'Humanitarian' seems to be extending its meaning. I've always thought that its main modern meaning was 'philanthropic' or 'designed to prevent human suffering' - 'Oxfam is involved in humanitarian activities', 'we should intervene on humanitarian grounds.' But recently I've noticed expressions like 'a humanitarian emergency' or even 'humanitarian suffering' (the BBC today, reporting on the Government's legal advice on intervening in Syria).

This sounds very odd to me. One is tempted to ask why not use 'human' instead - but I suppose 'a human emergency' or 'human suffering' would be seen as a bit unspecific. I can't think of another alternative without using more words - 'widespread human suffering', 'an emergency involving widespread human suffering'. Can anyone suggest anything better?