian assistance — or $485 million — was sent directly to local partners, including cities. The target set in the 2016 Grand Bargain agreement between donors and humanitarian organizations was 25%. In Jordan, only 18% of refugees live in camps. Despite hosting fewer refugees than the city of Amman, the country’s two largest refugee camps — Za’atari and Azraq — receive significantly more funding than the city itself. The lack of resources to support the hundreds of thousands refugees living in the city is stressing the local government’s ability to provide opportunity, safety, and public services for all of its residents. Funders can lead by example by giving funds directly to cities. The Robert Bosch Stiftung partnered last year with MMC to help migrants affected by the climate crisis get back on their feet through the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees, GCF. Another GCF donor, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, has committed to granting 25% of its new global funding portfolio to local partners, including city governments such as that of Amman, over the coming years. By directly funding cities to implement programs of their own design, this model helps build precedents of fiscal feasibility in city governments that are often disregarded by funders with low risk tolerance. More than 80% of cities who benefited from GCF have used it as a proof of concept to unlock additional investments and further expand their projects. The City of Amman is using these funds to create a public park near the Al-Hussein Refugee Camp where refugee and Jordanian children can play, socialize, and learn about the environment. This park includes the city’s first Children's Climate Academy to educate the next generation of Amman residents on environmental stewardship. We have witnessed first-hand how these partnerships can serve as a model for how direct, localized funding can bolster innovative solutions. It’s time for funders to rethink their investment strategies. To make global change happen, we need to invest locally.