Special edition: Every crisis is political - redefining humanitarian response

About this episode

The episode discusses the political nature of humanitarian crises and the importance of grassroots feminist movements in addressing them.

The international aid system has long operated on the ideal of "neutrality," but our latest episode of This Week in Global Development, sponsored by the Urgent Action Sister Funds, challenges this deeply embedded notion. Devex Executive Editor and Executive Vice President Kate Warren is joined by the Urgent Action Sister Funds’ Jean Kemitare and Johnny Tohme, as well as Lucy Martin of the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York, for the conversation. Over the course of the episode, our guests discuss the idea that no crisis happens in a vacuum. Instead, crises are shaped by history, power dynamics, and the strategic allocation of resources. By pretending aid is neutral, the current system risks repeating the same patterns that leave communities vulnerable in the first place. The centerpiece of the discussion is the Feminist Crisis Response Model, a flagship research initiative that highlights how grassroots feminist movements are uniquely equipped to navigate the entire "crisis continuum" — from prevention and survival to long-term transformation. Unlike traditional models that treat crises as isolated events to be managed, the feminist lens views them as…

People in this episode

Host: Kate Warren

Guests: Jean Kemitare, Johnny Tohme, Lucy Martin

Topics covered

• humanitarian response
• political crises
• feminist movements
• aid neutrality
• structural issues
• grassroots activism

Keywords

• humanitarian aid
• crisis response
• feminist crisis response model
• power dynamics
• economic injustice
• patriarchy
• colonialism

Sponsors

Urgent Action Sister Funds

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York

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