In October 2021, the CRS Asia Region launched EMPOWER Asia (Empowering Partners Working on Emergency Responses in Asia) as the region’s primary mechanism for investing in strengthening the capacity of strategic local partners to play leading roles in humanitarian response.

The project focuses on three project areas:

• strategic partners demonstrate strengthened organizational structures and capacities on emergency response;
• strategic partners demonstrate improved collaboration, coordination, and engagement with sub-national, national, regional, and global humanitarian platforms;
• and strategic partners seek and garner funds and resources to respond to emergenciesEMPOWER is an integral component of CRS Asia’s plan to achieve its 2030 vision for Local Leadership using a flexible approach, with strategic partners.

In 2024, EMPOWER Asia is supporting 6 local institutions, including 2 national government entities, in India, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia to enhance their capacity in humanitarian response. This 2-pager provides a brief overview of the EMPOWER Asia project and its deliverables by 2024.