David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), sounded a Casandra-like plea for aid to Sudan on Fareed Zakaria GPS yesterday. He lamented that, while Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is front-page news, Sudan’s far worse crisis is barely getting any coverage. Except, did I mention he sounded his clarion call on CNN…

According to the IRC’s 2025 Emergency Watchlist, Sudan is suffering the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.” A staggering 10% of the global population in humanitarian need lives in Sudan, even though the country represents less than 1% of the world’s population.

The Band Aid legacy and compassion fatigue

Frankly, with all due respect to Miliband, he sounds like a broken record. Simply put, compassion fatigue and a litany of failed efforts haunt donor nations like the ghost of Christmas past. With Ukraine, Gaza, Haiti, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and others all clamoring for aid, Sudan is competing in a crowded misery market.

Meanwhile, potential donors recall Ethiopia’s 1980s famine — and the well-intentioned but patronizing charitable events it spawned. As it happens, the Band Aid anthem, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” marked its 40^th anniversary this year.

But it’s telling that the song is as reviled today as it was revered back then. Enlightened Africans resent its demeaning lyrics and colonial undertones. And Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed criticized the anniversary remix, waring that “A good cause that has not evolved with the times might end up doing more harm than good.”

This criticism isn’t merely academic. As NPR reported last year, Ed Sheeran said he regretted lending his voice to the 2014 remix. He credited African rapper Fuse ODG for opening his eyes with this scathing critique: “While they may generate sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment.”

And, to his credit, Fuse ODG didn’t just criticize – he mobilized. He produced the alternative anthem, “We Know It’s Christmas,” which shifts the narrative toward supporting local African initiatives instead of reinforcing the image of Africa as a helpless charity case.

To donate, or not to donate, that’s the question

This tension presents a genuine dilemma for humanitarian relief:

On the one hand, donors can be forgiven for resenting efforts to guilt-trip them into funding another humanitarian money pit. Yet Bob Geldof still defends Band Aid and its original “Do They Know It’s Christmas” as “an instrument for change”— like it’s 1980 again. On the other hand, belief in African solutions for African problems (ASAP) is gaining currency across the continent. This makes the IRC’s plea for help like a neighbor intervening in a domestic dispute, only to have the battered wife snap, “Mind your own business.”

Mind you, while commendable, ASAP often lacks the resources and coordination needed to address the root causes of humanitarian crises that plague Africa.

So, what’s the answer?

To prevent Sudan’s tragedy from becoming a permanent stain on global conscience, we need pragmatic solutions. For example:

Humanitarian efforts must empower local communities without parachuting in Westerners with savior complexes. Instead of offering emergency Band Aids, focus on building durable infrastructure — clean water, food distribution networks, and healthcare.
international agencies should push for regional accountability through organizations like the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, or partnerships with ECOWAS and IGAD, which have experience mediating conflicts and coordinating aid efforts. Neighboring African nations, with their proximity and vested interests, are better positioned to mediate conflicts and deliver aid effectively. And aid workers should be rooted in nourishing African bodies as missionaries are in saving their souls.
Donor nations must shed their collective guilt and embrace smart aid. Instead of reactionary charity campaigns, invest in programs with measurable outcomes. For example, funding local agricultural projects or education initiatives fosters sustainable change — without perpetuating dependency. You know, teach Africans to fish…

Miliband’s frustration is understandable. But until the world moves past its outdated playbook, the cycle of crisis, donor fatigue, and failed interventions will continue — and Sudan’s cries for help will become white noise.