CHA in the media

On World Humanitarian Day, CHA Director Ralf Südhoff gave several interviews to the media, criticising the cutbacks in emergency aid [all in German].

In this guest article for Table.Briefings, CHA Director Ralf Südhoff explains why the failure of Germany’s bid for a seat on the UN Security Council can also be attributed to years of neglecting soft power in favour of hard power. Germany has squandered its reputation as an “honest broker” within a few years and is no longer perceived as a reliable partner by the countries of the Global South.

In this interview on rbb24 Inforadio [German] with Matthias Bertsch, Ralf Südhoff discusses funding for German humanitarian aid. Three billion euros would be an appropriate allocation in the federal budget – in reality, it is only about one billion. He also explains where German aid is particularly needed.

Ralf Südhoff and Sonja Hövelmann were quoted in media outlets [German] such as Tagesspiegel, taz, BR and Table regarding the reform plan presented by the BMZ.

In his interview with The Guardian, Ralf Südhoff explains that the dismantling of USAID has also shaken the global consensus on solidarity and responsible action in the field of humanitarian aid and development cooperation.

The CHA statement on the humanitarian crisis and the airlift in Gaza, interviews with CHA Director Ralf Südhoff and other press reports.

Europe has committed itself to the humanitarian principles of neutral aid for people in greatest need. It can strengthen its foreign policy and humanitarian profile by defending these values – writes CHA Director Ralf Südhoff in this guest article for German daily Tagesspiegel.

In a couple of interviews Sonja Hövelmann explained what the shutdown of USAID means for global development and humanitarian action.

The new ‘Federal Foreign Office strategy for humanitarian assistance abroad’ was published on 26 September 2024. Ralf Südhoff gave several interviews with German media.

To mark World Humanitarian Day, CHA Director Ralf Südhoff was invited to rbb radio3 to talk about the most significant political challenges to humanitarian action.

During the European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels, several interviews and guest articles were published on the topic of better cooperation between European actors.

Dr Andrea Steinke about the current escalation in Haiti on German radio SR 2 and ntv.

Ralf Südhoff spoke to ProSieben Newstime and ZDF heute journal about the global food crisis and the humanitarian situation in Syria.

CHA expert Andrea Steinke talks about Haiti on German national radio’s “Weltzeit” program on February 20. [German]

Ralf Südhoff speaks to Pitt von Bebenburg in an interview with German daily Frankfurter Rundschau about the different causes of the growing worldwide food shortages and what is needed to improve the situation.

Ralf Südhoff in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on the catastrophic consequences of the ongoing droughts in the Horn of Africa.

On the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day on August 19, 2022, CHA director Ralf Südhoff gave several interviews and called, among other things, for a “humanitarian Zeitenwende” and for a significant increase in funds as well as staff for humanitarian action at the German Foreign Office.

We are facing the most severe famine since the Second World War. CHA Director Ralf Südhoff explains what this means and what should be done by the G7 on German radio SWR2 on the occasion of the G7 summit in Elmau. Listen to the recording (German).

According to the latest figures from the United Nations, nearly 830 million people in the world are currently affected by hunger – around 150 million more than in 2019. CHA Director Ralf Südhoff gives an insight into the structural causes and what this means for the fight against hunger in the German daily Augsburger Allgemeine.

How can a global hunger crisis be tackled? Ralf Südhoff was guest of presenter Christine Krueger on German radio BR2 talk of the day. [German]

Before the debate in the German Bundestag about the Bundeswehr mandate in Mali, German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau spoke with Andrea Steinke, CHA research fellow. [German]

German radio station hr-iNFO spoke with CHA director Ralf Südhoff about the relevance of donor conferences in general and the one for Ukraine on 5 May 2022 in particular. [German]

Almost four weeks after the start of the war, Ralf Südhoff gave several interviews on the escalating humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

The plight of the people in Afghanistan is also a consequence of Western sanctions. Urgently needed relief funds still hardly arrive. Ralf Südhoff at WDR Monitor.

Ralf Südhoff in an interview with German daily Frankfurter Rundschau about providing for the people in Afghanistan and ways to support the population without playing into the hands of the Taliban regime.

UN aid for Afghanistan will cost at least 4.5 billion euros this year – the largest humanitarian appeal the United Nations has ever made for a country. Philine Sauvageot from SWR2 talks to Ralf Südhoff about the humanitarian situation in the country.

How can artificial intelligence be useful for humanitarian action? Ralf Südhoff speaks with Brent Philipps of the podcast series Humanitarian AI Today.

Violence, poverty and no school: in the Middle East, millions of children are growing up in dire need. Does the “lost generation” still have a chance? Can more money help them? asks Christian Böhme from the Tagesspiegel. CHA Director Ralf Südhoff calls on the new German government to expand Germany’s commitment.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) was founded 75 years ago. In an interview with SWR2-Journal am Morgen, Ralf Südhoff spoke about Unicef’s role in a world full of crises, its important advocacy work for children’s rights and current challenges in humanitarian action.

A very worthwhile article in DIE ZEIT in the run-up to the UN World Food System Summit on 23 September explains why hunger is on the rise again worldwide. Ralf Südhoff, Director CHA has his say, criticising that also in food aid too little thought is given to when and how humanitarian action, development policy and conflict prevention should be better interlinked.

Austria’s federal government strongly opposes taking in endangered Afghans, despite harsh criticism. Instead, it wants to provide aid on the ground. Kim Son Hoang from Der Standard also spoke with CHA Director Ralf Südhoff about this.

On the occasion of the World Day of Humanitarian Aid, Ralf Südhoff gave an interview in the culture magazine of radio station SWR2. In the interview with editor Martin Gramlich, the director of CHA warns against the politicization of humanitarian aid.

In the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Thomas Kirchner makes it clear that it was not the welcoming culture that brought more and more refugees to Germany in 2015, but sheer need. He also spoke with CHA director Ralf Südhoff about this.

On 15 June 2021, German radio channel Deutschlandfunk Kultur published a radio feature in its podcast series Zeitfragen, in which the system of humanitarian aid is being critically questioned. Ralf Südhoff, director of the Centre for Humanitarian Action, is one of the experts cited in the feature.

CHA Director Ralf Südhoff interviewed by the Deutsche Welle, WDR 5 Morgenecho and hr-iNFO on the occasion of the World Humanitarian Day and 5 years of "Wir schaffen das".

Ralf Südhoff was interviewed by Anke Rasper (Deutsche Welle) for a broadcast of the English radio show World in Progress. In this episode, Südhoff elaborated on the questions: Where does German humanitarian assistance stand? What could be Germany’s global role? What do German public & civil actors need to look at? How can think tank CHA contribute to these issues?

In this radio interview CHA director Ralf Südhoff reports on his personal background in the field of humanitarian action. By presenting some of the conflicts he was confronted with in his previous positions, listeners gain insights into the dilemmas of humanitarian principles. He also takes a stand on important topics such as sea rescue and arms exports and shows how the CHA can contribute to improving humanitarian action.