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Aid groups in Congo fear political tensions could impede their work

26 April 2018

Experts and officials say the humanitarian response is badly stretched and could become a soft target ahead of December elections

Feature

Women, elderly left behind in Nepal’s post-earthquake rebuilding efforts
25 April 2018
Even when women can apply for money to build new homes, they often can’t do the work themselves or find skilled labourers to help.
News

Civilians trapped in Yarmouk face “unimaginable” end to siege
23 April 2018
Palestinians who fled the besieged Damascus suburb, long recognised as a symbol of human suffering, are in need of shelter and basic assistance

Latest VideoThe humanitarian MeToo moment- where do we go from here?

Feature

The Yazidis who never came down the mountain
23 April 2018
As aid funding dries up and Turkey threatens military action in the region, the Yazidis who fled to Sinjar Mountain face an uncertain future
News

Mosul women, Myanmar clashes, and a massive NGO fine
20 April 2018
A weekly read to keep you in the loop on humanitarian issues
Analysis

Negotiations with jihadists? A radical idea gains currency in Mali
19 April 2018
Bringing violent Islamist groups to the negotiating table isn’t on the Malian government’s agenda, but analysts say it might be soon

Rohingya camps run out of time as Bangladesh storm season arrives
18 April 2018 News
Mosul: Overcoming the trauma of IS rule, one haircut at a time
17 April 2018 Feature

Feature

For medical workers in South Sudan's war, just reaching the sick is a challenge
24 April 2018
Aid groups deploy planes and mobile health teams to hard-to-reach areas, but healthcare remains threadbare and underfunded
Feature

Women, elderly left behind in Nepal’s post-earthquake rebuilding efforts
25 April 2018
Even when women can apply for money to build new homes, they often can’t do the work themselves or find skilled labourers to help.
News

Civilians trapped in Yarmouk face “unimaginable” end to siege
23 April 2018
Palestinians who fled the besieged Damascus suburb, long recognised as a symbol of human suffering, are in need of shelter and basic assistance
Analysis

Should child soldiers be prosecuted for their crimes?
6 October 2011
International human rights law meanders between the vague and the hazy when it comes to its stance on the age of criminal responsibility and what,...
Analysis

Negotiations with jihadists? A radical idea gains currency in Mali
19 April 2018
Bringing violent Islamist groups to the negotiating table isn’t on the Malian government’s agenda, but analysts say it might be soon
Interview

Um Muhammad al-Daraj, Iraq, “I had to forget my honour to save my husband’s life”
2 August 2007
Mother of three Um Muhammad al-Daraj, 35, recently went through a traumatic ordeal to try to save her husband’s life. She told IRIN her husband...
Feature

The Yazidis who never came down the mountain
23 April 2018
As aid funding dries up and Turkey threatens military action in the region, the Yazidis who fled to Sinjar Mountain face an uncertain future
Analysis

Ten humanitarian stories to look out for in 2017
2 January 2017
IRIN’s tip sheet on the issues that will have an impact in the new year

"(Western) humanitarianism has reached its historical limits and is now on the cusp of retreat"

The crisis of multilateralism and the future of humanitarian action

In Depth
Congo: A decades-long cycle of war

The scale of the humanitarian crisis requires an urgent international response – but the world is yet to step up to the challenge
Politics and oil: the unseen drivers of violence in Congo’s Ituri Province
4 April 2018 Analysis

For victims of the Ituri conflict’s sexual violence, aid is scarce
20 March 2018 Feature

Tales of terror from Congo’s Ituri province
8 March 2018 Feature

Solutions and Innovations

News

A LinkedIn to combat rights abuse?
29 March 2018
How an open source database has become a new tool in the fight against human rights abuse
Feature

Gains against malaria at risk from US cuts, donor complacency
30 January 2018
The fight against malaria was a big US success story. It may not remain so
Special Report

HAS VIDEO

Crises on the horizon in 2018: the view from Davos
26 January 2018
What does the humanitarian horizon look like for 2018? Here’s what the experts think

Aid and Policy

Opinion

Give peace a real chance in Yemen
16 April 2018
A new special envoy to Yemen brings a new chance for negotiating peace. The Security Council can help by offering a realistic path forward.
News

Syria strike, Congo no-show, and North Korea funding in freefall
13 April 2018
A weekly read to keep you in the loop on humanitarian issues
Analysis

Six months after US sanctions lifted, promised aid access in Sudan remains limited
11 April 2018
Is President Omar al-Bashir only paying lip service to reforms so Sudan is removed from Washington’s state sponsors of terrorism list?

Migration

Feature

Nine months on, a race against time to find pregnant Rohingya rape survivors
16 April 2018
Workers in Bangladesh’s refugee camps are looking for women and girls who are expecting. But many are ashamed, and don’t want to be found
Feature

As conflict spreads, chronic displacement becomes a powderkeg in Afghanistan
9 April 2018
Experts warn that the long-term consequences of today’s displacement crisis may not be felt for generations
News

Disaster labels, hate speech, and hypocrisy on equality
6 April 2018
A weekly read to keep you in the loop on humanitarian issues

Environment and Disasters

Opinion

Opinion | Let’s end this competition of misery
10 April 2018
It’s time to stop comparing human suffering, a reductive shorthand that boils down to: who is most deserving of rich people’s attention?
News

Grim milestones, forgotten disasters, and paying for peace
16 March 2018
A weekly read to keep you in the loop on humanitarian trends and events
News

Satellites and slavery, useless ceasefires and emotional apps
9 March 2018
Get up to speed with our weekly selection of humanitarian developments and links

Conflict

Analysis

A who’s who in South Sudan’s splintering civil war
12 April 2018
As the conflict in South Sudan fractures, who are the main protagonists heading into crucial talks in Addis Ababa?
Feature

Money, culture, language: barriers to Turkey’s bid to end refugee-only schools
5 April 2018
If Turkey’s education plans are to serve as a template for other refugee-hosting nations, they must overcome a lot of obstacles
Analysis

Politics and oil: the unseen drivers of violence in Congo’s Ituri Province
4 April 2018
It’s too easy to blame outbreaks of violence in Congo on ethnic tensions

Food

Analysis

How to declare a famine: A primer from South Sudan
5 March 2018
War, political sensitivities and the weather all complicate the data collection and number-crunching needed to identify – and hopefully preempt – famine
News

Forgotten Ukrainians feel the bite of winter food cuts
2 March 2018
For those near Ukraine’s front line, especially the elderly, reduced humanitarian aid in mid-winter could be deadly
News

Afghan attack, Congo killings, and crisis debate at Davos
26 January 2018
Get ahead of the curve on humanitarian issues with our weekly look ahead

Health

Feature

Caring for the chronically ill in Bangladesh’s Rohingya camps
28 March 2018
Palliative care is not part of most humanitarian responses. One group is trying to change that – in the middle of the Rohingya refugee crisis
Photo feature

The quest to heal Iraq's Yazidis
19 March 2018
A handful of determined medical workers and aid groups care for the residents of Sinjar. But their best efforts are often not enough
Feature

Iraq's Yazidis return to a healthcare crisis
16 March 2018
One of the world’s most persecuted minorities is trying to start again in Iraq’s Sinjar but receiving little help

Human Rights

Analysis

MeToo, AidToo: The next steps
22 March 2018
Preventing sexual abuse in the aid sector: What really works?
Feature

For victims of the Ituri conflict’s sexual violence, aid is scarce
20 March 2018
Many women fleeing Congo’s Ituri conflict have been raped, but help is hard to find
Maps and Graphics

Myanmar levels former Rohingya villages to build camp for returnees
12 March 2018
Satellite images show new roads, buildings, helicopter pads emerging over torched and emptied land