Fatma Tanis

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte (L) appear during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on June 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Trump's NATO pressure campaign continues as summit begins

Fatma Tanis, Danielle Kurtzleben

President Trump's arrival in Ankara kicks off another potentially tense meeting for NATO.

Ambassador Samantha Power (C), former head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), embraces fired employees and their supporters outside the agency's headquarters on February 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Former USAID head grieves its closure while hoping for its future

Fatma Tanis

Former USAID administrator reflects on a year since USAID's shutdown and the new direction of US foreign aid.

A man carries a mattress past damaged residential buildings in Catia La Mar, about 18 miles northwest of Caracas. Twin earthquakes on June 25 have killed at least 164 people and destroyed multiple buildings near the capital. The U.S. has pledge a substantial amount of aid to address the aftermath of the disaster.

U.S. pledges generous earthquake relief to Venezuela

Fatma Tanis

Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised: "We have a whole-of-government response. It'll be big; it'll be fast; and it'll be effective."

Nicholas Enrich worked for the United States Agency for International Development under four administrations and was dismissed after leaking memos detailing plans to shut it down. He writes about the end of USAID — and his role in the response to a 2025 Ebola outbreak — in his new book, Into the Woodchipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID.

In his book, self-described USAID 'whistleblower' talks about the agency and Ebola

Fatma Tanis

Nicholas Enrich, on staff at the U.S. Agency for International Aid under 4 administrations, talks about Into the Woodchipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID.

Research shows that an anti-poverty program can even work in incredibly difficult circumstances, like in the Somali city of Baidoa, where half of the city's 1.2 million population are internally displaced people.

Anti-poverty program is effective even in one of the world's toughest settings

Fatma Tanis

Researchers looked at whether a tried-and-true poverty alleviation effort that gives cash and coaching to households, and is typically implemented in rural areas, could work in an urban setting.

A man closes the door of a shop in Cairo, Egypt, to comply with the government's order for businesses to shut down nightly at 9 p.m.

From night life in Egypt to rice farming in Vietnam, the war in Iran is a drain

Fatma Tanis

Fuel costs more. Food is harder to get. Jobs are evaporating. And in Cairo, cafes and restaurants are ordered to close at 9 p.m.

A protester carries a sign that equates foreign aid with soft power during a rally near the U.S. Capitol to protest the dismantling of USAID, the international agency charged with dispensing humanitarian aid around the world on behalf of the United States.

In the Trump era, everybody's talking about 'soft power.' But ... what is it exactly?

Fatma Tanis

The U.S. government long saw giving international aid as a way to build goodwill throughout the world. Did it work? And what does the reducing of foreign aid mean for that effort now?

Commercial vessels offshore in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on March 11. Attacks hit three commercial ships in the Gulf on March 11 as Iran pressed its campaign against its oil-exporting neighbors, threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Medical supplies are stuck in Dubai, as clinics around the world face shortages

Fatma Tanis

The war in Iran has slowed down international shipping, much of which contains medical and humanitarian goods destined for Asia and Africa.

Covering global health as billions of dollars of aid are cut from programs

Linah Mohammad, Rob Schmitz, Fatma Tanis

NPR Global Health and Development Correspondent Fatma Tanis talks about digging into the impact of billions of dollars of US aid being cut from programs around the world.

Dr. Caspian Chouraya in his home in Mbabane, Eswatini, says U.S. funding cuts have meant many of his projects have shut down, like support groups for teenagers with HIV.

Congress gave money for global HIV work. The Trump administration isn't spending it

Gabrielle Emanuel, Jonathan Lambert, Fatma Tanis

U.S. work combatting HIV/AIDS has saved millions of lives globally. Under the Trump administration, funding has been slow in coming and unpredictable, wreaking havoc on people trying to do the work.