logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
35m 5s

Feeding the Forgotten - Reena Ghelani - ...

UNITED NATIONS, MELISSA FLEMING
About this episode

Reena Ghelani knows all too well the jarring silence of a crowded malnutrition ward. Now United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, she spends every day working on the frontlines of the global fight against hunger.

“You expect children to cry if they're suffering, but they don't even have the energy to cry. And the other thing is, I found that the mothers or the fathers are also silent. You know, luckily, many children survive when they get treatment, they are able to keep living.”

A deadly cocktail of conflict, climate change, and economic shocks have driven record numbers of people around the world to the brink of starvation. In this episode, Reena Ghelani reflects on the horrific impacts of hunger, on the lengths parents will go to feed a child and shares her advice for women pursuing a career as a humanitarian.

Up next
Sep 18
On life’s journey, make each step count, with Amina J. Mohammed - UN Deputy Secretary-General
How does one out of five sisters from rural Nigeria grow up to be UN Deputy Secretary-General? Blessed with tenacity, determination and grit, Amina Mohammed has always been driven to improve the lives of her fellow human beings and our planet. Rising to the top of the United Nati ... Show More
41m 21s
Sep 11
A ray of hope for cancer patients, with Dr. May Abdel-Wahab - Director of the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Whenever a new cancer patient entered her office in the U.S., Dr. May Abdel-Wahab knew she could help by palliating their pain and working towards a cure. Now, as Director of the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), she delivers hope to patie ... Show More
35m 29s
Sep 5
Nothing keeps me awake, everything keeps me going, with Peter Hawkins - UNICEF Representative in Yemen
Every day, Peter Hawkins wakes up filled with determination to make a difference. As the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Yemen, he puts that boundless energy into helping young people survive one of the world’s most intractable humanitarian crises. “Desp ... Show More
39m 44s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Episode 26: Hunger for Thought
We need to talk about hunger. After seven decades of a decline in mass death from starvation, starvation is now a reality for millions of people. And most of this starvation is not due to natural disasters but man-made. In this episode of EJIL: The Podcast, EJIL Editor in Chief S ... Show More
53m 34s
May 2025
Which countries are experiencing the worst of the global food crisis?
Global hunger has hit a new high. The United Nations says nearly 300 million people faced acute hunger last year. And the outlook for 2025 is bleak due to wars and cuts in aid. So which countries are experiencing the worst of the global food crisis? And who are the most vulnerabl ... Show More
23m 41s
Aug 5
UN says 'children reduced to skin and bones' and El Fasher facing starvation
The UN's food agency says people trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher for more than a year are facing starvation and that malnutrition is rife across the country, with many children "reduced to skin and bones". The interim leader of Bangladesh has been setting out plans for ... Show More
30m 12s
Aug 28
LEMON DROP | DON'T LOOK AWAY: Gaza Famine Tragedy
The famine in Gaza is man-made, and it’s happening in real time. UN experts have confirmed famine conditions, yet leaders deny what the world can see: starving children, destroyed hospitals, silenced journalists. Don breaks down why this is not defense, but policy, and why refusi ... Show More
10m 16s
Jan 2024
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths
After 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war, the toll on civilians keeps getting worse. The World Health Organization warns that Gaza could be on the brink of famine. Meanwhile the United Nations is desperately trying to plug the aid gap, in Ukraine and in other war zones. UN Humanita ... Show More
58m 57s
Jul 2024
The missing children of Gaza
The war in the Middle East continues to impact hundreds of thousands of innocent people, with Save The Children now estimating more than 21,000 children are missing in the wake of the conflict.  Many are trapped beneath rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or lost from th ... Show More
20m 18s
Aug 2024
Michelle Nunn: The Challenges of Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Michelle Nunn, the president and CEO of CARE. Michelle leads more than 8,000 people working around the world in crisis response, health and education access, gender equality, and climate change. Together, they discuss the unique challe ... Show More
35m 37s
Sep 17
Moazzam Malik, Chief Executive of Save the Children UK: Working on the ground in Gaza
Jamie Coomarasamy speaks to Moazzam Malik, Chief Executive of Save the Children UK, about operating on the ground in Gaza.They’re one of a number of non-governmental organisations, or NGOs, operating in the Gaza strip amid a backdrop of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.On ... Show More
22m 59s
Nov 2024
Inside Sudan’s Catastrophic Civil War
In this episode of The Horn, guest host Elissa Jobson is joined by BBC journalist Mohanad Hashim, to talk about his recent trip to Omdurman and other war-torn cities in Sudan, and the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the country as the war between the Sudanese army and the p ... Show More
32m 56s
Apr 2025
What the World is Ignoring About Sudan’s Civil War
The crisis in Sudan is taking another devastating turn. Over the past several days, a genocidal paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has attacked a sprawling refugee camp in Darfur. As I write this, nearly 400,000 people have fled the camp and are now traver ... Show More
29m 59s