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]
-
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. -
As the world watches Syria grapple with the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime and the formation of a new government, one neighbor has emerged as having great influence over the new Syria. -
A year ago, she packed what she could, helped her mother, who's in a wheelchair, into the car and drove all night to find a haven. In the U.S. to accept an award, she talks about her country's crisis. -
In an interview with NPR, the blockbuster director said the studio's decision to stream movies on HBO Max on the day of their release will hurt the people who work in the movie industry. -
Voting by mail is easier now across the U.S. Officials in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, a swing region in a critical state, are making changes to manage the time-consuming process of counting ballots. -
"They told us, even if you stand here for 100 years, we are not going to let you cross," one refugee who made it to an Iraqi camp tells NPR. Many have resorted to paying smugglers to help them cross. -
In Iraq and Syria, the ISIS leader's death has stirred a mix of responses — from joy to disbelief to dread that the militants will rise again. -
The government has ambitious plans to diversify the oil kingdom — and that means revamping the world's biggest petroleum producer. -
These days, some young people in the conservative kingdom also use Tinder to find a match. -
Activities once forbidden — cinema, music, women driving — are now OK. It makes some Saudis nervous. "I talk to younger people, they are happy with it," says a Saudi woman. "But older people are not."
