The Business of Mercy

After 30 years of steady growth, humanitarian aid has become a multibillion-dollar industry, with some of the tens of thousands of NGOs active in the field operating like multinationals. But increasingly frequent crises have also led to dysfunctions. What happens when the emergency aid dries up? To find out how the aid business works, our journalists returned to Haiti, the scene of a devastating earthquake in 2010. They report on the sector’s downsides at a pivotal moment in its history. While publically funded institutions like the ICRC seek to build partnerships with private funds, young and connected newcomers to humanitarian work believe it should be reconceived and reconnected with its grass roots, as close as possible to the victims.