The arduous system for getting aid into Gaza

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

Insulin needles. Sleeping bags. Nutella. These are items Arwa Damon’s charity — International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance — has tried to send to Gaza and Israel has rejected. It’s a glimpse into the harsh reality of a humanitarian crisis with no end in sight. Today on the show, we talk to Damon about the economics of running a humanitarian nonprofit and what’s stopping more aid from reaching Gaza.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	NPR.
0:02.0	This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Whalen Wong.
0:15.4	Arwa Damon spent 16 years at CNN.
0:18.2	She was a senior international correspondent, reporting from conflict zones like Iraq and Syria.
0:23.7	And when Ara was out in the field, she would often bring suitcases of clothing to hand out to the people
0:28.9	she met. This was never in exchange for an interview or story, but rather after she was done reporting.
0:35.8	Still, it didn't seem like enough.
0:38.1	It's this feeling that grabs you in the throat because you do want to be able to do more.
0:45.7	So in 2015, Arwa did do more. She started a nonprofit called the International Network for Aid Relief and Assistance.
0:53.4	It helps children get medical care if they've been hurt by war or in natural disasters.
0:58.7	Enada, as the group is called for short, works in countries like Turkey, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.
1:03.7	It also operates in Gaza.
1:05.8	None of us have ever encountered a situation like Gaza.
1:14.4	Not on any level of it.
1:20.3	Today in the show, Arwa talks about the economics of running a humanitarian aid organization and the difficulties of getting help to Gaza and residents.
1:26.2	Arwa Damon founded Inada in 2015 while she was still a correspondent at CNN.
1:31.7	She says her humanitarian work came out of her experiences as a reporter.
1:36.1	Yes, we're there to report and observe.
1:38.3	But once we have done that, there's nothing stopping us from then being a human being
1:43.3	who wants to just give something to another
1:45.4	human being. A lot of us who are out there, especially in these war zones, we're constantly
1:49.8	coming across children who have been injured. And sometimes you can do a report on them,
	...

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