How we're keeping the spotlight on overlooked crises

Ukraine dominated headlines in 2022 – and for good reason: the invasion by Russia led to massive humanitarian need.

But beyond Ukraine, multiple other crises are causing suffering around the world, mostly outside of the spotlight.

Aid workers who answered a TNH survey largely believe generalist media coverage of humanitarian crises is inadequate.

Parachute journalism often does a disservice to the people living through crises and those who work to support them.

We aim to do things differently.

With a network of journalists on the ground reporting from the heart of crises – and with the support of donors and readers like you – we provide an unrivalled platform for marginalised people to tell their stories, their way.

“I am a Palestinian-Syrian refugee who just made it to Toronto after six years of working in the Syria Humanitarian response! Currently, I am preparing my Masters dissertation: What is the future of humanitarianism? During my research, I was thrilled and inspired by your work. Thank you and keep up the amazing work.”  
– Osama Mousa, Syrian refugee in Canada and Regional Program Officer at the SecDev Foundation

You can help us do more of this by becoming a member or making a donation →

Our achievements in 2022

Among our achievements this year, our journalism:

• Triggered additional support towards ending period poverty in Syria​
• Inspired Indigenous women in northern Argentina to demand justice​
• Forced investigations into sexual abuse by aid workers in South Sudan​
• Pushed the decolonising aid conversation forward​.

Journalism that makes a difference

Leaders in the aid sector trust us for our expert analysis and coverage of overlooked crises.

Almost 80 percent of readers told us in our reader survey that The New Humanitarian’s journalism is important to their work or study.

“We need you. When new people are looking to come into the sector, and ask me where to turn, I tell them to read The New Humanitarian. That’s where the truth is.”    
- Aid worker of more than 20 years

We understand the vital role independent journalism plays in telling the stories of people living through crises – and we’re now looking ahead to what that means in 2023 and beyond.

Our strategy to build better journalism

As part of our new strategy – now available to read on our website – we will be focusing on ensuring our work can have the greatest possible impact, particularly when it comes to stories about neglected crises.

Our reader survey highlighted how our readers agree with our approach to do things differently and treat all suffering equally. Our strategy will help us ensure that stories about neglected crises break through.

So moving forward:

• We will ask: Who needs to read this for it to have its intended impact? For our interactive feature, WhatsApp, Lebanon?, we carefully curated a list of Lebanon-focussed publications and newsletters we wanted to collaborate with to help us reach an audience in Lebanon itself. 
• We will consider impact when deciding which stories to pursue to ensure our resources are directed where they can have the greatest ability to improve the lives of those in need. Through our She Said series, for example, we tell the stories of women and girls whose lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises. 
• We will translate content into other languages: This will allow us to reach bespoke international and local audiences. We translated our reporting on Haiti into Haitian Kreyol and we regularly translate stories about Francophone Africa into French.  
• We will strike distribution partnerships with outlets at both the local and international level. Partnering with the likes of Thomson Reuters Foundation and Al-Jazeera has helped distribute our groundbreaking investigations to a global audience.

As our content reaches communities that can be served by it, we hope our journalism will contribute to improving the lives of people in need more often.

As we look ahead to 2023 and beyond, financial contributions made by donors and readers like you help us:

• Keep those working in the aid sector and related fields informed
• Provide accountability and transparency on governments, aid agencies, and others meant to help people in need
• Raise awareness of overlooked crises that should demand the world’s attention
• Provide a platform for conversation with and among affected and marginalised people.

Please consider making a financial contribution and becoming a member of The New Humanitarian.

I’ll support you and become a member today →

Thank you for being a part of our story in 2022.

And may you have a peaceful holiday season, whatever you celebrate.

Heba Aly   
CEO, The New Humanitarian