
September 7, 2022
Juliet Parker, Director of ALNAP (the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in humanitarian action), summarizes its new State of the Humanitarian System report 2022 âI am here to sound the alarm: The world must wake up.â âWe are on the edge of an abyss â and moving in the wrong direction.â UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres offered a stark
Read more >>

Africa is so rich in farmland â so why is it still hungry?
July 13, 2022
Guest post from Oxfamâs Anthony Kamande and Dailes Judge, ahead of this weekâs African Union meeting Itâs been more than two months since it rained in Nakuru County, Kenya, and Janeâs bean crop is long gone. Her only hope on her small plot of 0.8 hectares is the maize crop â but it will also be gone if it doesnât
Read more >>

Starving civilians is an ancient military tactic, but today itâs a war crime in Ukraine, Yemen, Tigray and elsewhere
July 5, 2022
Aid organizations, including Oxfam, where I work part time, have been trying to draw attention to the looming hunger crisis across much of Sub-Saharan Africa. But some have been criticised for portraying the causes as mainly about drought, when in fact, war and conflict in countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia have been crucial factors. So Iâm reposting this excellent
Read more >>
Can INGOs really separate power from money?
June 29, 2022
Oxfamâs Amy Croome explores a tricky issue for aid organizations like Oxfam At the Grand Bargain Meeting this week, signatories will reflect on the role of the intermediary, which has been the focus of a political-level multi stakeholder caucus, building on the Humanitarian Advisory Groupâs research. Is Oxfam âjustâ a donor? Localization advocates have been pushing for years for humanitarian
Read more >>
Why We Fight: This Yearâs Big Book on Development?
June 24, 2022
Why We Fight, by Chris Blattman, a prof at the University of Chicago, is shaping up to be this yearâs Big Book â itâs everywhere on my timeline, the FT book of the summer etc etc. A summary and some thoughts. Usually I decide early on if I like a book or not, on the basis of a) does it
Read more >>
âWe have already spent everything we had in our own walletsâ: How international aid is failing Ukrainian responders â and what to do about it
June 22, 2022
Abby Stoddard, Paul Harvey and Tonia Thomas present new research from Humanitarian Outcomes, supported by the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub (UKHIH). Full report here. Over 100 days have passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked a massive humanitarian crisis along with an outpouring of international generosity in the form of aid contributions. So why are international organisations still sitting
Read more >>
East Africa v Ukraine. Two tragedies; two very different responses
May 19, 2022
Thereâs sometimes a fine line between âwhat abouteryâ â unhelpfully distracting from one claim for public or policy attention by saying âyes, but what about X? â and a genuine exposure of double standards. But when it comes to East Africa right now, itâs not a fine line, but a gulf distinguishing the worldâs feeble response from the laudable, (if
Read more >>
A Great Overview of the past, present and future of War and the Humanitarian System
April 26, 2022
It feels a bit odd to be reviewing a book when youâve just had breakfast with the author, but I finished reading Hugo Slimâs overview of the Humanitarian system and its future on the way to a workshop we are both delivering in Nairobi, so good to write it up while itâs still fresh. First, the weird title: Solferino 21:
Read more >>
21st century food riots
April 20, 2022
Guest post by Naomi Hossain & Patta Scott-Villiers In March FAOâs global food price index jumped by 17% to a level unprecedented in its 30-year history. The food riots predicted by the head of the World Trade Organization have already kicked off in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Deadly fuel riots in Peru, rising discontent in Kenya and the rising price
Read more >>
The impact of war on older people (in Ukraine and everywhere else)
April 12, 2022
Guest post by Justin Derbyshire, CEO of HelpAge International The war in Ukraine has destroyed everybodyâs lives regardless of who they are. We have watched in horror as children have been passed over heads onto trains, at fathers left to fight, and a steady trail of exhausted, traumatised people of all ages fleeing further West But it is an uncomfortable
Read more >>
Putin and the Psychology of Grievance
March 28, 2022
Fascinating piece by Alex Evans on the Larger Us blog. Here it is in full How has the interaction between psychology and politics helped to manufacture Russian support for Vladimir Putinâs war in Ukraine? And is there anything anyone can do about it? Here at Larger Us, we think a lot about them-and-us dynamics â dynamics which Putin appears to have had
Read more >>
The Disabled Ukrainians Doing What the UN Canât (or Wonât?)
March 9, 2022
Guest post from Anna Landre, one of my amazing students, who has bunked off class (with permission) to do some amazing work on Ukraine. And she’s pretty angry about what she’s seen. As a 23-year-old wheelchair user halfway through a Masterâs degree at the London School of Economics, I didnât expect to spend my past week working 16 hours a
Read more >>