Published on: 2026-08-19
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
August 19, 2026 Humanitarian Aid
Humanitarian work is not only about delivering food and providing services to people on the front lines of conflicts and natural disasters. Behind every aid distribution operation are contracts with partners, emergency preparedness, risk analysis, and the work of specialists in country offices and headquarters. This was personally experienced by Rinat Kapiev, an employee of the World Food Programme (WFP), who began his career in the UN system as a volunteer, then worked in Afghanistan and Gaza, and today at the WFP headquarters in Rome helps prepare countries for natural disasters.
On the eve of World Humanitarian Day, which is observed on August 19, he told Evgeniya Kleshcheva from the UN News Service about what humanitarian work looks like from the inside and why, after working in crisis situations, his desire to stay in this field has only grown stronger.
Starting point
After studying in Russia and the USA and completing an internship at the World Bank, Kapyev joined the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Budapest as a volunteer. For two years, he assisted country offices in Europe and Central Asia with resource mobilization, program development, monitoring, and project preparation in the areas of post-pandemic recovery, resilience building, and population support. This experience, he says, became the starting point of his international career.
Kapyev was selected for VPP through a program for training young specialists to work in emergencies. The selection was tough – over 1700 candidates for 7 vacant positions. The program included rotation in the emergency response department at headquarters, followed by assignments to country offices.
“I always wanted to be not at headquarters, but in the field,” he recalls. Therefore, he accepted the offer to go to Afghanistan immediately.
A year and a half in Afghanistan
Originally, the business trip was supposed to last six months, but in the end Kapyev spent one and a half years in Afghanistan. One of the main focuses of his work was cooperation with WFP partners – organizations through which food and other aid reach the population directly.
It is precisely the work on the ground, Rinat says, that allowed him to see what cannot be fully understood from reports and studies.
“I traveled a lot across Afghanistan, visited 73 partner offices, warehouses, and product distribution points. I saw how the population receives [assistance], how people live thanks to our help. And I realized that the work is beneficial,” he said.
Photo from the personal archive Employee of the World Food Programme Rinat Kapiev by the UN humanitarian air service plane in Afghanistan.
At the same time, such a business trip was associated with serious restrictions. Employees lived and worked in a secured complex and could leave its premises only for official business reasons.
“You live at work,” says Kapyev. Periods of rest outside the place of service, when he could see his family, helped him cope with isolation.
But the main source of motivation, according to him, remained the understanding of why he was in the country: “I understood that here I have the opportunity to work and support people who need help.”
Gaza: to ensure aid reaches those in need
The successful work of Kapiev in Afghanistan became known in other offices as well, and thanks to this he was sent to Gaza. The task was specific and urgent: to coordinate complex negotiations and prepare agreements with WFP partners for 2026. Such administrative work may seem far from the usual notion of humanitarian activities, but without it, aid simply cannot reach those in need.
“Even if we have funding, if we have all the resources, if the warehouses are full of humanitarian aid, but we don’t have contracts with partners, they won’t be able to do anything. The humanitarian aid will just sit there,” explains Kapyev.
Over three months, Rinat’s team, together with colleagues from logistics and finance, conducted negotiations, revised budgets, and prepared agreements with organizations for the distribution of more than 200,000 tons of food products, as well as financial aid, school meals, and hot food for 1.5 million people monthly.
For Rinat, the opportunity to see the final result of the work became one of the most powerful impressions.
“You drive through the streets, see children walking with IDP boxes, with rations, flour. For me, this only increased my pride in working in this field,” he said.
From the hotspots to the headquarters
Today Kapyev is working again in Rome — in the VPP division, which deals with insurance against natural disaster risks. His task is to help country offices prepare in advance for emergencies. Such mechanisms allow for financing to be planned in advance and an operational plan to be prepared in case of a climate disaster or drought.
After Afghanistan and Gaza, it was not easy to get used to the headquarters. However, over time, it became clear that the boundary between “field” and “office” humanitarian work is much less distinct than it might seem.
Photo from personal archive World Food Programme employee Rinat Kapyev in Gaza.
“The entire system, the whole machine must work smoothly. Somewhere the process begins at headquarters and ends in the field. At every link in this chain, a contribution must be made,” says Kapyev.
At the same time, connection with fieldwork has not disappeared. He communicates with country offices almost daily, and business trips remain part of his job. It is precisely the experience from Afghanistan and Gaza that now helps the specialist at headquarters: he can use the knowledge gained “in the field” to prepare colleagues in other countries for crises. For example, in July Rinat worked in Dominica, where together with colleagues from the WFP Caribbean office, he conducted partner training for the tropical cyclone season. Business trips to Somalia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique – countries vulnerable to the effects of El Niño – are also planned soon.
How to prepare for work in crisis conditions
Before being sent to complex and dangerous conditions, employees undergo medical and psychological examinations, as well as specialized training.
In addition to professional knowledge, such work requires a whole set of personal qualities, says Kapyev. Among them are stress resistance, adaptability, emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and the ability to communicate and negotiate.
“You need to be able to work effectively under conditions of uncertainty, limited resources, and high levels of pressure,” notes the WFP staff member.
Equally important is, according to him, the experience of local employees. Many of them have worked in a specific country for many years and possess a deep understanding of the local context that a specialist who has arrived there for a few months cannot have.
“I highly value the local knowledge and experience of national staff and consider them the most important resource for effective humanitarian response,” says Kapyev.
Therefore, he describes his approach to work primarily as support and mutual learning, rather than top-down management.
“It is precisely mutual respect, trust, and teamwork that make it possible to achieve sustainable results even in the most difficult conditions,” says the WFP employee.
“Saving lives and changing lives”
Over several years, Kapyev has seen humanitarian work from different perspectives—as a volunteer, a headquarters employee, and a specialist in emergency situations. According to him, field experience did not make him disillusioned with his chosen profession. On the contrary, his desire to continue this work grew stronger.
“I saw in Afghanistan and Gaza how our organization truly helps,” he says.
Today, Rinat’s work may mainly take place at a computer in Rome, but that does not make it any less important: plans are prepared before a disaster strikes, agreements are signed before aid distribution begins, and financing mechanisms and operation plans are created before an emergency arises. Simply put, humanitarian aid begins long before the moment a food box ends up in the hands of the person who needs it.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.