The global empathy crisis that confronts us this Christmas

“One-armed beggars selling pencils, but we cannot spare a dime,” goes Bobby Goldboro’s song, “Does anyone know it’s Christmas?” “Save it for the parking meter or we’ll have to pay a fine.” That classic came to mind as I scanned the current global landscape and observed an alarming shortage of empathy.

I know a little about charity and compassion. I’ve had the privilege over the last 15 years of leading a nonprofit private sector organization that specializes in helping communities and businesses cope with natural disasters and crises caused by humans. 

The global humanitarian system and virtually every nongovernmental organization and United Nations entity are facing hard times and funding shortages. The shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development has closed hundreds of aid groups and slashed funding for programs that fed the hungry and provided help during disasters. According to OXFAM, healthcare services will be unavailable for up to 95 million people and some 23 million children will lose access to education. 

A quarter of a billion people need aid, reports Tom Fletcher, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs at the United Nations. But funding has dropped to $12 billion, the lowest in a decade. Only 20% of UN appeals for contributions are supported, he says. Our own organization, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, lost $1.5 million this year in programs aimed at beefing up prepare...