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Beyond the Logframe: Staying Oriented When the Structure Disappears

  Beyond the Logframe: Staying Oriented When the Structure Disappears Tahir Ali Shah In humanitarian and development work, much of our daily structure comes from outside us. Our calendars are shaped by donor deadlines, reporting cycles, coordination meetings, and team responsibilities. Even when the work is intense, the rhythm is familiar. We know what is expected, when it is due, and who we are accountable to. Over time, this external structure becomes the invisible framework that holds our days together. When that structure suddenly disappears, because a contract ends, funding stops, or a role is lost, many experienced professionals are surprised by how disoriented they feel. This is not because they lack discipline or motivation. It is because the tools they relied on were designed for a very different situation. Productivity systems that worked well in stable employment often fail during periods of uncertainty, not because they are bad tools, but because they are solving ...
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When the Job Ends, the Purpose Does Not

  When the Job Ends, the Purpose Does Not Tahir Ali Shah Most people like me, who spend their lives in humanitarian and development work, do not enter the sector by accident. We are drawn in by something deeper than salary or job titles. It may be a sense of justice, a desire to stand with people in crisis, or simply the feeling that this work matters in a way few others do. Over time, the work becomes part of our identity. It shapes how we see the world and how we see ourselves within it. This is why periods of unemployment, short-term contracts, or professional uncertainty hit so hard in this sector. When a job ends, it can feel as though the mission has ended with it. For many experienced practitioners, especially those who have spent decades moving from emergency to emergency or program to program, the loss of a formal role feels personal. It creates doubt, frustration, and sometimes a quiet grief that is rarely spoken about openly. The past few years have made this fee...
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The Silent Skills Gap in Humanitarian Leadership

The Silent Skills Gap in Humanitarian Leadership Tahir Ali Shah For more than thirty years, I worked in humanitarian and development organizations, managing large programs, leading teams across countries, and overseeing millions of dollars in donor funding. On paper, I looked like a senior professional who knew exactly what I was doing. Yet there is a truth I took many years to fully accept: for a long time, I was doing this work without being properly prepared for the job I was actually performing. Like many people in the humanitarian sector, I grew into leadership roles through commitment, field experience, and a strong belief in the mission. I understood communities, protection risks, emergency response, and program design. What I did not fully understand, at least not in a structured and confident way, was the business side of my role. No one ever formally taught me management, leadership, or financial systems. I was expected to learn these things along the way, while already carry...
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The Crisis of Healthcare Under Fire: Systematic Assault and the Collapse of Medical Neutrality

  The Crisis of Healthcare Under Fire: Systematic Assault and the Collapse of Medical Neutrality Tahir Ali Shah Executive Summary The protection of healthcare systems, personnel, and facilities under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is facing a catastrophic collapse worldwide. The years 2024 and 2025 have seen an unprecedented escalation in systematic violence targeting healthcare provision, shifting from being mere collateral damage to what many experts describe as the strategic destruction of health systems—a phenomenon termed "healthocide." Global monitoring organizations confirm that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for health and humanitarian workers. Data compiled by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) documented over 3,600 reported incidents of violence against or obstruction of healthcare in 2024. This systematic violence has been most concentrated in conflict zones such as Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, posing a profound challenge to the Ge...
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