Friday, 14 February 2025. Who wouldn’t want to halt relief operations that help hundreds of thousands of people in 20 countries? Nothing screams “good decision-making” more thanyanking aid from the people who need it most. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a champion in the humanitarian field, has just announced its highly anticipated first-ever pause in providing urgent assistance. Kudos to them for keeping things fresh and exciting!
It turns out the NRC had just been so eager to continue its work, but the US government—bless their hearts—decided to suspend aid and put the brakes on financial support. Can’t say the NRC didn’t try though! They could have taken advantage of recent waivers, but, alas, the US wouldn’t resume payments for work completed. This is the humanitarian version of a boss saying, “We’ll pay you later,” but later never seems to come. And really, who needs all that funding anyway?
Oh, and let’s not forget the hundreds of aid workers caught in this delightful mess. NRC had no choice but to lay them off—because who needs staff when you’re busy getting waivers and suspending crucial payments, right?
