The humanitarian system and its principles are being destroyed. Over 1,000 people have been killed seeking aid in the past weeks in Gaza, caught between famine and bullets. With humanitarian actors systematically prevented from reaching people affected by crisis in many contexts, governments are turning to the private sector – security firms, consultants, and ex-military operatives.

From Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar, this shift raises urgent questions. Is a privatised model of humanitarianism going to become dominant? What would it mean for humanitarian operations and principles? And how can it be proactively addressed?

This episode examines what’s driving governments to outsource aid, and what this means for trust, principles, and the future of humanitarian response. Joshua Craze shares insights from his recent investigation into the operations of for-profit US company Fogbow in South Sudan. We hear how these dynamics play out on the ground in the West Bank from Oxfam’s Bushra Khalidi, and ODI Global’s Dustin Barter unpacks the wider implications for the international aid system.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Dustin Barter, Senior Research Fellow, ODI Global
• Joshua Craze, writer and researcher on South Sudan
• Bushra Khalidi, Policy Lead at Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Related resources

• Fogbow operations in South Sudan and beyond raise red flags for faltering aid system (The New Humanitarian)
• Beyond the reset: Five priorities for genuine humanitarian transformation (The New Humanitarian)
• Stop the siege, stop the starvation – political gestures won't save Gaza (Insight, ODI Global)
• What does the failure of humanitarianism in Gaza mean? (Insight, ODI Global)
• The politics of hunger – can famine in Gaza and Sudan be stopped? (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)
• The future of aid (Resources hub, ODI Global)