Rethinking Aid: Responding to Humanitarian Crisis in times of growing challenges 

As part of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, 2025, the Institute of Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action (IECAH) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are organizing the side event “Rethinking Aid: Responding to Humanitarian Crises in Times of Growing Challenges.”

The global humanitarian system is facing a moment of crisis. Increasing needs—driven by protracted conflicts, disasters, forced displacement, and public health emergencies—are met with increasingly limited resources. This is further compounded by the erosion of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the weakening of multilateralism, which further hinders coordinated and effective responses.

This side event aims to create a space for dialogue among key stakeholders—including governments, humanitarian agencies, donors, civil society organizations, and multilateral bodies—to examine the critical role that Official Development Assistance (ODA) plays in humanitarian crisis contexts. The discussion will focus on how more strategic, flexible, and needs-based funding can help bridge the growing gap between humanitarian needs and available resources.

Panelists

• Antón Leis, Chief Executive Officer at AECID 

• Anja Nitzsche, Chief of Partnerships and Resource Mobilization at OCHA 

• Mike Pfister, Head of the Development Centre at ICRC 

• Alberto Jodra Marcos, Head of the Centre for Applied Reflection on Humanitarian Practice (ARHP) at MSF 

• Camille Nussbaum, Executive Coordinator at IECAH 

• Moderator: Raquel González, MSF Spain Coordinator and Head of Institutional Relations