INGOs should not wait for the next crisis to change. Change is now, and they need to make the right choices. They must be agile, adaptable, and alert like a chameleon; vigilant, persistent and fearless like a royal eagle; have a small and committed crew like a speedboat; have well-defined niches like a specialist; and let go of power, trust their local partners and take the back seat.

After four iterations of their operating system, INGOs have progressively moved from an era of opacity and total power control to an era of transparency and progressive power shift. However, the path to achieving the balance of power between the "Global North" and the "Global South" or between aid providers and aid clients is still long and bumpy. But it is an irreversible path.

Rational decision-making frameworks have limits in permacrisis —an extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events. Leaders and managers do not find adequate answers in organisational blueprints. They should be able to experiment with alternative decision-making frameworks, relying less on rational data and more on people's emotions and the political forces at stake.

When I arrived in the DRC in October 2021 to take up my post as Country Director of the International Rescue Committee, a friend who has been working in the country for almost ten years said to me: "Welcome to the development laboratory".

On the spot, I didn't understand his words. But it took me less than a month to understand what he was talking about. I relate my experience in this article. Read and comment.

On Wednesday, 11 May 2022, two International Rescue Committee (IRC) vehicles were attacked by armed men, and two colleagues were kidnapped. On Thursday, 19 May 2022, they were released safe, marking the end of a 9-day ordeal for them, their families, relatives and colleagues.

I give a flashback to those nine days of captivity and suffering of our two colleagues and how I experienced them.

In 2020, when the Covid-19 virus spread around the world like wildfire, everyone predicted doom and gloom for Africa. It was not to be. With the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, a dark fate is being predicted for the continent. Africa has the means to protect itself against the negative effects of this crisis.

After years of escalating tension and months of unsuccessful diplomatic attempts to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, what the world had feared happened in the early hours of 24 February 2022: the Russian army attacked Ukraine.

The shockwave is spreading at high speed and risks hitting Africa hard.

I set foot in Goma, DRC, for the first time on Saturday 16 October. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the city but especially by the hospitality and the joie de vivre of the people of Goma. The food is excellent and above all healthy and natural.

As the third wave of COVID-19 hits the African continent hard, with the Delta variant spreading fast, there is an increased risk to the health of populations and economies. With no effective medicines available, vaccination remains the most effective weapon against the spread of the virus. However, in a world of three-speed access to the COVID vaccine, Africa is lagging behind. But there is still hope.

COVID-19 shed light on a sad reality: when there is a global threat, nationalism and protectionism rise. And the poorest always pay the heaviest toll. But it doesn't have to be that way. There is still time to make things right and prevent the situation from deteriorating.