Humanitarian Leadership in Transition:
Navigating the Humanitarian Reset in a Fragmented World
23 August 2026 | Dubai World Trade Centre
Background and Rationale
The global humanitarian system is undergoing a period of profound transformation. According to the UN OCHA Global Humanitarian Overview 2025, more than 305 million people require humanitarian assistance and protection worldwide, driven by the convergence of protracted conflicts, climate-related disasters, economic shocks, and record levels of displacement. At the same time, humanitarian actors face widening funding gaps, restricted access, political polarization, and increasing pressure to reform coordination, financing, and delivery models.
These pressures have intensified discourse around a “humanitarian reset”, a reassessment of how humanitarian action is governed, financed, and implemented. While reform narratives are expanding across political and institutional spheres, there remains a need for principled, senior-level dialogue grounded in humanitarian law, operational realities, and accountability to affected populations.
The Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference & Exhibition (DIHAD) provides a global platform to shape forward-looking humanitarian discourse. In support of this engagement, OCHA UAE convenes the Pre-DIHAD–OCHA Executive Humanitarian Programme as a strategic preparatory platform bringing together senior decision-makers to examine emerging challenges, align perspectives, and contribute insights to subsequent DIHAD deliberations.
The Programme serves as a high-level space for reflection, exchange, and strategic orientation, reinforcing the UAE’s role as a global humanitarian convener and strengthening dialogue across governments, multilateral actors, donors, and innovation partners.
Purpose and Objectives
To advance shared strategic understanding among senior humanitarian stakeholders regarding systemic shifts affecting humanitarian action and to inform high-level dialogue at DIHAD 2026.
- Examine emerging global humanitarian pressures and transformation drivers
- Explore the evolving role of states and humanitarian diplomacy
- Reflect on how donor and partner policies shape operational realities
- Assess the growing influence of private sector, philanthropy, and innovation
- Consider implications of artificial intelligence and data governance
- Generate strategic insights to inform DIHAD discussions
Explore past pre-conference archives here.
