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Add to Preferred SourcesThe refugee crisis is a human crisis: Behind the statistics are people filled with unique life experiences and dreams for the future. They are mothers longing to return home, fathers yearning to work again, children searching for a childhood.
We are witnessing a massive shift of humanity unlike any seen before. More than 65 million people around the world—roughly the population of France—are displaced from their homes. More than 11 million of them are from just five places: Syria, Afghanistan, the Lake Chad basin, South Sudan, and Somalia.
Syria: 4.9 million displaced
The Syria crisis has accelerated more dramatically than any crisis on earth. After war erupted in March 2011, it took two years for 1 million people to be displaced. Another million were displaced within six months. Now six years on, half the country’s entire population is gone, scattered across the world.
Mercy Corps is one of the largest providers of humanitarian assistance throughout Syria, reaching hundreds of thousands of people per month with urgently needed food, water, blankets and other essential supplies.
Afghanistan: 2.6 million displaced
Years of unemployment, insecurity and political instability have led to a massive migration from Afghanistan. The United Nations estimates that 1,000 Afghans flee their homes every day. Many go to Iran and Pakistan, but huge numbers are crossing into Europe: 20 percent of people who arrived by boat seeking asylum in Europe in 2015 were from Afghanistan.
Mercy Corps is working to build a stronger future within Afghanistan by training farmers to grow better crops, improving economic opportunities for youth, teaching healthy nutrition practices to new mothers, and helping women and girls find better access to financial services and job opportunities.
Lake Chad: 2.6 million displaced
One of the world’s most overlooked crises is happening within west Africa’s Lake Chad basin: More than 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. At least 65,000 people in the region are experiencing famine-like conditions and more than 6 million people face crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity.
“As we’ve had better access to these areas, the level and urgency of the need we see is horrifying and demands immediate action. We are working as quickly as possible to expand our ongoing delivery of food vouchers; financial assistance; and water, sanitation, and hygiene support,” Iveta Ouvry, Mercy Corps’ country director in Nigeria.
South Sudan: 1.5 million displaced
The situation in South Sudan is dire: Approximately 100,000 people are on the brink of starvation and over 5 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian relief in the world’s first famine in six years.
Ongoing warfare, flooding and drought continue to worsen what is already a dangerous humanitarian crisis. There are massive needs for clean water, health care, sanitation, food, shelter, and protection across the country, and millions of people now require urgent support to survive.
Somalia: 1 million displaced
Somalia is facing one of the world’s worst emergencies and is at risk of slipping into famine. More than half the country is in need of assistance: The number of people in need has grown from 5 million in September 2015 to over 6.2 million this year.
Drought and ongoing conflict have forced millions of people to flee their villages for life in destitute refugee camps. If drought conditions worsen, hundreds of thousands of children will be at risk of starvation.
Mercy Corps has been working in Somalia since 2005, improving access to food and water, rehabilitating waterways, supporting local markets and providing education and civic opportunities for youth. We are also providing livelihood opportunities, such as cash for work, to increase farm production and enhance the ability of communities to handle shocks like drought.
Source: Mercy Corps. Read full article here.
9 June, 2017