International attention is fickle. The spotlight effect, where the full glare of publicity suddenly turns on to a particular issue or country for a while, then switches away, leaving where it was in complete darkness again, is a striking feature of today's political and media culture. The Korean peninsula is...

As a former head of the United Nations office responsible for coordinating the response to humanitarian emergencies, I am acutely aware of the catastrophic effects of conflict on people across the world. Those affected are doubly failed when poor funding from the international community means inadequate aid to alleviate their...

I spent a lot of time as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator either in Gaza or worrying about the humanitarian situation in the territory, particularly in the aftermath of the Israeli ground incursion in early 2009, Operation Cast Lead. Gaza was always a depressing place to visit but the picture after...

Between 2007 and 2010, Sir John Holmes - then UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs - visited Southern Sudan three times as it struggled towards independence amid problems of conflict, lack of capacity and food insecurity. Last week, he returned to the world's newest country as it faces a 'perfect...