UN aid chief succession in focus amid exploding humanitarian crises

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has yet to name a permanent replacement for the global body’s aid chief who departs for health reasons on Friday, drawing criticism at a time of record global needs.
Martin Griffiths, a British former diplomat who helped broker the Black Sea Grains deal between Ukraine and Russia and led a chorus of concern over the Gaza war, has said the plan is to appoint his deputy Joyce Msuya from Tanzania as acting chief.
However, some observers say not having named a permanent successor sends the wrong signal at a time when some donors are retrenching, with this year’s $48.7 budget less than 20% funded.
“Someone acting temporarily is not a good thing,” Jan Egeland, who held the post from 2003-2006 and is now secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters.
“They don’t have the same authority, perspective, the same weight at a time of deep crisis in humanitarian work – we haven’t had so many people hungry, attacked, abused with so little hope before in living memory.”
Other diplomats also voiced disappointment that there would be a delay in appointing a permanent replacement for Griffiths as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.