The new year has started with some momentous events. Israel has banned dozens of aid agencies. What are the consequences? “We’re supporting one in five hospitals in the Gaza Strip and one in three babies born in Gaza are assisted by our staff on the ground. We provide surgical support, wound care, physiotherapy, maternity and paediatric care,” says Chris Lockyear, Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The US cut billions in foreign aid, then announced $2 billion for selected projects. The money comes with strings attached; humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Yemen get nothing. “There was talk about the radical ideologies promoted by some UN agencies, which had undermined American interests and peace, bizarrely enough,” says Nick Cumming-Bruce, contributor to The New York Times. Part of that $2 billion (CHF 1.6 billion) goes to several Latin American countries, meanwhile the US says it’s now “running” Venezuela. “Washington clearly sees ...
