When a leading UN humanitarian spoke to The National in Davos this week about the future of aid work, he did not paint a rosy picture. Tom Fletcher – the UN’s undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator – described a “more transactional world” in which “hard power, raw power” was the main currency.
Looking around the globe in early 2026, it is difficult to disagree. Conflicts old and new continue to rage from Sudan to Ukraine. In the Middle East, Gaza remains shattered after two years of Israeli bombardment, Yemen remains mired in crisis and this week fighting returned to north-east Syria. In all of these cases, it is the civilian population who bear the brunt of violent disorder and decay.
Mr Fletcher talked about the challenges humanitarians currently face, such as diminished funding and aid workers’ lack of access to vulnerable people stuck in conflict zones or refugee camps. The detention and killing of humanitarian personnel could be added to this list, such as the Houthi rebels’ arrest of dozens of UN staff in Yemen and the hundreds of aid workers killed by Israeli troops in Gaza.
Nevertheless, Mr Fletcher avoided fatalism and spoke about the UN’s plans to focus on 20 to 30 countries to deliver life-saving aid, food, water, medicine and shelter, thereby saving about 87 million lives. Such determination deserves ample support, but given the chronic nature of war, displacement and natural disasters, it is vital that the world’s humanitarian structures are robust enough to survive the many challenges that lie ahead.
A key part of meeting that challenge is the role of young people in aid work. The UN’s Agenda for Humanity notes that about 600 million young people report they are volunteering worldwide. Youths make up more than 50 per cent of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ volunteer base. In addition, about half of the 1.4 billion people the UN estimates live in countries affected by crises and fragility are under the age of 20. Many of these young people are among the first to step forward with energy and know-how when it comes to rebuilding their communities.
This demonstrable desire to do good must be maintained. Although many countries continue to back relief efforts financially, such as yesterday’s $5 million pledge by the UAE to support emergency relief work in Sudan, it is young people who often have the lived experience of violence and hardship. This experience, coupled with youthful zeal, is a powerful asset for humanitarian networks and NGOs. But how can they remain motivated in the years ahead amid funding gaps and some countries’ obvious breaches of international humanitarian law?
There is no quick fix but building a truly participatory humanitarian system that is values-driven would be a good place to start. Young people have to be given more ownership when it comes to campaigning and not be confined to fund-raising or legwork roles. As digital natives, they are well placed to make a real difference, not merely in awareness raising but in using technology to improve organisations’ storytelling ability and reputation for transparency.
There is no doubt that we live in unpredictable times. As Mr Fletcher told The National: “Welcome to a driverless world.” But by preparing the next generation of humanitarians for this volatility, the global community has a better change of keeping at least one hand on the steering wheel.
