I spent three years in South Sudan watching perfectly good medical supplies rot in a warehouse in Juba because a single stamp was missing from …
Paperwork That Decides Whether You Go
Treating Severe Malnutrition at Scale
I remember sitting in a humid warehouse outside Goma, staring at a stack of high-level policy briefs that detailed exactly how nutrition programmes work in …
Why Resource Wealth Can Hurt
I spent a decade watching academics in Geneva debate the nuances of institutional decay while I was sitting in a dusty Land Rover outside Goma, …
Planning Three Weeks of Reporting
I once spent three days stuck in a dusty transit hub outside Goma, watching a communications officer try to explain to a donor via satellite …
Strengthening a System Versus Running a Programme
I once sat in a humid conference room in Goma, listening to a consultant in a crisp linen suit explain a five-year strategic roadmap for …
What Is Inside a Peace Agreement
I’ve sat in enough humid conference rooms in Goma and Juba to know that most diplomats treat a peace treaty like a sacred text rather …
A Risk Assessment Before a Trip
Most people think learning how to assess risk before travelling means downloading a dozen shiny security apps or reading a twenty-page briefing from an embassy …
Managing Revenue From a Mine
I spent nine years watching NGOs argue over “capacity building” and “governance frameworks” while the actual supply lines sat rotting in the sun. Most people …
Controlling Cholera in a Camp
I remember sitting in a humid office in Goma, staring at a glossy, multi-page report about “integrated community health interventions.” It was filled with beautiful …
Removing Details That Would Identify Someone
I once sat in a humid office in Goma, staring at a field report that was so thick with specific names, village coordinates, and exact …