It’s not an easy time to work in humanitarian relief. A global refugee crisis has stretched resources to the limits, Western publics have recoiled against the influx of migrants to their shores, and growing needs in fragile states have often put aid workers on the frontlines of conflict.
Amid those challenges, International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter Maurer speaks in even tones about the need for good management. The humanitarian sector needs to think smarter, evolve its strategies, reach out to new partners and remain firm on fundamental principles, he told Devex on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils in Dubai on Nov. 13.
On the heels of the U.S. election and amid growing uncertainty over global humanitarian funding, Maurer urged bipartisan support for relief work. Humanitarians, meanwhile, should make the most of limited funds to create a sustainable path out of dependency. He imagines a future in which “humanitarian assistance is designed in a way that it is also a credible contribution to self reliance,” he told Devex.
About the author
Elizabeth Dickinson@dickinsonbeth
Elizabeth Dickinson is a former associate editor at Devex. Based in the Middle East, she has previously served as Gulf correspondent for The National, assistant managing editor at Foreign Policy, and Nigeria correspondent at The Economist. Her writing also appeared in The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Politico Magazine, and Newsweek, among others.
