NEW YORK, 1 February 2022 – Catherine Russell took office today as UNICEF’s new Executive Director, becoming the fourth woman to lead the organization in its 75-year history.
The Rethinking Humanitarianism podcast, host Heba Aly sits down with Mr. Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator to explore his vision for his tenure. They discuss how he intends to address unequal power dynamics in the aid sector, the increasing influence of donors, and the need for humanitarians to push back against an ever-expanding scope of activity.
The United Nations and non-governmental organizations will today launch joint response plans aiming to deliver vital humanitarian relief to 22 million people in Afghanistan and support 5.7 million displaced Afghans and local communities in five neighbouring countries.
The humanitarian and refugee response plans combined require over US$5 billion in international funding in 2022.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, Statement on Afghanistan
I welcome today’s adoption by the Security Council of a humanitarian exception in the UN sanctions regime applicable in Afghanistan.
This milestone decision will enable urgently needed humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods in Afghanistan. It is evidence of how seriously Member States take the shocking levels of need and suffering in the country.
Strengthening the humanitarian-development collaboration was identified by donors, NGOs, crisis-affected States and other stakeholders as a top priority at the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS). Five years since the World Humanitarian Summit, there is an increasing body of experience in implementing nexus approaches. However, good practices and lessons learned generated at country level, do not have a platform to ensure knowledge transfer between country operations and/or at the global level.
