Screenshot of EM-DAT open letter
An important campaign has been launched to address the possibility that the EM-DAT database might cease to exist. Please read and sign the open letter and support efforts to preserve this important database. You can add your name to the open letter here:
openletter.earth/the-worlds-c...
As discussion of the so-called 'Humanitarian Reset' intensifies, we need to be asking what a new humanitarianism might look like:
Smaller, more agile, with greater local leadership? Or retreating from the frontlines whilst crises escalate all over the world?
georgefoden.blogspot.com/2026/02/pres...
What might the long-term impact of the USAID shutdown (and wider global funding cuts) be on trust between INGOs, governments, and disaster-affected communities?
Read on to see what Tanja Hendrik's and I's fieldwork suggests for the future of aid in Malawi rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
"The challenge is not that our critics don’t believe in what we do. It is if we stop believing in why we do it. So, we retain idealism and hope, even now.
Especially now."
A statement on the Humanitarian Reset from @unocha.org
www.unocha.org/news/un-reli...
Bullet point list of funding cuts from donor states that reads: The UK diverted its aid budget (from 0.5 to 0.3% of GNI) to increase defense spending. The UK International Development Minister resigned over the decision. Devex published articles (see also here) to see its impact. The Netherlands cut €2.4 billion in development aid from 2027 and slashed funding for CSO by 1 billion from 2026 onwards. Switzerland reduced its aid budget by CHF110 million for UN and Swiss NGOs, with an additional CHF321 million projected for 2026 - 2028. Such move could weaken international Geneva. France's 2025 budget saw a 50% reduction in ODA compared to 2024. France also created a commission in March to evaluate ODA's transparency and accountability. Belgium announced a 25% reduction in ODA over 5 years starting in 2024. The 2025 aid budget is 5% lower compared to 2024. Germany is expected to reallocate funds and cut aid spending by half by 2025. Yet, Devex asks if Germany is the next ODA leader? Finland plans to reduce its ODA budget by 25% over 2024 - 2027. While Sweden 2025 ODA budget remain steady, the government announced a €300 million reduction annually between 2026-2028. If elected, Canada's Conservative Leader said he will slash foreign aid to build Arctic base. Saudi Arabia's budget remains dominated by military spending, a 5% increase compared to 2024. UAE 2025 federal budget does not mention its aid budget.
As the USAID shut down continues to dominate headlines in the humanitarian and development space, other donor countries are also retreating from their aid spending responsibilities.
The threat to the current global aid system is existential
sites.google.com/view/ourstop...
Read the latest exciting news from Kanji here!
SAF have been busy supporting students with equipment distributions, and have started some important work in the villages, helping to set up women's groups and engaging in food distribution with families in-need.
thekanjiproject.org.uk/news-from-ka...
"Hope is not a strategy."
A useful and sobering discussion of some potential steps we can take in response to the latest USAID chaos.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/death-...
I argued in my blog discussing the call for a 'progressive realist' FCDO that focusing on national security at a time of international struggle was a lost cause, and this decision will serve only to make the world more unstable and the UK more vulnerable.
georgefoden.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-...
An incredibly misguided symptom of the increasing isolationism we are seeing across the world.
A larger defence budget won't make Britain safer. We can build our walls higher and make ourselves appear tougher but this won't solve the causes of global instability www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
"A snapshot of key economic indicators paints a grim picture: fertilizer prices have risen by 250%, maize prices have increased by 50%, sugar prices are up by 30% and bread prices by 40%."
Malawi's economic crisis will undoubtedly shape the upcoming September election
mg.co.za/thought-lead...
The first of our outputs from Tanja's visit to @lboroias.bsky.social is a blog post considering the role that data plays, for better and worse, in disaster risk reduction and response.
Thanks to @disastersradix.bsky.social for hosting us!
"The results suggest that current political misinformation is not linked primarily to populism, but specifically to the populist radical right..."
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
"Malawi is one country that has invested heavily in efforts to eradicate poverty, disease and other socioeconomic ills, but, being a repetitive victim of disasters and economic woes, it is clear that Malawi still needs a hand." - Moses Kunkuyu.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
“The potential gutting of institutional knowledge, credibility, and core competencies at the Department as a result of these reckless and short-sighted decisions cannot be understated."
Trump's attacks on USAID will do irreparable harm to those most in-need globally.
www.devex.com/news/senior-...
An excellent way to kick off 2025, with a great seminar from IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Tanja D. Hendriks, about Malawian civil servants in disaster relief interventions - The recording of which is now on our YouTube Channel here - youtu.be/N-CSRwdzd-0?...
With the immediate impact of Trump's policies already being felt around the world, it falls to other countries to re-evaluate their roles in foreign policy and development activities.
Radical change is needed, which is why the new FCDO has a lot more to do.
georgefoden.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-...