This is another edition of Inklings, where we explore all things aid and aid-adjacent unfolding in humanitarian hubs, on the front lines of emergency response, or in the dark corners of online aid punditry.
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Today: Neighbourhood aid in Gaza, how aid groups tell staff about cuts, and why is Israel blocking diapers?
On the radar|
Mutual aid in Gaza: What does aid to Gaza look like to Gazans? How does it feel? A new perceptions survey offers a snapshot of how aid works (or doesn’t) in an enclave that Israeli forces have cut off, destroyed, and starved. Access to aid is “chaotic” and “unfair”, respondents told researchers from Vienna-based Ground Truth Solutions and Palestine-based research firm AWRAD. But Gazans are also relying on each other – and sometimes producing “more tangible results than larger organisations with greater financial resources”, researchers say. People are sharing food and water, childcare duties, and basic info, and helping people find shelter (many Gazans have been repeatedly forced to move). Neighbourhood committees have stepped in to coordinate aid. But as Israel’s siege drags on, resources are growing scarce. “People in Gaza call on the world to acknowledge what is happening,” the researchers write. “They continually use words like ‘hell’, ‘tragedy’, ‘humiliation’, ‘injustice’, ‘destruction’ and ‘genocide’ when asked what they would most like people to know.”
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International aid: Some 71% of respondents said international humanitarian groups have offered “the most support”, though this varies by location. Access is sporadic and uncertain – only a third said they knew how to get aid; while even fewer (one in five) said they were confident they would get aid again. A majority of people surveyed said aid wasn’t going where it’s needed most: Sick people, female-headed households, and people with disabilities in particular are missing out. And few people said they’ve been consulted about aid, even though many are willing to offer feedback through simple channels like messaging apps.
Israel blocks diapers: The growing list of items Israeli authorities are keeping out of Gaza includes adult diapers, according to the latest access update from some 30 NGOs. Among the supplies facing extensive delays or outright refusals: dignity and hygiene kits, medical supplies, water, family hygiene kits, adult and baby diapers, clothes, wound-dressing kits, food parcels, tinned meat, and 15 pallets of temperature-controlled medicine. Vegetables are blocked at some crossings. Baby kits and “hibernation kits” – the latter are basic supplies used by humanitarians who can’t be evacuated from hostile environments – are often blocked because Israeli authorities claim they are “dual-use” items that could be used for military purposes.
IRC budget cuts: A month after International Rescue Committee leaders officially told staff about a big budget shortfall and pending job cuts, rank-and-file workers are still looking for details. Several staff told us there’s little word on the total number of staff laid off, and little clarity in some departments about budgets, goals, and workforce gaps. “It’s total chaos,” one staffer told us. As anger bubbled in the days after the internal announcement, CEO David Miliband promised to be more forthcoming. “I know there will always be a market in the media for negative stories, but we will put a premium on getting you the facts and answering your questions in a transparent and collegial way,” he wrote in a 9 August email to staff.
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‘Exercise judgement in how you communicate’: Among leadership, however, the internal comms approach appears to be more measured. The budget crisis simmered for months, but there was no official word from the top, staff told us. “We will continue to be transparent with you, our most senior leaders, on the thinking and the impact of these decisions,” Miliband and Martin Bratt, IRC’s acting chief financial officer, wrote in a May email to senior leaders. “We ask you to exercise judgement in how you communicate about these changes.” This meant that staff in some departments were keenly aware of the troubles and the likelihood of cuts, while others were in the dark, staff said.
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What a nameless spokesperson says: IRC communications staff did not answer questions this week about the number of staff affected, impacts on programmes, and current budget projections. “We are providing comprehensive support to affected staff in line with duty of care and local human resource policies,” read a statement that was not attributed to a named person. “Our primary focus remains on IRC’s clients and fulfilling our mission to help people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives.”
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Elsewhere: Budget squeezes have rippled throughout the sector for months. There’s a contrast in style in how the news is handled. IRC staff say an uneven information blackout contributed to outrage and led to a perception that the NGO’s leadership was hiding its growing shortfall. The Norwegian Refugee Council confirmed its budget shortfalls publicly last week but had been issuing internal updates for several months, staff members say. Save the Children says it has kept staff in the loop, but when news of its pending layoffs dropped, there was deep anger at the proposed restructuring plan.
Acronymage|
ERC: The UN is starting a third month without a new emergency relief coordinator. Some aid insiders believe the holdup lies on the side of the United Kingdom, which hasn’t prioritised the issue after its July election – another indication of the barely concealed practice of old superpowers horse-trading key UN positions (and gate-keeping opportunities for candidates from the so-called Global South). There are some new, presumably UK-approved names in the mix, and at least one interview is pending. In the meantime, the last post on the @UNReliefChief Xwitter feed is Martin Griffiths’ goodbye note on 30 June. For those yearning for content, “Griffs” has a spare few posts on his personal account, @MartinGriffs.
ESC: Geneva narrowly lost the chance to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, in a clear blow to the nascent humanitarian-Eurovision-peace nexus. “Basel overjoyed,” a headline on broadcaster Swissinfo.ch declared (“Geneva,” the story continued, “was very disappointed”). Geneva and Basel were vying to host the contest, which was awarded to Switzerland after Swiss singer Nemo seized victory in this year’s final.
End quote|
“I’m not going to apologise for defending the US government on the border, defending the Special Ops, bringing the people home. I’m not apologising for giving our product to Ukraine or Israel or lots of other places.”
Humanitarian principles don’t align with the tech firms on which they rely. That’s no secret – just an awkward occasional reminder, when the head of Palantir, a World Food Programme partner, has an interview in The New York Times (in the Style section no less!).
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