Humanitarian action and emergencies

As dawn breaks over Darfur, my return after two decades feels heavy. Many millions are suffering once again. Twenty years ago, I was part of the humanitarian effort to make a difference. That was in the early 2000s, when celebrities and world-famous journalists would make the trek in a well-intentioned effort to focus attention on the atrocities…

I wasn’t ready for the devastation I saw in the Gaza Strip when I was there a few months ago. I wrote then that in my 20 years with UNICEF I’d never seen anything quite like it, as panicked families fled one bombardment after another. The desperation of families constantly on the move – families who already had nothing – was palpable. Somehow,…

At the start of 2024, we stand at a critical juncture: Geopolitical tensions are escalating, economic integration is unravelling, and multilateral cooperation is faltering. This global fragmentation threatens to undermine decades of progress made for children worldwide. The choices we make today – whether to continue on this path or whether we…

Afghanistan has mostly disappeared from the global news cycle, but the hardship faced by its people, especially children, has worsened over the last two years.   I wanted to see the situation for myself, and how our colleagues have adjusted their efforts under the new circumstances. For a week I travelled the breadth of Afghanistan, from Herat in…, Herat: After the earthquakes , Inside the tent, it’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Fifteen adolescent girls watch me expectantly. It’s been a while since I’ve spoken Farsi – a language readily understood by the Dari speakers of Western Afghanistan. I pause, then try again. This time they understand me, and their laughter lights up the place.  The tent we sit in is a…, Torkham border: Families returning from Pakistan , Baby Kolsum pulls a face when I drop the polio vaccine in his mouth. The fight against polio was where my UNICEF career began, and my heart was set on successfully vaccinating one of the kids returning from Pakistan at the Torkham border crossing today.   I ask for another try. A second baby boy, Shabir, his tiny body swaddled in warm blankets, is…, Daikundi: Supporting communities on health, nutrition and education , Daikundi Province is perched among the jagged peaks of Afghanistan’s central highlands. Buffeted by crosswinds, the little Kodiak plane comes in to land on a flat piece of land the length of two football pitches.   We drive deeper into the mountains, past mud-bricked villages, women shouldering bundles of firewood, and boys herding shaggy goats.…

Nothing could prepare me for my recently concluded mission into the Gaza Strip, where children face catastrophic conditions. In my twenty years with UNICEF, traveling from one humanitarian crisis to the next – from famines to floods and war zones to refugee camps – I’ve simply never seen such devastation and despair as is happening in Gaza. The…

What are humanitarian cash transfers?, Humanitarian cash transfers are payments made in the form of physical currency or e-cash that can be used to address humanitarian needs in any type of emergency. They are a highly effective way of providing humanitarian assistance to individuals and households., How do cash transfers work?, Cash can be provided as a one-off payment or as regular monthly transfers. These transfers can be delivered as currency via bank accounts, post offices, companies providing money transfer services, through the use of mobile phones, or simply by hand. Cash transfers can be given as a standalone payment and/or combined with other types of services…, Who is eligible for cash transfers?, Determining who will benefit most from humanitarian assistance is a critical step in designing cash transfer programmes, which should be tailored to the specific contexts of a given country or emergency. A range of targeting criteria are used to identify households most in need of support. Per its mandate, UNICEF usually targets families with…, Why are humanitarian cash transfers a good idea?, Humanitarian cash transfers help UNICEF serve children and families better. They are a cost-effective way of quickly getting support to those who need it most. The overall cost of delivering cash assistance is often lower than in-kind assistance, meaning more people can be reached. Cash transfers also empower people to make decisions based on…, Does UNICEF use humanitarian cash transfers?, Yes, humanitarian cash transfers have been a vital part of UNICEF’s emergency toolkit for responding to conflicts, disasters and protracted crises. UNICEF uses its expertise in both social protection system strengthening and in the direct delivery of cash, to fulfill its humanitarian and development mandate. UNICEF’s first choice when giving cash…

I pen these words following a recent visit to Artibonite, in northern Haiti, a visit that has left an indelible mark. I heard firsthand how children and families have been thrust into the abyss of despair. How they are grappling with fear, uncertainty, and unimaginable hardships. Violence, poverty, school closures, and a resurgence of cholera and…

As soon as you meet 17-year-old Francis*, you know his childhood hasn’t been one that anyone deserves. He struggles to make eye contact while we’re talking, and his expression remains mostly blank. When he says he was only six when it all started, I immediately think of my own six-year-old son. It makes it even harder to hear what Francis has been…

The needs of Afghanistan’s children and families are immense. So are the efforts of those supporting them: teams of community workers made up of family members, teachers in community-based schools, vaccinators, and health workers working around the clock to bring life-saving services in the face of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. UNICEF…

2022 was incredibly difficult for people around the world. We were confronted by a series of major crises, including a continuing pandemic, a major war in Europe, an energy crisis, rising inflation and food insecurity.  These events hit children particularly hard, compounding the already severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of…

NASIRABAD, Pakistan – Driving across the Bolan Pass, a valley in southwest Pakistan, I’m reminded again of the sheer devastation wrought by recent flooding around much of the country.   As we continue the hours-long journey along what used to be the road to Jhal Magsi, a district of Balochistan, the receding waters reveal more and more evidence of…

JAFARABAD, Pakistan – From a distance, the scene looks harmless. We’re driving along an elevated road through Jafarabad, a district in Balochistan, in the southwest of Pakistan, that is surrounded by water that stretches as far as the eye can see. But these waters shouldn’t be here, and beneath their stagnant surface lay the remains of homes and…