The Fine Print: What Came After the $2 Billion Headline
On December 29th, I published an analysis of the US-OCHA deal. The headline was $2 billion for humanitarian response. Tom Fletcher called it "landmark." The State Department framed it as…
Expert analysis on humanitarian reform, AI adoption, crisis economics, and the politics of aid. 9,000+ subscribers.
On December 29th, I published an analysis of the US-OCHA deal. The headline was $2 billion for humanitarian response. Tom Fletcher called it "landmark." The State Department framed it as…
As I write this, the MOU is less than 24 hours old. My phone hasn't stopped buzzing since the announcement dropped. Colleagues from three continents asking variations of the same…
On 8 December 2025, Tom Fletcher stepped up to the podium in Geneva and launched the Global Humanitarian Overview 2026 with a number that should force an immediate reckoning across the…
Humanitarian and development staff are already using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot to survive unrealistic workloads – often late at night, off the books, and without guidance.
If you'd like to access a PDF version of this analysis with full citations and academic formatting, it's now available on ResearchGate:…
This paper is a practical framework emerging from the 2025 Humanitarian Aid Payments Council. It reflects input from multiple Council members, but responsibility for any errors or…
Executive Summary
Every crisis repeats the same pattern: aid agencies can register displaced families, issue program IDs, and deliver food, cash, or vouchers. But those very same individuals are turned…
We’re building AI systems to support the world’s most vulnerable. But what if the electricity they consume makes life harder for those same people? These are my reflections from…
This week, the Ukraine Cash Working Group published its 2025 Data Management Systems and Governance Assessment Report. On the surface, it's a technical evaluation of humanitarian IT…
I've tracked humanitarian funding crises for years. I've documented the US aid freeze that triggered this collapse. I've watched the dominoes fall exactly as predicted - from the January…
As the humanitarian system undergoes its "reset" with promises of local leadership and devolved power, I wanted to share a perspective from someone actually living this reality. Anna…
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