Tobias Denskus
@aidnography.de
Associate Professor in Development Studies at Malmö University, Sweden. Global development. Humanitarianism. Communication & Social Change. Chief Blogger at www.aidnography.de since 2010.
More: https://linktr.ee/tobiasdenskus
More: https://linktr.ee/tobiasdenskus
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Tobias Denskus
@aidnography.de
· Jan 27
With new followers & first citations showing up it may seem to be a good time to introduce our "Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality" that @silkeroth.bsky.social, Bandana Purkayastha & @aidnography.de edited in a longer 🧵 (1/x)
No amount of UN managerial plastic language around a „humanitarian reset“ will be able to absorb c. 15bn dollars of cuts; the UN system is doing itself a huge disservice by pretending it can absorb these cuts as some of the worst crises in the 21st century need urgent attention.
BREAKING: The United States announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance and warns United Nations agencies to “adapt, shrink or die” in a time of new financial realities.
US pledges $2B for UN humanitarian aid as Trump slashes funding and warns agencies to 'adapt or die'
The United States has announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance funding.
bit.ly
December 29, 2025 at 6:40 AM
No amount of UN managerial plastic language around a „humanitarian reset“ will be able to absorb c. 15bn dollars of cuts; the UN system is doing itself a huge disservice by pretending it can absorb these cuts as some of the worst crises in the 21st century need urgent attention.
Always remember that government spending is a political choice; there is no fixed amount of aid. You can support Ukraine *AND* increase humanitarian assistance or aid to Africa, but increasingly right-leaning governments in Europe are presenting dangerous binary choices for their global engagement
The notion of humanitarian aid being used to combat poverty and hunger is being replaced in Europe with geopolitical “games” as states redirect aid to Ukraine and to defence spending, analysts warn after recent announcements by Sweden and Germany.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Sweden and Germany slash aid budgets to focus on Ukraine and defence spending
Echoing the dismantling of USAID, other countries are changing funding priorities and health and hunger programmes in Africa will lose out
www.theguardian.com
December 22, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Always remember that government spending is a political choice; there is no fixed amount of aid. You can support Ukraine *AND* increase humanitarian assistance or aid to Africa, but increasingly right-leaning governments in Europe are presenting dangerous binary choices for their global engagement
When a military dictatorship sells valuable natural resources ordinary people will not benefit, exhibit 952: "Fewer than 15,000 people will be needed to run the mines, the ports, and the 670 km railway specially built to allow exports"; Rio Tinto is happy, though...
Good Reuters deep dive on the Simandou mega iron ore mine in Guinea.
The IMF "found it could boost the country's real GDP by 26% by 2030, but it also said the reduction in poverty could be... just 0.6 percentage points without active policies to manage the transition."
The IMF "found it could boost the country's real GDP by 26% by 2030, but it also said the reduction in poverty could be... just 0.6 percentage points without active policies to manage the transition."
Mass layoffs overshadow Guinea's Simandou mega mine as output accelerates
Guinea's Simandou mega mining project, promoted by the military government as a symbol of the country's economic transformation, is laying off thousands of workers just as it begins exporting iron ore...
www.reuters.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM
When a military dictatorship sells valuable natural resources ordinary people will not benefit, exhibit 952: "Fewer than 15,000 people will be needed to run the mines, the ports, and the 670 km railway specially built to allow exports"; Rio Tinto is happy, though...
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
FRANCE 24 and Mother Jones have won a UN journalism award for their reporting on the testimony of #Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor Anthony Aguilar.
www.france24.com/en/americas/...
www.france24.com/en/americas/...
FRANCE 24 and Mother Jones report on Gaza aid whistleblower wins UN award
FRANCE 24 and Mother Jones have won a UN journalism award for their reporting on the testimony of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor Anthony Aguilar. In their report he describes the "war crimes"...
www.france24.com
December 18, 2025 at 7:40 AM
FRANCE 24 and Mother Jones have won a UN journalism award for their reporting on the testimony of #Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor Anthony Aguilar.
www.france24.com/en/americas/...
www.france24.com/en/americas/...
The next UNHCR commissioner will most likely not be a European! Exciting news!!
December 12, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The next UNHCR commissioner will most likely not be a European! Exciting news!!
The body of USAID is barely cold, but the academic dissection already begins ;)...on a more serious note: This sounds like an excellent project with a great team (limited to 2 years, but at least a 100% position (not always the norm at German universities...).
Job: 2 years Post-Doc Fellowship at the University of Bayreuth, on the history and sociology of USAID
December 12, 2025 at 10:16 AM
The body of USAID is barely cold, but the academic dissection already begins ;)...on a more serious note: This sounds like an excellent project with a great team (limited to 2 years, but at least a 100% position (not always the norm at German universities...).
Americans have community colleges, great public universities and world-class Ivys…but they want to „disrupt“ the system so they can sell tickets to individual lectures with no discussion and praise this as a democratic form of education…
“This wasn’t on the syllabus” guy will be showing up any day now.
Academic lectures have invaded L.A. bars and tickets are selling out in minutes
Attendees can geek out on topics from the use of AI in medicine to the psychology of deception, all in a fun, low-stakes environment.
www.latimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Americans have community colleges, great public universities and world-class Ivys…but they want to „disrupt“ the system so they can sell tickets to individual lectures with no discussion and praise this as a democratic form of education…
"Last week, Kenya became the first country to join a new US-sponsored health agreement that grants Washington unprecedented access to Kenyan health data for the next 25 years. (...) In exchange, Kenya receives $1.6 billion over 10 years"
www.linkedin.com/pulse/kenya-...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/kenya-...
Kenya Just Traded Citizen Health Data for $20 Per Citizen Over 10 Years.
Hey digital health community: GDHF 2025 just ended and Kenyan newspapers today are declaring a data sovereignty illusion. Last week, Kenya became the first country to join a new US-sponsored health ag...
www.linkedin.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:49 AM
"Last week, Kenya became the first country to join a new US-sponsored health agreement that grants Washington unprecedented access to Kenyan health data for the next 25 years. (...) In exchange, Kenya receives $1.6 billion over 10 years"
www.linkedin.com/pulse/kenya-...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/kenya-...
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
#GivingThursday is the day when even the most obscure organization that never sends out anything bothers to send an email asking for money…real delete- and unsubscribe-fest in my inbox…
December 2, 2025 at 6:46 PM
#GivingThursday is the day when even the most obscure organization that never sends out anything bothers to send an email asking for money…real delete- and unsubscribe-fest in my inbox…
Analyzing 500k Chinese theses & linking them to 60k public sector officials, new paper finds that "plagiarism is pervasive & predicts adverse political selection (dishonest individuals are more likely to enter & advance in the public sector); dishonest individuals perform worse when holding power"
December 1, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Analyzing 500k Chinese theses & linking them to 60k public sector officials, new paper finds that "plagiarism is pervasive & predicts adverse political selection (dishonest individuals are more likely to enter & advance in the public sector); dishonest individuals perform worse when holding power"
"Anybody can study/learn from anywhere at any time & at any stage of their professional career" is not the inclusive answer it may appear, but another desperate message from the UK higher ed sector looking for a future & money; as always, all of this is expressed in managerial plastic language
'The Russell Group institution, one of the UK’s largest, has announced plans to expand beyond its traditional fully campus-based model of higher education and increase its digital and global presence, as well as its flexible learning opportunities.' 1/2
Half of Manchester students to be learning online in 10 years
Russell Group institution announces major pivot into digital teaching as universities evolve further beyond traditional models
www.timeshighereducation.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:17 AM
"Anybody can study/learn from anywhere at any time & at any stage of their professional career" is not the inclusive answer it may appear, but another desperate message from the UK higher ed sector looking for a future & money; as always, all of this is expressed in managerial plastic language
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
[EN] #ArchivesduCrash
📖 The Crash team invites you to (re)discover “Humanitarian action in situations of occupation”, a Cahier by Xavier Crombé published in 2007.
👉 Find this Cahier on our website: msf-crash.org/en/war-and-h...
📖 The Crash team invites you to (re)discover “Humanitarian action in situations of occupation”, a Cahier by Xavier Crombé published in 2007.
👉 Find this Cahier on our website: msf-crash.org/en/war-and-h...
Humanitarian action in situations of occupation
This Cahier du CRASH by Xavier Crombé combines a study of the experience and positions of MSF vis-à-vis occupation contexts since the 1980s, and the minutes of a talk organised by the 'Fondation MSF' ...
msf-crash.org
December 1, 2025 at 8:03 AM
[EN] #ArchivesduCrash
📖 The Crash team invites you to (re)discover “Humanitarian action in situations of occupation”, a Cahier by Xavier Crombé published in 2007.
👉 Find this Cahier on our website: msf-crash.org/en/war-and-h...
📖 The Crash team invites you to (re)discover “Humanitarian action in situations of occupation”, a Cahier by Xavier Crombé published in 2007.
👉 Find this Cahier on our website: msf-crash.org/en/war-and-h...
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
🗓️ The aid system is losing legitimacy. Join us for our Annual Event on 4 Dec as we explore how humanitarians can rebuild a narrative that admits flaws, shifts power to marginalised voices and defends core principles – while resonating with both donors & crisis-affected communities → buff.ly/9p4ZKZG
November 20, 2025 at 3:44 PM
🗓️ The aid system is losing legitimacy. Join us for our Annual Event on 4 Dec as we explore how humanitarians can rebuild a narrative that admits flaws, shifts power to marginalised voices and defends core principles – while resonating with both donors & crisis-affected communities → buff.ly/9p4ZKZG
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
@andypsumner.bsky.social and @stephanklingebiel.bsky.social ask: What does the #GlobalDevelopment architecture look like in this world five years from now?
The experts see four stylised visions emerging in competition. Which is most likely to prevail?
🔗 policybrief.org/briefs/compe...
The experts see four stylised visions emerging in competition. Which is most likely to prevail?
🔗 policybrief.org/briefs/compe...
Will the UK and the EU be Norm-Makers or Norm-Takers at the G7 and the G20? Competing visions of the global development architecture in 2030 - Policy Brief
Global development policy is going through an upheaval following the cuts in ODA (Official Development Assistance) by leading donors and the knock-on effects
policybrief.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:13 AM
@andypsumner.bsky.social and @stephanklingebiel.bsky.social ask: What does the #GlobalDevelopment architecture look like in this world five years from now?
The experts see four stylised visions emerging in competition. Which is most likely to prevail?
🔗 policybrief.org/briefs/compe...
The experts see four stylised visions emerging in competition. Which is most likely to prevail?
🔗 policybrief.org/briefs/compe...
In today's "evidence-based policy-making" case study I am almost certain that 250m+ GBP will be spent to renovate Hammersmith Bridge into a car-friendly crossing again...
Every time
November 23, 2025 at 3:02 PM
In today's "evidence-based policy-making" case study I am almost certain that 250m+ GBP will be spent to renovate Hammersmith Bridge into a car-friendly crossing again...
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
They line up perfectly.
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 AM
They line up perfectly.
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
The humanitarian NGO medico international has adopted a three-pronged strategy towards humanitarian aid: to defend it, to criticize it, and to overcome it. I propose to adopt a similar perspective regarding development cooperation"
From our blog
www.developmentresearch.eu?p=2231
From our blog
www.developmentresearch.eu?p=2231
The End of Development Aid?
By Aram Ziai / Development and Development Policy in the Trump Era Series In the last few months, our object of research has seen some dramatic changes. I am referring to the de-facto dismantling o…
www.developmentresearch.eu
November 17, 2025 at 1:40 PM
The humanitarian NGO medico international has adopted a three-pronged strategy towards humanitarian aid: to defend it, to criticize it, and to overcome it. I propose to adopt a similar perspective regarding development cooperation"
From our blog
www.developmentresearch.eu?p=2231
From our blog
www.developmentresearch.eu?p=2231
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
This is not the worst book we've ever read but it is the meanest episode we've ever done.
Episode 46: Sapiens
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
Sapiens
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 11/20/2025 · 1h 38m
podcasts.apple.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:53 PM
This is not the worst book we've ever read but it is the meanest episode we've ever done.
The global humanitarian system is disintegrating in real time; this is the reality for @unhcr.org:
1. UNHCR is ending 2025 with $1.3 billion less than last year, a 30% workforce reduction, and 185 offices consolidated or closed. (1/x)
1. UNHCR is ending 2025 with $1.3 billion less than last year, a 30% workforce reduction, and 185 offices consolidated or closed. (1/x)
November 17, 2025 at 10:32 AM
The global humanitarian system is disintegrating in real time; this is the reality for @unhcr.org:
1. UNHCR is ending 2025 with $1.3 billion less than last year, a 30% workforce reduction, and 185 offices consolidated or closed. (1/x)
1. UNHCR is ending 2025 with $1.3 billion less than last year, a 30% workforce reduction, and 185 offices consolidated or closed. (1/x)
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
Can I quietly ask we stop talking about what "AI" *could* do in education and identify instead what's actually happening with AI in education? I'll start...
November 15, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Can I quietly ask we stop talking about what "AI" *could* do in education and identify instead what's actually happening with AI in education? I'll start...
Dear journalism students, when the assignment requires you to write a piece that makes the perpetrator look like the victim, get inspired by the summary below…
A teenager in Florida with a homeless parent wanted money for braces and ended up having sex for money with powerful men, setting off a chain of events that would have a dramatic impact on her life and help upend the political career of Representative Matt Gaetz. nyti.ms/49PSkL9
November 14, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Dear journalism students, when the assignment requires you to write a piece that makes the perpetrator look like the victim, get inspired by the summary below…
Reposted by Tobias Denskus
📝 More than 300,000 refugees live in Kakuma camp in northern Kenya, an isolated and arid region, shut away from the rest of the country, depending on a faltering aid system for survival. These poems by Peter Kidi explore that tension ⬇️
buff.ly/tDBYPxB
buff.ly/tDBYPxB
“The weight we carry”
Poet Peter Kidi explores the human cost of aid cuts, and the resilience of refugees living between hunger and hope.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:35 AM
📝 More than 300,000 refugees live in Kakuma camp in northern Kenya, an isolated and arid region, shut away from the rest of the country, depending on a faltering aid system for survival. These poems by Peter Kidi explore that tension ⬇️
buff.ly/tDBYPxB
buff.ly/tDBYPxB
“Abundance”
The fundamental impetus and ideology of AI is to destroy real people’s professions and lives, while soiling the environment and debasing our most treasured cultural practices, for the vague promise of increasing shareholder profits in the name of efficiency. It’s a “fuck you” to human civilization.
How is AI *really* impacting jobs?
Henley Chiu, the CTO of Revealera, a jobs data analysis firm, analyzed 180 million jobs listings in 2024 and 2025, in an effort to find out. Chiu found an:
-8% drop in all jobs postings
-~30% drop in art, photography, writing jobs
-22% drop in journalism jobs
Henley Chiu, the CTO of Revealera, a jobs data analysis firm, analyzed 180 million jobs listings in 2024 and 2025, in an effort to find out. Chiu found an:
-8% drop in all jobs postings
-~30% drop in art, photography, writing jobs
-22% drop in journalism jobs
November 13, 2025 at 9:24 PM
“Abundance”