​This four-page Discussion starter summarises key findings of the ALNAP study 'Rhetoric or reality: Putting affected people at the centre of humanitarian action'. The study takes up the discussions and lessons from the 2014 ALNAP Annual Meeting on accountability to and engagement with crisis-affected people. This Discussion starter gives an overview of how affected people are currently engaged in humanitarian responses, identifies constraints to greater engagement and suggests ways to improve.

ALNAP