• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News

    The Coming Catastrophe

    By David Lepeska // 23 April 2009

    Humanitarians, on your mark.

    The number of people at risk from climate-related disasters is set to explode. A study by British aid organization Oxfam predicted the figure will surge more in the next six years than it has in the past 30 – from 121 million in 1980 to 243 million today, and to a frightening 375 million people affected by extreme weather events each year by 2015.

    "Climate change is set to overload the humanitarian system and destroy the lives and livelihoods of people today and into the future," Oxfam Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said at an event to release the report. "The system can barely cope with the current level of disasters and could be overwhelmed."

    Huge populations across the developing world are vulnerable to disasters, and that's where future weather events will cause the greatest damage. The report estimated that an average of 23 people die when disasters hit rich countries, while the number for the least developed countries is 1,052.

    Oxfam thus urged donors to ramp up global humanitarian aid from the current $14 billion to about $50 billion a year, to be used for building up the capacity of governments and civil organizations. The report, "Right to Survive," also called for a significant expansion of the humanitarian aid system and improvement of needs assessment and response times.

    For anyone considering a humanitarian career, this news has a silver lining. In the coming decade, humanitarian professionals – experts in needs assessment, logistics, capacity building and financing, in particular – will be in greater demand than at any time in history. The sector got its first think tank just this past February, with the launch of the International Humanitarian Studies Association in the Netherlands.

    The opportunity is also there to innovate and fill the relief gaps, perhaps with a startup along the lines of the Darfur Project, which delivered ‘lightning relief' to that war-torn stretch of western Sudan last year.

    That effort addressed two of the complaints mentioned in Oxfam's report.

    "The items delivered matched field needs because of a prior consultation with field workers; and the airlift straight to Nyala, in south Darfur, bypassed bureaucratic impediments and other delays that usually make timely deliveries impossible," said International Medical Corps country director Dr. Solomon Kebede.

    But if you do go into humanitarian work, there are a few things to keep in mind. Because its impact on your life will be profound, you need to be sure of your motivations. You need to decide early on if this is a long-term career decision or a short-term fling, and map out a possible course. This work can be exhausting and peripatetic, and will likely strain relationships with friends, family and other loved ones, as well as require astonishing flexibility and decreased personal space. But it will also deliver considerable rewards.

    • Humanitarian Aid
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • David Lepeska

      David Lepeska

      David has served as U.N. correspondent for the newswire UPI and reported for several major newspapers, including the New York Daily News and Newsday. He was chief correspondent for the Kashmir Observer in Srinagar, India, and regularly contributes to the Economist, among other publications. Since 2007, David has reported for Devex News from Washington, New York, as well as South Asia.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Regional Logistics Coordinator for Africa
      Dakar, Senegal | Senegal | West Africa
    • Emergency Field Coordinator - Gaza
      Amman, Jordan | Gaza, West Bank | Jordan | West Bank | North Africa and Middle East
    • Communications Professional
      Bogota, Colombia | Colombia | Latin America and Caribbean
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
    • 2
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs
    • 5
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    Related Stories

    Devex NewswireDevex Newswire: Cash aid is efficient and simple — so why is it shrinking?

    Devex Newswire: Cash aid is efficient and simple — so why is it shrinking?

    Devex NewswireDevex Newswire: We talk to Samantha Power about her time as USAID administrator

    Devex Newswire: We talk to Samantha Power about her time as USAID administrator

    Food SystemsHunger soars amid conflict, extreme weather, and aid cuts, UN says

    Hunger soars amid conflict, extreme weather, and aid cuts, UN says

    Food SystemsAfter decades of progress, USAID cuts could blind the world to famine

    After decades of progress, USAID cuts could blind the world to famine

    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement