Opinion pieces

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A tale of two disasters: Behind the scenes of the Syria-Turkey earthquake

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

They are two countries struck by the same disaster – but could easily be different worlds. Only a single border crossing allows humanitarian access from Turkey into Syria – a country where a decade-long crisis forgotten by most of the world is far from over. Humanitarians fear the level of aid needed won’t get through in time. “For humanitarians, this earthquake is like responding to two different disasters,” World Vision Australia humanitarian Patrick Thomas said.

Opinion Pieces, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Why Ukraine’s resilience should not be romanticised

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

When I visited Kyiv last November, it was striking how the city felt so familiar and full of life despite so much change. As my sister and I walked to one of our favourite theatres in Kyiv to enjoy the Ukrainian classic “Kaidasheva Family,” the streets were dark – street lighting is now a a luxury. The theatre’s cloakroom was closed due to potential missile attacks, and the theatre was cold, so keeping a coat on felt like a good idea. As we laughed watching some of the comic moments in the play, I thought how amazing it was to be able to escape the reality of living in war, even if just for two hours, and enjoy such trivial moments that we so often take for granted.

Opinion Pieces, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Why the Ukraine crisis will ripple far beyond Europe

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Thousands of lives are lost, more than 3 million refugees flee for their lives and cities and neighbourhoods are turned to rubble. The human suffering in Ukraine has horrified the world and spurred into action humanitarian agencies. The need of the innocent and the vulnerable is there for all to see.

Opinion Pieces, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Are children paying the highest price of inaction in Afghanistan?

Friday, December 10, 2021

The sweet little faces of two Afghan children who have seen too much have been swimming before my eyes recently. With gut-wrenching stories of kids starving to death hitting the headlines, I can’t help but wonder about their fate. At just seven, Maha* dreamt of becoming a doctor. She’d witnessed so much pain and suffering in her short life after fleeing her home, that she wanted to help other children. Then there was a bubbly boy called Amir*, 5, who engulfed me in a hug when I entered a child friendly space in Kabul. He’d never met me before – but immediately grabbed my hand and showed me a drawing of friends he’d left behind.

Opinion Pieces, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

An Inclusive, Resilient and Gender Responsive Roadmap to Recovery

Friday, October 30, 2020

COVID-19 exposes and exacerbates pre-existing inequalities, including gender inequalities

Opinion Pieces, Asia and the Pacific

The universal downer: When COVID shuts down footy

Monday, October 19, 2020

Australia should make mental health relief a greater priority in our global response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Opinion Pieces, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Carribean, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

These are the four countries about to by plunged into famine by COVID-19

Friday, October 9, 2020

News broke last week that four countries are officially on the brink of famine: Yemen, Congo, South Sudan, and Nigeria.

Opinion Pieces, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

COVID-19 triggers a poverty and hunger crisis for vulnerable households in Asia-Pacific

Thursday, July 16, 2020

World Vision’s Aftershocks 3 ‘Out of Time report findings reinforce predictions of an emerging global poverty and food insecurity crisis

Opinion Pieces, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Carribean

Plea To EndCOVID For All As Virus Grips Poverty-stricken Nations

Friday, July 3, 2020

this pandemic is humanity’s biggest test since World War Two. And it is now taking hold in the poorest nations.

Opinion Pieces, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Carribean, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

COVID-19: A glimpse of what climate-induced system collapse could look like

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Here we were thinking pandemics were just material for movie scripts, when COVID-19 abruptly upended life as we knew it. Suddenly the decades-long, earnest focus of anxious epidemiologists was noticed, heard and believed by everyone - not just other scientists and Doomsday Preppers. The developed world’s restrictions on movements, sudden shutdown of industries and businesses, massive job losses and disruption of education took most of us by surprise.

Opinion Pieces, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Carribean, Middle East, Eastern Europe & Central Asia