David Higgins
David Higgins is Head of Humanitarian Access and Civil-Military Coordination in Somalia for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), where his work focuses on the practical and political challenges of operating at the intersection of military, humanitarian, and stabilisation actors in complex conflict environments. His experience spans two decades of work across defence, humanitarian, and strategic advisory roles, with a particular emphasis on how institutions coordinate, or fail to coordinate, under conditions of insecurity and fragmentation.
David is widely recognised for his operational and analytical insight into civil-military relations in conflict zones, including how differing organisational logics, mandates, and incentives shape decision-making on the ground. His work highlights the persistent gap between military approaches grounded in hierarchical command and mission execution, and humanitarian systems built on neutrality, consensus, and negotiated access. He has been directly involved in coordinating humanitarian access and interagency engagement in environments such as Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Across his career, David has contributed to both field-level operations and strategic analysis of geopolitical risk. He previously served as a British Army infantry officer with deployments to Helmand Province, later working in humanitarian, stabilisation, and political affairs roles across East Africa, Afghanistan, and Iraq with the UK Government and the United Nations. He also spent five years as Head of Geopolitical Analysis at M&C Saatchi World Services, advising on military and geopolitical context for defence and national security stakeholders.
David has further served as a reservist Lieutenant Colonel with the British Army’s 77th Brigade, the UK’s information operations formation, and holds a research master’s degree examining hybrid threats and UK national security. His work continues to inform how practitioners and policymakers understand the evolving nature of civil-military coordination in contemporary conflict environments.
