MediaHub

Media contacts

CHA’s communications team is available for all media enquiries from Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm CEST/CET. You can reach us by phone +491590 681 8524 or by email:

Anne Tritschler – anne.tritschler@chaberlin.org

Digital press kit

Please refer to the German website for press releases.

Background information on the Centre for Humanitarian Action:

Press photos – Please click on the pictures for higher resolution:

Ralf Südhoff - CHA Director — Ralf Südhoff – CHA Director

CHA in the media

Here you will find a selection of media interviews, commentaries and press reports.

CHA in the media on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The CHA statement on the humanitarian crisis and the airlift in Gaza, interviews with CHA Director Ralf Südhoff and other press reports.
Guest commentary in German daily Tagesspiegel
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.
Sonja Hövelmann in German media about USAID
In a couple of interviews Sonja Hövelmann explained what the shutdown of USAID means for global development and humanitarian action.
Ralf Südhoff in the media on the new German humanitarian strategy
The new ‘Federal Foreign Office strategy for humanitarian assistance abroad’ was published on 26 September 2024. Ralf Südhoff gave several interviews with German media.
CHA at rbb Radio3 on World Humanitarian Day
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.
Ralf Südhoff in the news on European coordination of 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.
Andrea Steinke on Haiti in German radio SR 2 and ntv podcast
Dr Andrea Steinke about the current escalation in Haiti on German radio SR 2 and ntv.
Interviews with ProSieben Newstime and ZDF heute journal
Ralf Südhoff spoke to ProSieben Newstime and ZDF heute journal about the global food crisis and the humanitarian situation in Syria.
Andrea Steinke on German national radio about Haiti
CHA expert Andrea Steinke talks about Haiti on German national radio’s “Weltzeit” program on February 20. [German]
Interview in der Frankfurter Rundschau: Das schlimmste Krisenjahr des Jahrhunderts
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.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: Drought in the Horn of Africa
Ralf Südhoff in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on the catastrophic consequences of the ongoing droughts in the Horn of Africa.
World Humanitarian Day
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.
Ralf Südhoff bei SWR2 am Morgen zum G7 Gipfel
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).
Ralf Südhoff on the fight against hunger in the Augsburger Allgemeine
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.
BR2 Radio: When hunger becomes a weapon
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]
Frankfurter Rundschau on Mali
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]
hr-iNFO report on the donor conference for Ukraine
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]
Humanitäre Lage in der Ukraine
Almost four weeks after the start of the war, Ralf Südhoff gave several interviews on the escalating humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
WDR Monitor: Afghanistan
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.
Interview with Frankfurter Rundschau: Independent aid is possible in many cases
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.
Afghanistan: Radio interview with Ralf Südhoff
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.
Humanitarian AI Podcast on Humanitarian action and artificial intelligence
How can artificial intelligence be useful for humanitarian action? Ralf Südhoff speaks with Brent Philipps of the podcast series Humanitarian AI Today.
CHA in Der Tagesspiegel
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.
CHA on Radio SWR2 about 75 Years UNICEF
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.
CHA in DIE ZEIT
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.
CHA in Der Standard
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.
CHA AT RADIO SWR2 ON WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY
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.
CHA IN THE SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG
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.
CHA IN DEUTSCHLANDFUNK KULTUR
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.
#WORLDHUMANITARIANDAY AND 5 YEARS “WIR SCHAFFEN DAS”: INTERVIEW WITH CHA DIRECTOR RALF SÜDHOFF
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".
BETTER STRATEGIES FOR GERMAN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE – DW RADIO INTERVIEW
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?
HELP WITHOUT CAUSING ANY HARM – RBB RADIO INTERVIEW
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.

CHA in specialist forums

Here you will find a selection of publications in professional publications.

Interview: Ralf Südhoff on private companies in humanitarian action
In an interview with welt-sichten, CHA director Ralf Südhoff discusses the growing influence of private companies in humanitarian aid.
Managing Expectations and Advancing Reform: A Criteria-Based Approach to the HDP Nexus
In the eighth chapter of Global Policy's new book 'The Triple Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus: In Context and Everyday Perspective', Ralf Südhoff takes a practical lens to reform, proposing a set of guiding criteria to navigate the complexity of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus.
Whom Will Humanitarian Aid Serve in Future?
Whom will humanitarian aid serve in future? And how does this relate to trends of politicisation & budget cuts in so far fairly principled donor capitols like Berlin, Brussels, Stockholm, Le Hague etc? Ralf Südhoff in welternährung.
Article on climate change and humanitarian action in "Wissenschaft & Frieden"
In the current issue of “Wissenschaft & Frieden”, CHA researcher Andrea Steinke explains what possible ways she sees for humanitarian action to meet the challenges posed by the climate crisis. [German]
Crisis without war
Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine is another shock to the global food system, however it is not the cause of the current global food crisis, Ralf Südhoff and Berit Reich argue in their article "Crisis without War", published in the magazine of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen.
Basic info: Humanitarian action at the United Nations
Humanitarian action is a core task of the United Nations, anchored in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. But what does humanitarian action mean for the United Nations? Sonja Hövelmann, research fellow at CHA explains it in the UN-BASIS-INFORMATION 64 of the United Nations Association of Germany [German].
INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN SYSTEM
Sonja Hövelmann's paper was published in the March 2021 issue of the journal Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte (APuZ) on the topic of "Bevölkerungsschutz" (Civil Protection).
CRITICAL ARTICLE ON GERMAN HUMANITARIAN AID
CHA Director Ralf Südhoff is quoted in an article in "welt-sichten" magazine on the flawed strategy of German humanitarian aid.
ARTICLE “THE INNOVATION OF HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN SYRIA”
The article by Martin Quack and Ralf Südhoff was published in the journal VEREINTE NATIONEN (3/19), pp. 111-116, DGVN (ed.).

Podcast

COVID-19, climate change, racism, more and more people in need – humanitarian aid is facing major challenges. In the new CHA podcast CHAtroom, practitioners from the humanitarian aid sector speak out and testify how they engage. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcast and anywhere else where podcasts are available.

CHAtroom #24: Contested Aid with Sema Genel Karaosmanoğlu
Dr Sema Karaosmanoğlu is the first guest in our new series of episodes on “Contested Aid”. Ralf Südhoff talks with her about the Humanitarian Reset process and the opportunities, but also possible limitations of a truly locally led system.
CHAtroom #23: Why do we talk about a crises?

Ramesh Rajasingham, Head and Representative of OCHA in Geneva, was a keynote speaker at the CHA Conference 2025. In the follow up Ralf Südhoff spoke with him about a global crisis which goes well beyond the humanitarian system and about the status and the limitations of the ‘humanitarian reset’ agenda.
CHAtroom #22: Humanitarian Reset
Hibak Kalfan is Executive Director at NEAR, a network of local humanitarian and development actors in the Global South. In CHAtroom #22 CHA director Ralf Südhoff asks her about their view on the current state of humanitarian aid and the discussed humanitarian reset.
CHAtroom#21: Humanitarian action in turbulent times
Niels Annen, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in an interview with Ralf Südhoff on the current controversies surrounding humanitarian action and development cooperation. [German]
CHA Conference 2024 CHAtroom Special
In our three CHAtroom special features on the CHA Conference 2024, we welcome Janani Vivekananda, Pınar Okur and Shashwat Saraf.
CHAtroom #17: Prioritisation in humanitarian action
Ralf Südhoff discusses with Hugo Slim which criteria should be used to prioritise humanitarian aid in the future.
CHAtroom#16_European humanitarian aid and the upcoming elections
Why might the forecasted right populist swing at the European elections be no problem for humanitarian aid? Former Director General Michael Köhler of DG ECHO in in the CHAtroom with Ralf Südhoff.
CHAtroom #15: Influencer Europe
Ralf Südhoff leads the research project on Linking German and European policy capacities. In the CHAtroom he talks about how European donors could drive much-needed humanitarian reform through strategic coordination.
CHAtroom #14: How management impacts power imbalances in the humanitarian system
Arbie Baguios is a humanitarian and development professional, founder of Aid Re-imagined, and rapporteur at the CHAConference 2023. In the CHAtroom he explains how management impacts power imbalances in the humanitarian system.
CHAtroom #13: Digital technologies and accountability in humanitarian action
Valentina Shafina is working for the IRC as a Technical Specialist, at the #CHA23 she will be discussing digital technologies and accountability in humanitarian action – and gives a glimpse of it in the CHAtroom.
CHATROOM#12: ANTI-RACISM IN HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS IN GERMANY
How does racism manifest itself in humanitarian organisations in Germany? How do organisations address the issue? Nezahat Xuereb, co-founder of the “BIPoC Network in Development and Humanitarian NGOs” is our guest in the CHAtroom.
CHAtroom #11: Humanitarian Digital Divide
New technology-driven approaches are already an integral part of humanitarian responses. These technologies have many benefits for aid users and aid organisations. But they also deepen the power imbalance, they have impacts on inclusion. With Oliver Lough, Kerrie Holloway and John Bryant, Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI.
CHAtroom #10: New warfare, new humanitarian action
160 years after Henri Dunants Essay on the Battle of Solferino, Hugo Slim wrote a book on new warfare, cyber wars and its implications for the reform of the humanitarian sector. We discuss this in the 10th episode of the CHAtroom podcast.
CHAtroom #9: Greening Aid
The consequences of climate change pose immense challenges to the humanitarian system - at the same time humanitarian aid itself is also responsible for environmental impacts and needs to change in this respect. With Véronique de Geoffroy, Groupe URD, we talk about the buzzword "Greening Aid".
CHAtroom #8: Climate change and humanitarian action
Is climate change just another humanitarian challenge or a game changer for the entire humanitarian system? In CHAtroom No.8 Paul Knox Clark, director of the ADAPT Initiative, provides answers.
CHAtroom #7: Mapping in Humanitarian Action
Which road is still there, which bridge is still standing? After a disaster, aid organizations need to know quickly what the situation is on the ground. In this episode, Dr. Carolin Klonner and Dr. Natascha Bing explain how important geoinformation is for humanitarian action and how maps are created for this purpose. [German]
CHAtroom #6: Localisation
How does the localisation of humanitarian action work in practice? Don’t we perhaps even have too romantic an idea of local partners? In this sixth episode of the CHAtroom, Kayu Orellana from Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V. provides answers [in German].
CHAtroom #5 - Grand Bargain 2.0
Jan Egeland, Eminent Person of the Grand Bargain was on a panel discussion about the urgent needed reform of the humanitarian system in Berlin in September. CHA-Director Ralf Südhoff asked him about his plans and ambitions to create a new GB 2.0 momentum among humanitarian organizations and at the highest political level. In this podcast episode, we have compiled his answers.
CHAtroom #4: Decolonisation
Why he has been carrying a photo of Che Guevara in his wallet since he was 15, how the decolonisation agenda can be more than just an empty promise and why every voice is a “legitimate voice” is revealed by former MSF staff member and the new Director of the Global Health Centre Tammam Aloudat in the fourth episode of our CHAtroom. The episode is available in English. Listen and share!
CHAtroom #3: Reform project humanitarian aid
In the third episode of CHAtroom, CHA Research Fellow Darina Pellowska explains what the so-called Grand Bargain and localisation of humanitarian aid are all about, what makes an organisation “local” – and what her camera has to do with it.
CHAtroom #2: What next for Syria?
In the second episode of our new podcast CHAtroom, Lena Schellhammer from the Syrian NGO Maram Foundation is our guest. Lena explains what fatal consequences counter-terrorism laws have for aid in Syria, why she focuses on a “Breaking the Silence” in her new CHA Paper and what her daily work in the Syrian border area is like.
CHAtroom – our CHA podcast is out!
The CHAtroom is online – a podcast that makes the people behind humanitarian work visible – or rather audible. In the first episode of CHAtroom, CHA Director Ralf Südhoff reveals how he came to CHA, what happened there in the last two years and what he would like to see in 2021. Prick up your ears and listen!

Newsletter

The CHA newsletter provides you with the latest news from CHA and German and international humanitarian action every two months.
It includes Good News, new publications, event information, as well as reading and listening tips. So don’t miss out – subscribe now!
If you want to subscribe to the newsletter in German please subscribe here.

Humanitarian Takeaways

Too many browser tabs open, too little time for deep reading? We have a solution!
Humanitarian Takeaways is a collection of selected and summarised materials on a specific humanitarian topic, published by CHA and ICVA, e.g. German humanitarian policy and strategy, digitalisation of humanitarian action, localisation, climate change & humanitarian action, antiracism and decolonisation, the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, and gender equality in humanitarian action. Sign up, and approx. every three months Takeaways will land in your inbox!

Media contacts

Digital press kit

CHA in the media

CHA in the media on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Guest commentary in German daily Tagesspiegel

Sonja Hövelmann in German media about USAID

Ralf Südhoff in the media on the new German humanitarian strategy

CHA at rbb Radio3 on World Humanitarian Day

Ralf Südhoff in the news on European coordination of humanitarian action

Andrea Steinke on Haiti in German radio SR 2 and ntv podcast

Interviews with ProSieben Newstime and ZDF heute journal

Andrea Steinke on German national radio about Haiti

Interview in der Frankfurter Rundschau: Das schlimmste Krisenjahr des Jahrhunderts

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung: Drought in the Horn of Africa

World Humanitarian Day

Ralf Südhoff bei SWR2 am Morgen zum G7 Gipfel

Ralf Südhoff on the fight against hunger in the Augsburger Allgemeine

BR2 Radio: When hunger becomes a weapon

Frankfurter Rundschau on Mali

hr-iNFO report on the donor conference for Ukraine

Humanitäre Lage in der Ukraine

WDR Monitor: Afghanistan

Interview with Frankfurter Rundschau: Independent aid is possible in many cases

Afghanistan: Radio interview with Ralf Südhoff

Humanitarian AI Podcast on Humanitarian action and artificial intelligence

CHA in Der Tagesspiegel

CHA on Radio SWR2 about 75 Years UNICEF

CHA in DIE ZEIT

CHA in Der Standard

CHA AT RADIO SWR2 ON WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY

CHA IN THE SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG

CHA IN DEUTSCHLANDFUNK KULTUR

#WORLDHUMANITARIANDAY AND 5 YEARS “WIR SCHAFFEN DAS”: INTERVIEW WITH CHA DIRECTOR RALF SÜDHOFF

BETTER STRATEGIES FOR GERMAN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE – DW RADIO INTERVIEW

HELP WITHOUT CAUSING ANY HARM – RBB RADIO INTERVIEW

CHA in specialist forums

Interview: Ralf Südhoff on private companies in humanitarian action

Managing Expectations and Advancing Reform: A Criteria-Based Approach to the HDP Nexus

Whom Will Humanitarian Aid Serve in Future?

Article on climate change and humanitarian action in "Wissenschaft & Frieden"

Crisis without war

Basic info: Humanitarian action at the United Nations

INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN SYSTEM

CRITICAL ARTICLE ON GERMAN HUMANITARIAN AID

ARTICLE “THE INNOVATION OF HUMANITARIAN ACTION IN SYRIA”

Podcast

CHAtroom #24: Contested Aid with Sema Genel Karaosmanoğlu

CHAtroom #23: Why do we talk about a crises?

CHAtroom #22: Humanitarian Reset

CHAtroom#21: Humanitarian action in turbulent times

CHA Conference 2024 CHAtroom Special

CHAtroom #17: Prioritisation in humanitarian action

CHAtroom#16_European humanitarian aid and the upcoming elections

CHAtroom #15: Influencer Europe

CHAtroom #14: How management impacts power imbalances in the humanitarian system

CHAtroom #13: Digital technologies and accountability in humanitarian action

CHATROOM#12: ANTI-RACISM IN HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS IN GERMANY

CHAtroom #11: Humanitarian Digital Divide

CHAtroom #10: New warfare, new humanitarian action

CHAtroom #9: Greening Aid

CHAtroom #8: Climate change and humanitarian action

CHAtroom #7: Mapping in Humanitarian Action

CHAtroom #6: Localisation

CHAtroom #5 - Grand Bargain 2.0

CHAtroom #4: Decolonisation

CHAtroom #3: Reform project humanitarian aid

CHAtroom #2: What next for Syria?

CHAtroom – our CHA podcast is out!

Newsletter

Humanitarian Takeaways