IRIN News

IRIN News is the world's leading provider of humanitarian news and analysis. 

IRIN was the first news service of its kind, founded nearly 20 years ago by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in response to a gap in humanitarian reporting exposed by the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath. 

What started as daily faxes to aid workers has turned into an award-winning humanitarian news and analysis service that delivers reporting from the frontlines of crises in more than 70 countries. 

Our expert reporters and senior editors highlight neglected crises, amplifying the voices of the most vulnerable, influencing policy-makers, and critically examining what has now become a $22-billion-a-year aid industry. 

Backed by more than 170 freelance correspondents, they deliver daily humanitarian reportage in English, French and Arabic through a website, a mobile app, a free email subscription service, and media syndication. 

In a 2008 survey commissioned by IRIN, the global marketing research company ACNielsen found IRIN to be the premier online humanitarian news source for people who describe themselves as having a "strong impact on humanitarian issues". The survey found that when it comes to keeping abreast of humanitarian news and issues, IRIN was preferred to its closest rival, BBC Online, by a ratio of 4 to 1. 

Moving forward, IRIN plans to expand coverage to Latin America and to China, increase language offerings, hire additional staff to market and monetize some products, increase storytelling/reporting platforms and take on more investigative multimedia projects.

To read more about our transition into an independent media venture visit our transition website http://newirin.irinnews.org 

Until our official rebrand, IRIN will continue to publish on it's old website www.irinnews.org