Over recent decades, accountability has become a key focus in the humanitarian sector, with increasing efforts to prioritize affected people. However, the sector has not fully achieved its goal of improving accountability to these communities. A core challenge is that much of the accountability discussion remains internal, among humanitarian agencies and donors, with limited attention to how accountability is understood and practiced locally in crisis-affected communities. The debate often excludes perspectives from local actors, such as national civil society, media, and advocacy organizations. Policy research has largely focused on the views of humanitarian agencies and donors, particularly from the Global North, while perspectives from the Global South have been overlooked.

This study aims to address this gap by examining how domestic actors in Somalia, including local media, civil society organizations, and government institutions, view and engage with accountability. It identifies overlooked perspectives, examines how local stakeholders attempt to improve accountability to their communities, analyses the political economy dynamics shaping these efforts, addresses main challenges and presents targeted recommendations to each stakeholder.