As the global humanitarian community commemorates World Humanitarian Day on Aug 19, 2024, let us honour the brave and compassionate humanitarian aid workers who support people forcibly displaced by global crisis. However, a crucial question emerges: who truly shapes the narrative of humanitarian aid? The landscape of global crises and humanitarian response has evolved significantly since the adoption of The International Humanitarian Law in 1864. The 2016 Grand Bargain marked a paradigm shift, aiming to enhance humanitarian effectiveness by prioritising support and funding for local responders. But progress remains slow, and the humanitarian system, once rooted in compassion, has morphed into an industrial complex marred with abuse of forcibly displaced populations.¹