Fatma Tanis
Fatma Tanis is a correspondent covering global health and development for NPR.
Tanis reports on U.S. foreign aid policy, the global humanitarian aid sector, as well as poverty and hunger, among other global health issues.
She's covered some of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world from Yemen, Chad, Gaza and Ukraine. Her reporting has often focused on the most vulnerable populations around the world and how they are impacted by the policies of governments.
For over a decade Tanis has reported on major events from all around the world, with a focus on the Middle East – including the social changes in Saudi Arabia in 2018 and onwards, the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in Iran in 2023, Turkey's geopolitical strategy vis-à-vis Russia and the West, the plight of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and the war between Israel and Hamas.
Tanis speaks Turkish and Arabic and can survive in Persian.
Tanis can be reached via encrypted message at fxtanis.05 on Signal. [Copyright 2025 NPR]
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Thousands of South Sudanese refugees and impoverished locals in Uganda saw a brighter future with a new USAID-funded project. They'd get $205 and coaching to build a business. Then came the cuts. -
USAID was the lead American agency in disaster response. Now that it's been dismantled, questions are arising about how effective U.S. relief efforts will be in Jamaica after the hurricane. -
Meridah Nandudu was a single mom of two kids, unemployed and in despair. Then she had an idea: Maybe the "humble" coffee beans she'd grown up with on her parents' farm could lead her to a better life. -
It's the first high level U.N. gathering since the U.S. foreign aid cuts under the Trump Administration. What were people thinking — and talking about? -
This was the latest event after a series of incursions by Russian military aircraft into NATO airspace in September, leading to heightened tensions between NATO and Russia. -
After months of aid cuts, the State Department has released a 35-page document detailing how it plans to roll out global health assistance. Here's what it says — and what the reaction is. -
As famine plagues Gaza, NPR exclusive reporting looks at the U.S. role in the humanitarian crisis. Many former officials NPR interviewed share a common refrain: Did we do enough to prevent this? -
A federal appeals court handed President Trump a victory on Wednesday. The court ruled the administration can continue to freeze or terminate billions of dollars that Congress approved in foreign aid. -
Charities usually like to talk to the public about their good works. In the wake of the Trump aid cuts, there's a new approach: "anticipatory silence." It's controversial. -
Congress approved the clawing back of $7.9 billion in foreign aid pledges. Who ends up losing out?
