Humanitarian landscape is facing major shifts in years to come, says ICRC head

The global humanitarian landscape is undergoing significant change, and the way it is organised will not look the same in years to come, according to the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). ICRC Director-General Pierre Krahenbuhl made his comment to Anadolu during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025 in the Turkish resort.

As the US pulls back its involvement in major relief efforts worldwide under the administration of President Donald Trump, a search for new partnerships is underway, said Krahenbuhl. Last month, Washington announced sweeping cuts to foreign aid, cancelling 83 per cent of its programmes in a move that has disrupted the broader humanitarian ecosystem.

“The US has historically been a very important and very generous donor to international organisations,” explained the ICRC official, with US contributions accounting for 25 per cent of the Committee’s expenditure.

While in contact with US officials to “understand the decisions that are being made,” Krahenbuhl pointed out, the ICRC is simultaneously seeking to strengthen partnerships with other countries, including Turkiye, across Asia and among the Gulf nations. “And here is also the importance of partnering with different countries… It is part of the transforming world around us, and we want to connect with many new realities, with important voices, new perspectives.”

Krahenbuhl added that he deplores the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where more than 50,800 Palestinians have been killed in a relentless Israeli military campaign since October 2023, describing the enclave as “today’s hell on Earth.” He is a former head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The scale of destruction caused by the ongoing Israeli assault, he said, is “on a scale that we have rarely seen as humanitarians.”

According to the ICRC head, such devastation has been allowed to continue due to a failure of global action. “It’s a crisis that has not spared humanitarian organisations. The ICRC’s own offices in Gaza were struck by direct Israeli tank fire last month. Colleagues of the Palestine Red Crescent Society have been killed in unacceptable, brutal ways during their humanitarian engagement.”

To speak of reconstruction at this moment seems almost unfathomable, said Krahenbuhl. “I think it requires a global mobilisation to bring about an end to this horror.”

Praising the ICRC’s partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent, Krahenbuhl confirmed that the group continues long-standing operations in Syria, where it is currently focusing on missing persons and critical infrastructure. “The country is currently without access to safe water or to electricity.”

He also commended the “remarkably courageous” efforts of Congolese Red Cross workers operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to assist populations affected by ongoing conflict, especially those injured or separated from their families during armed clashes.

Reflecting on the toll of protracted wars from Gaza to Congo, Krahenbuhl added: “If what we are seeing in the Gaza Strip is the future of war, we should be all very concerned, terrified and actually understand that this would shake the very foundations of our humanity. We have to remobilise around the deep protection and preservation of human dignity.”

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