Degan Ali | |
|---|---|
| Born | Somalia |
| Nationality | Somali American |
| Employer | Adeso |
| Organization | Network for Empowered Aid Response |
| Parent |
|
Degan Ali is the Somali-American[1] humanitarian consultant and the executive director of Adeso.[2]
She is best known for her critique of power dynamics in the humanitarian aid system and promotion of cash assistance.
Born in Somalia to mother Fatima Jibrell and a father who was a Somali military officer and diplomat, her family moved to Washington when Degan Ali was nine years old.[2][3] Her family lived in Chicago where she attended school and university.[3]
Ali was employed by the United Nations and deployed to Somalia before she resigned in disillusionment.[2] After initially working as the Vice Director,[4] she became Executive Director of Adeso (African Development Solutions)[5] where she has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts to provide more funding to local humanitarian organizations,[3][6][7] and to use more cash assistance.[8]
After speaking about the lack of localisation at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, Ali became the founder of the Network for Empowered Aid Response.[2][9] She has called for local organizations to take power, rather than wait for it to be given to them.[10][11]
In 2020, she spoke to The New Humanitarian and was critical of the failures to implement the Grand Bargain.[12]
In 2021, at the Global Steering Group Impact Summit she warned of colonial attitudes and how they influence international aid spending.[13]
Ali runs DA Consulting, which created a framework to help international aid agencies to decolonise and switch away from service delivery towards advocacy and solidarity with local aid agencies.[14]