Managing humanitarian narratives in the Ukraine crisis response

This note summarises the findings of a private online roundtable held by the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI with support from the British Red Cross on 26 May 2022. Participants comprised senior staff from key donor governments, international humanitarian organisations operating in Ukraine, and independent journalists covering the conflict.

The discussion sought to understand the humanitarian narratives that are unfolding in the Russia–Ukraine crisis and how those narratives are impacting different approaches to the response and relationships between a variety of actors, and what influence the narratives have on the effectiveness of the response. Participants also shared ideas on what humanitarian organisations can do to influence narratives to maximise their positive effects.