The New Humanitarian

2 weeks ago | thenewhumanitarian.org | Ali M. Latifi

Republish this article The official death toll from Myanmar’s earthquake disaster has surpassed 3,600, with more than 5,000 people injured and 160 still missing, as international rescue efforts wind down amid a relief effort hampered by extreme weather.

2 weeks ago | thenewhumanitarian.org | Patrick Gathara

Republish this article My late grandmother, Eunice Nyawira, was not a big fan of the idea of “Western values”. She couldn’t get her head around it. A peasant farmer in central Kenya born at the dawn of colonialism, she had seen her share of hardships, including food shortages that at times necessitated a resort to Western-provided food aid. However, she fiercely resisted the notion that this form of charity was something different than the community practices she had witnessed in her youth,...

3 weeks ago | thenewhumanitarian.org | Will Worley

Republish this article From stockpiling tents and blankets, to trucking water and distributing food and medicines, logistics are at the core of emergency responses – but that work is now said to be at a “crossroads”, with decades of progress at risk of being squandered by Trump’s aid cuts. Logistical expenses – for supply chains, moving and storing goods – soak up around 70% of the costs of most humanitarian operations, according to Lila Ricart, deputy project manager of the Emergency Supply...

3 weeks ago | thenewhumanitarian.org | Ali M. Latifi |Jacob Goldberg

Republish this article Swathes of central Myanmar have been reduced to rubble following a series of powerful earthquakes that struck on 28 March. For many communities near the epicentre, the disaster is piling further agony on a years-long – and worsening – humanitarian crisis. The official death toll, including 22 fatalities in Thailand, has surpassed 2,900 and is expected to rise further. Almost 5,000 people have been injured and hundreds reported missing, some potentially still trapped...

3 weeks ago | thenewhumanitarian.org | Ali M. Latifi

Republish this article Editor’s note: This opinion piece is part of an occasional series exploring cultural topics adjacent to our humanitarian coverage.