Transforming the humanitarian system: our role to confront embedded inequities

The humanitarian system presents itself as a beacon of hope amid humanitarian crises, a vision that drew many of us into the field of humanitarian work. Yet once inside, the ideal unravels. Rooted in colonial histories and perpetuated by enduring global power asymmetries and the neoliberal logic of the aid sector, the humanitarian system frequently reinforces the very inequities it purports to resolve.1 These inequities manifest through policies and frameworks, as well as via interpersonal and cultural practices that, implicitly or explicitly, marginalise the most vulnerable.