“2024 was one of the most challenging years that we've seen for the humanitarian movement—not just for us as people and as humanitarians, but for the very basic tenants that hold the whole project together.
“The goal of humanitarianism isn't to stop the conflict, it's to find humanity inside that conflict; and more and more what we're seeing is a lack of that humanity. Everywhere—from Sudan to Gaza to Ukraine to Haiti—we're seeing violations of what we consider to be inalienable rights: for people to be able to access medical care, particularly for those who are not a part of the conflict, like women and children; and that space has shrunk incredibly. We had 282 healthcare workers killed last year; that was the largest number on record. MSF has lost many staff, nine so far in Gaza alone, and so we come off the year feeling… heartbroken, and despondent.
“And yet, we work in this sector where people have to have hope. One of my colleagues from another organisation said to me, “let's save pessimism for better times.” And I keep thinking about that as one of the mantras that I've been using throughout the year.”
