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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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? -
Speaking to tens of thousands of people at the memorial, Kirk said she had found comfort in prayer and also in the way people had responded to her husband's death. -
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. -
Syrian refugees in Turkey are considering whether to return home following the ouster of Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad. But many remain worried about their country's future.
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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. -
It is the world's largest displacement crisis: 13 million people have fled their homes in war-torn Sudan. In neighboring Chad, both refugees and locals cope with this extraordinary upheaval. -
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.
