Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
US aid cuts felt in suspended services around the globe
Chaos is a hefty chapter in the Trump playbook, so there’s still plenty to go around as humanitarians navigate the growing fallout from the US aid cuts. The already lengthy list of suspended services grows longer each day as aid operators open up about the cuts after mass termination notices for US grants deluged inboxes in late February. Projects with lifesaving work in northeast Syria, for example, or 167 suspended or closed health facilities in Afghanistan. Or projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where hundreds of thousands have been displaced this year amid the M23 conflict. Ration cuts are stoking tensions in refugee camps in Bangladesh and Kenya, though the scarcity predates US President Donald Trump’s gutting of foreign aid. US funding cuts have already dismantled tuberculosis services in 30 high-burden countries. All aid is in the crosshairs, but clear ideological targets include funding supporting women and girls, especially for reproductive health. “A few corporations and ultra-wealthy men [wield] unchecked influence that impacts the lives of billions,” several civil society groups said in a joint statement at the Human Rights Council ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March. As the fallout continues, so does the work of plotting a step forward. In South Africa, foreign minister Ronald Lamola spoke of the need to mitigate the aid cut impacts domestically while reimagining a global system. “We should not bemoan the United States of America decision to revise its USAID policy, but seize this moment as a catalyst for change,” Lamola said in a parliamentary speech.
Israel blocks Gaza aid as ceasefire teeters
Israel has been imposing a total blockade on aid entering the Gaza Strip since 2 March, raising fears of a return to violence and of a rapid further deterioration in the dire humanitarian situation in the decimated enclave. The move is intended to pressure Hamas to accept a temporary extension of the first phase of the three-stage ceasefire deal that went into effect on 19 January, while giving the Palestinian group little in return. The second phase of the deal was supposed to see Israel and Hamas hammer out a plan for Gaza’s post-war governance. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instead repeatedly expressed upport for US President Trump’s widely condemned proposal to expel the 2.1 million Palestinian residents of Gaza and take control of the territory. Arab leaders meeting in Cairo on 4 March endorsed a $53 billion reconstruction and post-war governance plan as a counterproposal to Trump’s vision, but it was immediately rejected by the US and Israel. Even before assistance was cut off, Palestinians in Gaza said the dramatic increase in aid entering the enclave during the first phase of the deal brought less relief than they had hoped. For our latest from the ground, read: Israel’s new aid blockade leaves an even deeper humanitarian crisis.
Ukraine’s future hangs in the balance as key talks loom
After what might conservatively be described as a tumultuous few days diplomatically for Ukraine, US and Ukrainian officials are now scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss a path forward to ending the Russia-Ukraine war. “I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well,” Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters outside the White House on 6 March. This may seem like progress, but much remains uncertain as the Oval Office blow-up on 28 February between Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to reverberate around the world. In the days since, the US has suspended military assistance to Ukraine and stopped sharing intelligence with the Ukrainian military. Trump’s moves have been enthusiastically welcomed by Russia while causing deep panic among the US’s traditional European allies, who have been scrambling to shore up their support for Ukraine and bolster their own defence spending. Heavily dependent on US military support (to the tune of $128 billion since 2022), Zelenskyy has had little choice but to try to repair his relationship with Trump, who continues to confuse and confound. Shortly before the Cheat Sheet went to press, he announced he was “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and peace agreement is reached. The fate of a much-touted mineral deal, which Trump has indicated is Ukraine’s best bet to secure future US engagement – and possible protection – also remained unclear.
Tensions rise in South Sudan as Machar loyalists detained
South Sudanese troops have deployed around the house of Vice President Riek Machar and arrested officials from his SPLA-IO party, marking one of the most serious threats yet to the peace deal that Machar’s group signed with President Salva Kiir in 2018. The arrests follow reports of clashes in Upper Nile state between the national army and the White Army militia, which was allied to Marchar during the 2013-2018 civil war. Machar's spokesperson said they do not know why their officials have been detained, but the information minister accused them of collaborating with the White Army. The International Crisis Group’s senior analyst on South Sudan told Reuters that a delicate balance of power among political elites is now “at risk of collapsing”, while the UN and regional bodies warned of “widespread violence” in Upper Nile. The tensions follow the government’s decision last year to postpone long overdue elections, a delay that critics said showed a failure to implement the 2018 agreement, which has itself been blamed for fuelling instability.
The military mess contributing to M23 gains in DR Congo
How has the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s army of roughly 100,000 soldiers collapsed so spectacularly in the east against 4,000 M23 fighters backed by 7,000 to 12,000 Rwandan troops? The answer reflects the broader crisis of state failure. President Félix Tshisekedi tried to head off this moment with military reforms. But the re-emergence of M23 – just one of the scores of armed groups in the east – upended those plans. DR Congo’s soldiers are underpaid, under-equipped, and neglected by an officer corps more concerned with commercial interests – including collecting the salaries of fictitious soldiers. Civilians are at the bottom of the pecking order and therefore an exploitable source of income, especially at roadblocks, with the most lucrative earning $900 a day. The recent testimonies of some of the 300 soldiers standing trial for fleeing the front – and rape and looting – has underscored the dysfunction. An increasingly unpopular and regionally isolated Tshisekedi outsourced security in the east to expensive European mercenaries and shaky alliances with militia groups – but that hasn’t fixed the rot.
Will jihadists and separatists form an alliance in Mali?
France 24 reports that negotiations are underway between the al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM group (the main jihadist coalition in Mali) and the Tuareg-led secessionist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) over a possible alliance against the Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies. Mali’s military government terminated a peace deal last year with the separatists after driving them out of their northern strongholds. The junta has consistently labelled separatist groups as “terrorists'' and accused them of collusion with jihadists. Separatists deny this, though combatants from both groups share family and community ties, have allied opportunistically, and operate in the same spaces. According to France 24, current points of negotiation include JNIM softening its demands (perhaps mirroring the strategy of HTS in Syria), especially regarding the application of sharia law and its ties to al-Qaeda. Another sticking point may be the FLA’s goal of an independent Azawad – the name they give to parts of northern Mali. Intensified fighting in the north over the past year has had severe humanitarian consequences, driving tens of thousands of people to neighbouring Mauritania.
Weekend read
Ten years on, Yemen’s economic war is raging more than ever
“I work day and night but I still can’t provide for my family.”
Recent attempts to shore up the Yemeni riyal have failed to stop its drastic fall in the government-controlled south.
And finally…
Will others follow Spain’s example on migration?
In our current era of unabashed nativism, migration is public enemy number one: Demonisation and promises of draconian border crackdowns are the order of the day. As the far-right rises, centrist and centre-left political parties are all too ready to mimic their rhetoric and action plans. This scramble to vilify and keep (or kick) out is utterly detached from discussions of what sensible policies that maximise positive outcomes for all might look like. It’s a bleak tableau, but there’s at least one point of light: Spain’s economy is booming, and foreign workers are one of the big reasons why its growth is outpacing both the US and the rest of Europe. Spain is not entirely immune to harsh border policies, but Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez’s recognition of the benefits of migration has helped fuel a 3% economic growth rate and shore up the country’s social safety net. With an otherwise aging population, 45% of jobs created since 2022 have been filled by new foreign workers. Most industrialised countries face similar challenges when it comes to aging populations and under-financed safety nets. Will they take heed and create more pathways for people to migrate legally and regularise the status of the undocumented workers that many sectors of their economies already rely on? If not, it will likely be to their own detriment.
