PODCAST: Journalist Alexis Okeowo Writes Profiles of Resistance in Africa Mark Leon Goldberg October 16, 2017Alexis Okeowo is a staff writer for the New Yorker whose debut book was published earlier this month. The book, A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa has been getting rave reviews -- rightfully so.The book tell...
New Research Finds a Link Between the Cost of Getting Married and the Outbreak Violent Conflict Mark Leon Goldberg August 31, 2017The high price of getting married can lead young men to take up arms.That is the conclusion of a new cutting-edge research paper that finds a correlation between what is known as "brideprice" and the outbreak of violent conflict. Some 75% of the world'...
The “Four Famines,” Explained Kimberly Curtis March 17, 2017Hunger will be the humanitarian disaster of 2017. The UN already declared a full fledged famine in parts of South Sudan last month, and three other situations around the world are precariously close to crossing a threshold of food insecurity that leads to fa...
Trump seeks deep cuts to UN relief programs, just as 20 million people face famine Mark Leon Goldberg March 14, 2017In a perfect storm, the Trump administration is reportedly seeking deep cuts to UN relief programs, just as 20 million people face famine.Colum Lynch reports in Foreign Policy that the White House has instructed the State Department and the US Mission to t...
PODCAST: The Crisis in Northern Nigeria, Fighting Ebola, and Lessons Learned from a Career in Disaster Relief Mark Leon Goldberg March 10, 2017My podcast guest Jeremy Konyndyk recently left his post as the top US global humanitarian relief official and has many stories to tell and lessons to share. Jeremy lead the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance at USAID during much of Obama's second term a...
This is the Worst Crisis in the World that Gets the Least Amount of Attention Mark Leon Goldberg September 8, 2016Over the course of the last six weeks or so, I've received a series of increasingly urgent sounding press releases from various humanitarian organizations operating in the far northeastern region of Nigeria, called Borno state.In July, I received thi...
An Extreme Malnutrition Crisis is Escalating in Northern Nigeria Mark Leon Goldberg August 31, 2016The warnings about a severe humanitarian crisis underway in a remote corner of Nigeria previously controlled by Boko Haram are becoming increasingly dire. This is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today that receives the least amount of atten...
This is What Being Driven from Your Home by Boko Haram Looks Like (VIDEO) Mark Leon Goldberg August 26, 2016Outside of Syria, the situation in Northeastern Nigeria and in the Lake Chad basin is arguably the most urgent humanitarian crisis in the world. This video from MSF profiles one woman and her family who were displaced by Boko Haram and offers something of a f...
Boko Haram Kidnapped This 11 year Old Girl. Now, She’s Fighting Back Mark Leon Goldberg October 13, 2015An inspiring video from UNICEF about a young girl who was kidnapped by Boko Haram and is now fighting back by getting an education....
