NPR

Humanitarian Aid Is 'Broken,' Says Former U.N. Official

The way we offer assistance to people fleeing conflict no longer works, says Paul Spiegel, a former director of program management at the U.N. refugee agency. He has a few ideas about how to fix it.
Paul Spiegel meets children displaced by conflict in Ivory Coast in 2011.

The humanitarian aid system is broken.

That's the message of a new paper by Paul Spiegel, a former senior official at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The piece was part of a special series on health and humanitarian crises published by the British medical journal The Lancet in early June.

Today, more than 65 million people around the world due to violence, war or conflict. "The humanitarian system was not designed to address the types of complex conflicts that are happening at present," wrote Spiegel. "It is not simply overstretched; it is no longer fit for purpose."

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
The Announcement Of A New Prime Minister Divides Haiti's Transitional Council
A surprise announcement that revealed Haiti's new prime minister is threatening to fracture a recently installed transitional council tasked with choosing new leaders for the gang-riddled country.
NPR3 min readAmerican Government
NPR Poll: Democrats Fear Fascism, And Republicans Worry About A Lack Of Values
A new 2024 election poll from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist shows fundamental divides over concerns for America's future and what to teach the next generation.
NPR5 min read
Here's This Year's List Of The Most Endangered Historic Places In The U.S.
The National Trust's annual list includes Eatonville, the all-Black Florida town memorialized by Zora Neale Hurston, Alaska's Sitka Tlingit Clan houses, and the home of country singer Cindy Walker.

Related Books & Audiobooks