The New Humanitarian

From new conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, to flood disasters in Libya and East Africa, to earthquakes in Morocco, Syria, and Türkiye, humanitarian crises around the world drove more than 350 million people to need help in 2023. While funding to address those needs reached record levels, so too did the funding gap. Only a third of the $57 billion that humanitarians appealed for this year was actually received – the largest shortfall in years. For the last episode of 2023, we reflect on the year that's been, Rethinking Humanitarianism-style. Which events have forced a rethink in aid? Have any lines been drawn in the sand? And how has 2023 been a turning point in the way aid is delivered? Co-hosts Heba Aly and Melissa Fundira convene a roundtable for a wide-ranging discussion on everything from humanitarianism's more prominent role in the climate agenda, to shifting ideologies on neutrality and mutual aid networks, and of course funding. Guests: Nazanine Moshiri, senior analyst (Climate, Environment & Conflict, Africa) at the International Crisis Group; Irwin Loy, senior policy editor at The New Humanitarian; Dustin Barter, senior research fellow at ODI's Humanitarian Policy Group ____ Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or have your say on Twitter using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. ____ SHOW NOTES Inklings | The Gaza effect, 2024 budgets, obscure acronyms What happened on COP28's big humanitarian day? Myanmar, Gaza, and why it's time for humanitarian resistance For some aid workers, internal Gaza tensions unearth long-overdue debates How mutual aid in Sudan is getting international support Why the Africa Climate Summit can't afford to overlook conflict Global Humanitarian Overview 2024: UN launches $46 billion appeal for 2024 as global humanitarian outlook remains bleak

Could talking about aid diversion actually help people who need aid? Ashley Jackson is the co-director of the Center on Armed Groups and a former aid worker. She has researched aid diversion in Afghanistan, Somalia, and elsewhere, and joins host Irwin Loy for a candid conversation. What's Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable conversations around the world's conflicts and disasters.

Ala Majid Khayrullhah, a medical student and climate activist, shares what he witnessed in Libya a month after the devastating floods. The New Humanitarian aims to amplify the voices of refugees, asylum seekers, and people affected by conflict and disaster - placing them at the centre of the conversations about the policies and events that shape their lives. Find more first-person stories on TheNewHumanitarian.org

Human rights lawyer and war crimes investigator Yasmin Sooka joins host Ali Latifi in a conversation about using the word "genocide", and why language matters – in the middle of a crisis, and in the aftermath of mass violence. What's Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable conversations around the world's conflicts and disasters.

Even before Israel's current siege, 80% of Gazans relied on international humanitarian aid for survival, according to the UN. But under international law, it's the occupying power's responsibility to provide food, shelter, medicine, and other essential needs. Have aid agencies historically let Israel off the hook by failing to challenge the very thing that creates the need for aid in the first place: Israel's occupation? And if decades of humanitarian response in the region have failed Palestinians thus far, as some argue, but halting it would be catastrophic, as others say, then how should aid agencies pivot? Guests: Yara Asi, assistant professor in the School of Global Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida, co-director of the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights, US Fulbright scholar to the West Bank; Chris Gunness, former UNRWA spokesperson ____ Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or have your say on Twitter using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. ____ SHOW NOTES Aid to Palestinians has failed. Here's how to fix it. In freezing aid to Palestinians, donors trample a well-worn path What's Unsaid | The media's silencing of Palestinians Prior to current crisis, decades-long blockade hollowed Gaza's economy, leaving 80% of population dependent on international aid | UNCTAD Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: Damned if you do... Damned if you don't!

Palestinian peace activist Nivine Sandouka discusses the difficult way forward for building trust between Israelis and Palestinians. Hosted by Irwin Loy. What's Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable conversations around the world's conflicts and disasters.

An anonymous aid worker reflects on their time in Palestine as they watch Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza and the escalating violence in the West Bank. Today's First Person essay is read out by The New Humanitarian's Elise Campbell-Bates. The New Humanitarian aims to amplify the voices of refugees, asylum seekers, and people affected by conflict and disaster - placing them at the centre of the conversations about the policies and events that shape their lives. Find more first-person stories at TheNewHumanitarian.org

Palestinian-American writer and journalist Mariam Barghouti joins host Ali Latifi to discuss how both mainstream media and aid policy help muffle Palestinian perspectives. What's Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable truths around the world's conflicts and disasters.

It has been six months since a military conflict in Sudan began claiming thousands of lives and triggered, according to the UN, the world's fastest growing displacement crisis. As international NGOs and the UN struggle to access certain areas, decentralised mutual aid networks – known as emergency response rooms (ERRs) – have stepped in to fill the vacuum. In acknowledgement of this reality, donors, international NGOs and UN agencies are trying to shift their programmes to support these local volunteer-led networks, but deep-seated bureaucracy – standing in stark contrast to mutual aid groups' nimbleness and agility – has meant that only a fraction of the millions of dollars promised to them have been received by ERR volunteers. Co-hosts Heba Aly and Melissa Fundira speak to two guests about unprecedented levels of collaboration between ERRs and the international humanitarian system, how they are trying to overcome the challenges, and how mutual aid groups are spurring a broader shift of power within Sudanese society. Guests: Hajooj Kuka, external communications officer for the Khartoum State Emergency Response Rooms; Francesco Bonanome, humanitarian affairs officer with the UN's emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, in Sudan, focal person for the ERRs ____ Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or have your say on Twitter using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. ____ SHOW NOTES How mutual aid networks are powering Sudan's humanitarian response Khartoum State ERR Mutual aid in Sudan: the future of aid? | Humanitarian Practice Network From an assistance model to a community-based aid EXCLUSIVE: Sudanese aid workers face hundreds of job losses Sudan Humanitarian Fund Dashboard 2023

Conflict analyst Hisham Al-Omeisy joins host Irwin Loy to explain how war has become a profitable business in Yemen, even as millions of Yemenis struggle. What's Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable truths around the world's conflicts and disasters.