What we are learning about diversity in gender and emergencies work

What we are learning about diversity in gender and emergencies work

Reda SadkiLeadership

On 18 September 2025, we first announced our new Certificate peer learning programme for gender in emergencies. The first course, a primer on the topic, then launched on 6 October. As of 21 January 2026, the gender community of The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) now reaches 6,592 practitioners. This amazing growth is the result of the first primer “going viral”, and a testament to the Foundation’s learning communities that responded to the call to action, joined the course, and spread the call for enrollment far and wide. On 14 October 2025, The Geneva Learning Foundation issued the first call for domain experts to support and guide the programme’s future development. In humanitarian work, hiring processes are frequently opaque. Specialized topics like gender in emergencies have relied primarily on closed networks led by Global North gatekeepers with impressive credentials and “field” experience. Our thinking was that this excludes or marginalizes practitioners …

Reimagining Rapid Gender Analysis as decolonial practice

Reimagining Rapid Gender Analysis as decolonial practice

Reda SadkiLeadership

Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) is a practical tool designed for humanitarian emergencies that allows aid workers to quickly understand how a crisis affects women, men, boys, and girls differently. Because there is often no time for long, detailed studies when lives are at risk, RGA provides a practical method to gather “good enough” information immediately to ensure that aid is safe, fair, and effective. It works by using existing data and progressively gathering new insights to help decision-makers respond to gender-specific risks without delaying urgent life-saving action. This analysis examines the reference article on Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) by Isadora Quay, using a decolonial feminist framework proposed by Udenigwe Ogochukwu, Aubel Judi, and Abimbola Seye. These authors argue that many gender equality initiatives in the Global South unwittingly host oppressive forces by reinforcing colonial and capitalist hierarchies. The following sections evaluate RGA against the four key themes identified by Udenigwe and her …

A decolonial feminist perspective on gender equality programming in the Global South

A decolonial feminist perspective on gender equality programming in the Global South

Reda SadkiGlobal health

The article “A decolonial feminist perspective on gender equality programming in the Global South” provides a critical analysis of how international non-governmental organizations design and execute gender equality programs. The authors, Udenigwe Ogochukwu, Aubel Judi, and Abimbola Seye, argue that many current initiatives adapt to existing systems of oppression rather than dismantling them. They contend that these programs often inadvertently reinforce racist, capitalist, and patriarchal structures, which can hinder true equality and potentially worsen the well-being of women and girls in the Global South. The authors identify four central themes that characterize these problematic narratives within development programming. 1. Reinforcing hierarchical knowledge praxis The first theme critiques the exclusion and silencing of knowledge originating from the Global South. The authors highlight how development programs often overlook indigenous histories of collective organization. For instance, while organizations often present “safe spaces” as new interventions, African women have long utilized similar cultural structures, …

Guidance on policy and strategic actions to protect and promote mental health and well-being across government sectors

How can governments protect and promote mental health and well-being across sectors?

Reda SadkiGlobal health

For decades, global health policy has approached mental illness primarily as a clinical challenge, a condition to be managed within the walls of hospitals and clinics by medical professionals. This biomedical focus, while essential, has often obscured the broader context in which mental health is shaped. A new publication from the World Health Organization, Guidance on policy and strategic actions to protect and promote mental health and well-being across government sectors, marks a significant shift in normative standards. It posits that mental health is not merely a health outcome but a structural one, determined as much by the fiscal policy, urban planning, and labor laws of governments as by psychiatric care. A technical framework for cross-sectoral governance The guidance emerges against a backdrop of escalating costs. The global economic burden of mental health conditions is projected to reach US$6 trillion by 2030. In response, the WHO outlines a “whole-of-government” approach, moving …

Subnational tailoring of malaria strategies and interventions

Subnational tailoring of malaria strategies and interventions: bridging the gap between planning and implementation

Reda SadkiGlobal health

The global malaria response is currently navigating a convergence of crises. Epidemiologically, the reduction in mortality has plateaued. Biologically, threats from Anopheles stephensi and partial artemisinin resistance are accelerating. Financially, the 2025 landscape is defined by a severe contraction in foreign assistance, necessitating a radical optimization of resources. In this context, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new guidance, Subnational tailoring of malaria strategies and interventions (2025), offers a necessary technical framework. However, the manual relies on an implementation architecture that remains fragile. To succeed, the technical rigor of subnational tailoring (SNT) should be coupled with an operational mechanism capable of mobilizing the workforce in the current context. This article examines how digital peer learning-to-action networks offer a potential mechanism to address the operational deficits of conventional technical assistance and capacity building. Subnational tailoring of malaria strategies: moving from blanket coverage to allocative efficiency The rationale for SNT rests on the recognition that transmission heterogeneity …

Retrouver les enfants congolais non-vaccinés: des acteurs de tout le pays lancent le premier Accélérateur zéro-dose pour renforcer la mise en oeuvre et le suivi

Reda SadkiGlobal health

«Si je réussis mon projet de terrain, je m’attends à avoir au moins vacciné 345 enfants». Cet engagement n’a pas été pris par un ministre dans la capitale, mais par Jérémie Mpata Lumpungu, infirmier titulaire dans la province du Kasaï. Il n’était pas seul. Lundi 10 novembre 2025, un appel a résonné à travers la République démocratique du Congo. Depuis Kinshasa, le Dr Josaphat-Francois WETSHIKOY, épidémiologiste, a détaillé son objectif pour les 21 prochains jours: «récupérer 30 % des enfants» non vaccinés dans sa zone cible de 230 000. Barthélemy Daké Saoromou, préparant une stratégie mobile, vise «plus de 500 enfants zéro dose». Cette détermination palpable, venue de praticiens de tout le pays, a marqué le lancement de l’«Accélérateur d’impact zéro-dose». Il ne s’agit pas d’une formation ou d’un atelier de plus. C’est une nouvelle phase d’action, un «système de soutien» pour la mise en oeuvre et le suivi, conçu par …

Green skills and artificial intelligence

The future of work: remarks at the 9th 1M1B Impact Summit held at the United Nations in Geneva

Reda SadkiArtificial intelligence, Global health

On November 7, 2025, Reda Sadki, Executive Director of The Geneva Learning Foundation, joined the panel “The Future of Work: AI and Green Skills” at the 9th 1M1B Impact Summit held at the United Nations in Geneva. Moderated by Elizabeth Saunders, the discussion explored the rapid redefinition of the workforce by artificial intelligence and the green transition. The following is an edited transcript of Mr. Sadki’s remarks. Living with artificial intelligence Moderator: You have just seen some of these really incredible changemaker ideas and so what skills and mindsets stood out to you and how do you think those can be scaled to build a workforce that is living with AI and not competing with it? That is a wonderful question. I would answer that the key skill is learning to work with artificial intelligence. It is likely that your generation will be the first one learning to work side-by-side …

Bill Gates

Development is adaptation: Bill Gates’s shift is actually about linking climate change and health

Reda SadkiGlobal health

Bill Gates’ latest public memo marks a significant shift in how the world’s most influential philanthropist frames the challenge of climate change. He sees a future in which responding to climate threats and promoting well-being become two sides of the same mission, declaring, “development is adaptation.” Gates argues that the principal metric for climate action should not be global temperature or near-term emission reductions alone, but measured improvement in the lives of the world’s most vulnerable populations. He argues that the focus of climate action should be on the “greatest possible impact for the most vulnerable people.” The suffering of poor communities must take priority, since, in his view, “climate change, disease, and poverty are all major problems. We should deal with them in proportion to the suffering they cause.” Climate change is about the health of the most vulnerable This position resonates with a core message that has emerged …

20251029.CLIMATE Lancet Countdown 2025.005.1600

How the Lancet Countdown illuminates a new path to climate-resilient health systems

Reda SadkiGlobal health

The 2025 Lancet Countdown report has begun to acknowledge a critical, often-overlooked source of intelligence to build climate-resilient health systems: the health worker. By including testimonials from health workers alongside formal quantitative evidence, the Lancet cracks open a door, hinting at a world beyond globally standardized datasets. This is a necessary first step. However, the report’s framework for action remains a traditional, top-down model. It primarily frames the health workforce as passive recipients of knowledge—a group that must be “educated and trained” because they are “unprepared”, rather than build on existing evidence that points to health workers as leaders for climate-health resilience. The 2025 report confirms that climate change’s assault on human health has reached alarming new levels. Yet, within this sobering assessment lies a quiet but potentially pivotal shift. For the first time, the Countdown’s country profiles integrate direct testimonials from frontline health workers, explicitly acknowledging their “lived experiences as valuable …

20251029.CLIMATE Lancet Countdown 2025.008.1600

Climate change and health: what the Lancet Countdown says about the value and significance of local knowledge and action

Reda SadkiGlobal health

Here is everything that the new Lancet Countdown says about the value and significance of indigenous and other forms of local knowledge, as well as their value for community-led action to respond to the impacts of climate change on health. Why does this matter? Read our article: How the Lancet Countdown illuminates a new path to climate-resilient health systems On the value of community-led action and the significance of local knowledge Defining community-led action by its local context and empowerment “Community-led actions are those spearheaded by self-organised individuals within a community, working together for a common goal. Rooted in local societal, cultural, and economic contexts, they can promote equity, empower local actors, and strengthen climate resilience.” Community-led action as a driver of meaningful progress “Individual, community-led, and civil society actions can drive meaningful progress with substantial health benefits.” Grassroots activities growing into formal organizations “These grassroots activities can grow into …