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	Conflict, extreme weather, rising food prices impact people’s ability to access healthcare by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)   A Year in Pictures 2023   This collection of 58 images, taken between November 2022 and November 2023, highlights stories and voices from around the world where Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is working.   Over the last 12 months, multiple acute humanitarian crises have emerged. Climate change continues to take a devastating toll on people's health and war has reached disastrous heights in several places. A brutal, deadly war has unfolded in Gaza, where attacks on health facilities put the lives of many of our staff and patients at risk. We mourn the loss of four Palestinian colleagues.   This image collection provides a glimpse into the medical and humanitarian activities carried out by MSF teams in over 75 countries during the past 12 months. From providing basic healthcare in Venezuela, to rescuing people from the Mediterranean Sea and raising awareness on TB among neighbourhoods in the Philippines, MSF has continued to assist people and communities in need.   From the tireless work of our staff to the resilience of patients fighting for their lives in difficult circumstances, these stories bear witness to the vital importance of worldwide access to healthcare. It is an essential need that should never be taken for granted, as emphasised in each and every one of these photographs.   http://www.msf.org/year-pictures-2023   International Activity Report 2022:   As the world slowly emerged from the havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) pulled together to respond to new emergencies in 2022, while continuing to assist communities affected by longstanding crises.   After a full-scale attack on Ukraine in February, the tragedy of bloody warfare became the new normal for millions of people. In this perilous and ever-evolving conflict, we strove to find where we could be most useful, to support people caught in precarious circumstances and provide healthcare where needed.   The ripple effects of the war in Ukraine had consequences far beyond Europe, in part intensifying other, less-reported crises. Across continents, economic crises, combined with a lack of food and a surge in diseases, such as measles and cholera, left millions of children vulnerable to malnutrition, and caused hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.   In the Sahel region of Africa, consecutive droughts, vicious conflict, mass displacement and a lack of access to healthcare also contributed to alarming levels of malnutrition in 2022. Meanwhile in North West region, Nigeria, a chronically food-insecure area, escalating violence forced half a million people to flee their homes. Many were unable to farm, and lost their livelihoods. By September, our teams had treated more than 100,000 children for acute malnutrition in North West region alone.   In Somalia, the situation was similarly bleak, as the worst drought in 40 years caused a desperate shortage of food. Between January and August, our teams were treating approximately 500 acutely malnourished children a week.   To make matters worse, infectious diseases, such as cholera and measles, spread rapidly among malnourished communities, creating a vicious cycle, as a malnourished person is more susceptible to infection, and infection contributes to malnutrition. With increasing insecurity, climate change and global inflation of food prices, a massive response was required; however, the necessary scale-up did not meet the needs of many communities in vulnerable circumstances.   A deadly cycle: malnutrition and disease outbreaks across the globe   Although COVID-19 cases started to decline in 2022, it still proved to be an exceptionally challenging year. Ongoing conflicts, extreme weather events and rising food prices all took their toll on people’s ability to access healthcare around the world, including routine immunisation programmes. These events also contributed to increases in outbreaks of preventable diseases, such as measles and cholera, as well as malnutrition.   Throughout the year, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) teams worked to respond to these overlapping crises, running vaccination campaigns that reached millions of people, as well as providing diagnosis and treatment for cholera, measles, yellow fever, meningitis, hepatitis E and acute diarrhoea, within a broader range of diseases that affected people across the globe.   Epidemics   For years, but especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, many health systems have been struggling to cope with multiple emerging and re-emerging diseases while trying to maintain basic health services. The consequent disruptions in healthcare left over 25 million children worldwide without routine vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis in 2021; similar figures are likely to be reported for 2022.   Measles outbreaks continue to increase, even in high-income countries like the US. It is estimated that over 61 million doses of measles-containing vaccine were postponed or missed due to COVID-19-related delays in supplementary immunisation activities across 18 countries. According to World Health Organization surveillance data, the number of countries experiencing large and disruptive outbreaks increased from 19 in 2021 to 29 in 2022.   Since mid-2021, there has been a deeply concerning upsurge in cholera, in terms of the number of cases and deaths, as well as the size and concurrence of outbreaks. Alarmingly, the disease has spread to countries that had been free of it for many years, such as Haiti, Lebanon and Syria, where factors such as conflict, forced migration, economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have had a negative impact on living conditions and healthcare provision.   Meanwhile, cholera-endemic countries that have worked hard in recent years to prevent and control outbreaks have seen their efforts thwarted. By the end of 2022, an unprecedented 30 countries were experiencing cholera outbreaks, and dozens continue to report cases.   In most of the countries where MSF works, our teams continue to support the cholera response with both preventive and curative activities, including vaccination, diagnosis, treatment and the provision of water and sanitation.   As the climate emergency worsens, extreme weather events, such as floods and drought will increase, causing further waves of displacement – ideal conditions for outbreaks of transmittable diseases including cholera.   Unless we invest in systems that build preparedness and resilience among people at risk, scaling up vaccination coverage and establishing reliable and safe sources of water and sanitation, the world will be forced to respond to more frequent and more extensive outbreaks in the short and long term.   MSF doubles response amid malnutrition crisis   Another interlinked health emergency that our teams witnessed in 2022 was the rise in malnutrition. The deterioration of food security driven by droughts and floods, conflict, high domestic food prices and the rise in diseases, exacerbated by a shortage of global resources, contributed to the huge increase in the number of malnourished children we treated in our facilities during the year.   Malnutrition makes a child more susceptible to infectious diseases, as it affects their immune system, while diseases such as cholera reduce their nutrient intake and make them more likely to become malnourished.   As a result of low food security and poor healthcare in 2022, the number of malnourished children MSF treated as outpatients more than doubled compared to the previous year, while the number we admitted to hospitals increased by more than 50 per cent. In total, over half a million children were treated for malnutrition by our teams.   Globally, the gap between needs and funding increased, which meant that in some places, MSF was the main health provider. In Nigeria’s North West region, for example, the risk of malnutrition was high, with ongoing insecurity, poor funding and a lack of preventive healthcare.   As well as responding to repeated outbreaks of measles, malaria and diarrhoea diseases, our teams treated over 200,000 patients for malnutrition. MSF also provided treatment for tens of thousands of malnourished patients in other countries, including Chad, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, where our teams witnessed similar situations.   However, these worrying numbers do not necessarily reflect the true situation in the community, as during emergencies, access to essential services is often severely hampered by many social and environmental factors, including conflict and/or floods, leaving large groups who are at risk of malnutrition unattended.   MSF conducted several assessments, including in Nigeria, where in some insecure areas, we found that up to a fifth of children were severely malnourished. The situation was similarly dire in Somalia, which experienced its worst and longest drought in 40 years.   As all the drivers in health emergencies are structural, and funding is often limited in these countries, the situation is unlikely to change without significant action to address the gaps. This critical health emergency is largely underreported, as other large global events, such as the war in Ukraine, occupy the world’s attention. For this reason, MSF continues to call for a greater international response to address these urgent needs.   http://www.msf.org/year-review-2022 http://www.msf.org/year-pictures-2022 http://www.msf.org/malnutrition http://www.msf.org/attacks-medical-care http://www.msf.org/latest-portal Visit the related web page
	Conflict and crisis in an interconnected world by Norwegian Refugee Council   As we entered 2023, 108,436,353 people were displaced by persecution and conflict.   War in the heart of Europe. A global food crisis. Climate-related drought and flooding. A record number of people fleeing their homes.   2022 was a significant year – not only because of the scale of the crises, but also because of their interconnectedness.   In 1972, the mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz posed the now famous question: “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”   His question related to the difficulty of producing accurate weather models. But it anticipated both today’s highly interconnected world, and the crucial relationship between activity on earth and the climate that shapes all of our futures.   At the end of 2022, some 108 million people around the world were displaced from their homes by conflict, violence or persecution – the highest figure ever recorded.   Hunger levels are also on the rise. One in 10 people now go to bed hungry each night, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.   The 2023 Global Report on Internal Displacement from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre highlights the relationship between conflict and hunger. According to available data, some three quarters of countries facing serious food shortages also have displaced populations within their borders.   Food shortages are often related to climate factors. In the Middle East and in East Africa especially, climate change is leading to longer, more frequent and more severe droughts. The war in Ukraine has also had far-reaching consequences for global food supplies and economies. And conflict and hardship in the Global South are leading more people to attempt dangerous journeys across seas and through jungles.   In 2022, the amount of money pledged for humanitarian causes by the international community increased. This was mainly due to the crisis in Ukraine, which was unusually well funded.   However, the gap between needs and available funds is larger than ever. The global humanitarian appeal fell short by almost US$ 22 billion, and funding for many crises actually went down. To solve these problems, we need a joined-up approach. We need to see the big picture.   Africa accounts for more than a third of the world’s displaced people. Conflicts both old and new are forcing people to flee their homes, while climate change is causing severe food shortages and competition for resources – compounded by a lack of humanitarian response.   As the world continues to focus its attention on Ukraine, millions in Africa are being ignored. In 2022, seven of the world’s 10 most neglected crises were on the African continent.   Sahel suffering continues to spread   The Sahel region is a belt of land to the south of the Sahara Desert, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east. It is also home to one of the fastest growing but least-known crises in the world.   Armed conflict, political instability, climate change, food shortages and disease have all combined to create a mega-crisis spanning several countries. In 2023, more than 37.75 million people across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria will need life-saving assistance. Worryingly, the violence is showing signs of spreading to previously peaceful coastal states such as Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.   In several parts of the Sahel, armed groups are targeting food and water supplies as a way of controlling vulnerable communities. Access for humanitarians to people in need is becoming increasingly difficult.   In Burkina Faso, 900,000 people are currently living under blockade by armed groups, cut off from the rest of the country. Last year in the blockaded city of Djibo, the situation became so desperate that families were forced to eat wild leaves to survive.   Children’s futures under threat   Unprecedented school closures are jeopardising the future of millions of children in Central and West Africa. In March this year, it was reported that some 13,371 schools across the region had been forced to shut as a result of conflict and insecurity. The region is home to a quarter of the world’s out-of-school children.   Nowhere is the problem more acute than in Burkina Faso. Here, over a million children have been affected by school closures. As of February 2023, nearly one in four of the country’s schools were out of action, an increase of over 40 per cent on the previous year.   As well as the generalised risk of violence, schools in some places are being directly targeted. “Teachers are threatened and parents are frightened. Children are paying the heaviest price,” said Sandra Lattouf, UNICEF’s representative in Burkina Faso.   In a 2022 survey of children in the Central Sahel, conducted by NRC, over half reported that they didn’t feel safe at school. Perhaps more disturbingly, almost two-thirds said they had little or no hope for their future – a poignant statistic in a region containing the country with the world’s youngest population, Niger.   The education crisis is having a disproportionate effect on girls. A study by Plan International revealed that girls are 2.5 times more at risk of being driven out of schools than boys in a crisis situation.   Sadly, emergency education in conflict zones tends to be severely under-funded. In Mali, 1 in 10 schools remained closed during the first quarter of 2022 due to a lack of infrastructure and school equipment. Mali’s national budget was unable to cover the needs, and education was scarcely funded in the humanitarian response, accounting for just 2 per cent of money received in 2022.   Violence and hunger go hand in hand in DR Congo   Increased conflict and a major hunger crisis combined to devastating effect in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year.   The situation in DR Congo is highly complex. In the east of the country alone, there are more than 120 non-state armed groups. The largest of these, known as M23, resumed its attacks in November 2021 after an eight-year hiatus. The violence escalated significantly in March 2022 and intensified in the second half of the year, triggering more than half a million displacements.   Some of the violence in DR Congo was horrifyingly brutal and targeted the country’s most vulnerable people. In June 2022, we reported on a series of attacks on displacement camps. One male survivor, aged 28, gave heartbreaking testimony: “They tore open the tents and they beheaded my daughter. I have no strength left. I can’t fight to find food for my children.”   By the end of the year, some 5.7 million people were living in displacement, the third highest figure in the world. DR Congo is also home to the largest number of acutely food-insecure* people worldwide. The two statistics are closely linked.   Many civilians have been forced from their land by conflict, leaving them reliant on aid to survive. In some areas, such as the town of Djugu in Ituri province, humanitarian access is highly restricted, leaving people out of reach of aid altogether.   Peace negotiations in Nairobi and Luanda, supported by other countries in the region, gave hope of progress. But the 27 million Congolese in need of assistance are yet to see any meaningful changes in their daily lives.   Conflict and climate catastrophe in Somalia   In East Africa, the climate crisis became a terrifying reality for millions of Somalis in 2022. On 11 August, the worst drought in 40 years reached unprecedented levels. For the first time, one million people were registered as having been displaced by the drought since it began in January 2021.   “This one-million milestone serves as a massive alarm bell,” said NRC’s country director in Somalia, Mohamed Abdi, at the time. “Starvation is now haunting the entire country.”   While analysts debated whether or not to declare a famine, Somalis were dying of hunger. According to a recent report by the Somalian government and UN agencies, the drought may have killed as many as 43,000 people in 2022 – half of them children under the age of five.   Conflict and insecurity in many parts of the country exacerbated the effects of the drought, making it harder for aid agencies to reach people in need. In addition, food prices rose steeply. Somalia used to rely on Russia and Ukraine for 90 per cent of its wheat, and was forced to find alternative, more expensive, food sources when war broke out in Ukraine.   Alarmingly, the situation in Somalia seems set to worsen in 2023. Between January and mid-May, a toxic mix of conflict, drought and floods had forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes – a record rate of displacement for the country.   “It’s a great tragedy to witness the impact on Somalia’s most vulnerable. They are the least responsible for the conflict and the climate crisis but are the hardest hit.” - Magatte Guisse, UNHCR’s Representative in Somalia   Somalia is one of the world’s least polluting countries. By a cruel irony, it is also one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.   From haven to hotspot: the tragedy of Khartoum   For the last decade, Khartoum has been a safe haven for people fleeing violence. Almost a million refugees from countries such as South Sudan, Ethiopia and Syria had found safety and protection there, along with a million people fleeing violence in other parts of Sudan.   But on 15 April 2023, everything changed. Today, Khartoum is a place that people flee from.   On that shocking day, brutal violence erupted in the heart of Sudan’s capital city. Two rival factions of the military government, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), attacked each other with tanks, airstrikes and snipers. Bullets and missiles thundered into homes, hospitals and shops. Water and electricity supplies were cut as facilities were hit.   The violence spread far beyond the capital. In West Darfur, days of intensive fighting led to the destruction and burning of property and displacement sites, forcing many people to flee for their lives. Multiple ceasefires were violated and failed to stop the fighting.   Two months on, hundreds of civilians had been killed and thousands injured. A million people had been newly displaced by the conflict. Many of them are refugees who are now forced to flee towards already overcrowded camps, sometimes with no choice but to return to the country they once fled.   Even before the latest conflict, 15.8 million people in Sudan were in need of assistance. The number of people facing hunger had risen for three years in a row. Yet, humanitarian funding remained inadequate, and most bilateral aid was frozen due to the October 2021 military coup.   Today, the number of people in need of assistance has risen to 24.7 million and the humanitarian response is facing unprecedented new challenges. Many organisations have been forced to suspend their operations in the country following deadly attacks on aid workers.   The immediate outlook for Sudan looks bleak. Displacement and hardship seem set to increase, and the country’s humanitarian crisis will likely reach catastrophic levels as state systems fall apart.   The world’s deadliest crossing is getting deadlier   In North Africa, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people crossing the Mediterranean during the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. Libya remains both a transit and destination point for people on the move. It is estimated that over 700,000 migrants and refugees, representing at least 44 different nationalities, are currently in the country.   Recent figures show that Tunisia has overtaken Libya as the main departure point for migration towards Europe. More than half of the 36,000 arrivals to Europe by mid-April 2023 disembarked from Tunisia.   The increase is linked to the rapidly deteriorating economic situation in North Africa. Libya, Tunisia and Egypt were highly dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine. Disasters and climate change are having an effect, too. Parts of the region are becoming unliveable, with traditional livelihoods such as farming, herding and fishing being increasingly hard to sustain.   There are also political obstacles. Across North Africa, people on the move find it difficult to get residency, work permits or a legal status. Many have limited opportunities in the countries hosting them and see no other option than to embark on a dangerous sea journey.   The number of deaths has risen in parallel with the increase in crossings. The Institute Organization for Migration (IOM) documented 441 deaths in the first quarter of 2023, the deadliest first quarter since 2017.   The central Mediterranean has long been known as the deadliest migration route in the world. In total, more than 26,000 dead and missing people have been recorded on the route since 2014. Europe, meanwhile, is showing little sign of adopting a more welcoming approach.   It’s estimated that the crisis in Sudan will bring 350,000 new refugees to Egypt. They will need humanitarian assistance and support to deal with the traumas they have experienced while escaping the conflict.   In the Middle East, there was little change in the number of displaced people during 2022. However, this apparent status quo should not be mistaken for stability.   Despite a period of relative calm in Syria, the long-term effects of the conflict are being felt across the region. Syria and Iraq are struggling financially, while in Lebanon, economic decline is tipping over into hunger and public unrest. Humanitarian funding is largely inadequate, with many refugee-hosting countries struggling with donor fatigue.   Disasters also continue to afflict the region. Iraq saw a second consecutive year of drought, with temperatures hitting a blistering 50C. In Turkiye and Syria, a major earthquake caused devastation in February 2023.   On the political front, negotiations in Syria and in Yemen gave cause for cautious optimism.   In Syria, disaster, devastation … and diplomatic hope?   Twelve years of brutal conflict. Half a million people dead, half the population displaced from their homes. Droughts and water shortages, an economy in freefall, and a drastic decline in basic services. With a record-high 15.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance at the start of 2023, it seemed that Syria’s long-suffering population had experienced every horror imaginable.   But unbelievably, worse was to come. On 6 February 2023, in the early hours of the morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the border area between Türkiye and Syria. It was followed a few hours later by another quake of similar magnitude.   The earthquakes devastated an area the size of Germany. Almost 60,000 people lost their lives, and millions more were left homeless – including half a million Syrians. Many of those displaced in Syria had previously been displaced by conflict (in some cases, multiple times).   Four months on, thousands of people remain in collective shelters with no prospect of returning to their destroyed homes. Thousands more have taken the risk of going back to houses with cracked walls and ceilings.   The outlook for many Syrians is as bleak as ever. However, there have been some small but encouraging signs on the diplomatic front. For the first time, the governments of Syria and Türkiye have been discussing a political settlement to years of conflict in the north. And some states eased their sanctions regimes for six months, allowing aid agencies to reach those affected by the earthquakes.   Climate change pushes Iraq’s temperatures past 50C   In neighbouring Iraq, 2022 saw a second consecutive year of drought and record low levels of rainfall. In a country where more than a million people are still living in informal settlements, temperatures reached a blistering 50C in the summer – disrupting crop cycles and leading to acute water shortages.   The Norwegian Refugee Council’s survey of households across five different governorates in August 2022 revealed a 90 per cent decrease in wheat production as a direct result of water shortages. Buffalo herders in the Mesopotamian marshes reported that they had lost up to a quarter of their herds.   Lebanon is sliding towards malnutrition   In December 2022, Lebanon registered a tragic first. For the first time in its history, it received an IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis in response to the growing hunger crisis in the country. The analysis predicted that some 2.26 million people – including 800,000 refugees – would be in need of urgent assistance in the first half of 2023.   The country is sliding towards chronic malnutrition, and worse may yet be to come. Lebanon is still without a president, several months after Michel Aoun’s term of office came to an end. The government has not managed to stop the rapid decline of the Lebanese currency, which hit an all-time low against the US dollar earlier this year.   Despite the economic problems, the country has not yet implemented the reforms demanded by the IMF in order to qualify for a financial aid package. Meanwhile, calls are growing for Syrian refugees to return home, with many people blaming them for the country’s desperate economic situation.   Afghanistan’s devastating ban on female aid workers   2022 was another year on the brink of survival for the people of Afghanistan. The nation struggled with a faltering economy, devastating earthquakes and droughts, as well as political and economic isolation.   On 24 December, the situation reached a critical low point. The Taliban authorities issued a country-wide decree banning Afghan women from working for NGOs. As a result, many organisations were forced to pause their operations because they could no longer carry out principled humanitarian assistance.   Wherever humanitarian agencies operate, female staff are indispensable in ensuring that both men and women receive the assistance they need. Afghanistan is no exception. Using male-only teams to provide aid to families headed by women could have serious consequences for the women involved.   “This is one of the biggest shocks of my life. However, I have learned from previous shocks that nothing can stop me from working with others, from speaking up, and from learning.” - An NRC female staff member in Afghanistan   In April 2023, the ban was extended to Afghan women working for the United Nations (UN). The move threatens to jeopardise all humanitarian work and funding to the country, leaving millions at risk. More than 28 million Afghans now rely on humanitarian aid to survive, including 6 million who are one step away from famine.   After months of negotiations, NGOs (including NRC) slowly managed to find ways to resume principled humanitarian work with women in many places, based on agreements with local authorities. Many Taliban officials acknowledge that female aid workers are needed to reach women in Afghanistan. However, the rumoured national guidelines were still in draft format in May 2023.   The increasingly bleak prospects have seen Afghans continue to leave the country in search of a safer and better future. Thousands cross the borders each day. Many, however, are sent back to Afghanistan, despite the advice of the UN refugee agency, which has called for a bar on forced returns of Afghan nationals.   After five years, the Rohingya crisis has reached a tipping point   Since fleeing deadly violence in Myanmar in August 2017, a million Rohingya refugees remain completely dependent on aid in neighbouring Bangladesh. They are spread across 33 settlements in Cox’s Bazar, collectively known as the largest refugee camp in the world.   Almost half of the refugee population are children and young people. They are at grave risk of becoming a “lost generation” – unable to access education or get work. An NRC survey of young Rohingya refugees in 2022 found that a staggering 95 per cent were unemployed and suffering from high levels of anxiety and stress.   Conditions in the camp itself are extremely challenging. Flimsy shelters have been constructed on loose, sandy soil, making them vulnerable to landslides. A series of floods and fires have devastated large areas of the camp, leaving dozens of people dead and thousands homeless.   According to the Bangladesh defence ministry, there were 222 fire incidents in the Rohingya camps between January 2021 and December 2022. With every incident, the refugees lose not only their homes and belongings, but also what little sense of security they have.   On a visit to Cox’s Bazar in August 2022, NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said: “The Rohingya refugee community in Bangladesh is almost at the point of no return. They must be helped out of displacement now or it will be too late.”   In May 2023, the community suffered another blow when the World Food Programme announced it was cutting food rations due to funding shortages. Camp residents will now receive just US$ 8 in food vouchers per month, down from US$ 12 earlier in the year. At less than 9 cents per meal, the new ration amount could have dangerous consequences for the health and wellbeing of the refugee population.   Record storm adds to suffering in Myanmar   Within Myanmar itself, unrest continued to spread in the wake of the military takeover in February 2021. What began as a series of protests quickly escalated into nationwide violence.   By the end of 2022, some 1.5 million people were displaced within Myanmar, more than double the 2021 figure. Humanitarian needs have risen correspondingly, with 17.6 million people expected to need assistance in 2023 – almost one in three people.   Extreme weather is also taking its toll. On 14 May 2023, Cyclone Mocha made landfall on the west coast of Rakhine state. Winds of up to 280kmh, alongside heavy rain and storm surges, devastated coastal areas, leaving thousands of people homeless with the monsoon just weeks away.   Displaced people were particularly severely affected. In some of the worst-hit camps, 85 per cent of shelters are thought to have been destroyed. In response, a UN Flash Appeal was launched on 23 May 2023. The appeal aimed to raise US$ 333 million to support 1.6 million people in the worst-affected areas.   Cyclone Mocha was registered as the joint-strongest storm on record in the North Indian Ocean. In an area that is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, it serves as a chilling warning of things to come.   Venezuela’s most vulnerable seek solutions elsewhere   Despite some encouraging signs on the diplomatic front, the refugee and migrant crisis in Venezuela continued to deepen in 2022, as more than 1 million Venezuelans left their homeland. In total, some 7.2 million people have fled the country in recent years in search of protection and a safer and better life.   However, many refugees and migrants have not found the opportunities they expected in countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Peru or Chile. So many Venezuelans are on the move again, this time through dangerous routes towards the United States.   Within Venezuela itself, close to 20 million people needed humanitarian assistance in 2022, according to the Humanitarian Needs Overview. Almost a third of the population faced food shortages.   War-like violence in North Central America   Extreme levels of violence are shattering lives in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Armed gangs, drug traffickers and criminal organisations are fuelling corruption and violence across the region.   “The kinds of stories people have been telling me are similar to those from people in war zones like Syria, Yemen or Ukraine,” - Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC, while visiting Honduras in April 2023.   Almost one in three people in North Central America are now in urgent need of aid. But despite the UN launching its first humanitarian response plans for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in 2021, the world continued to overlook the situation. International donors provided a mere 27 per cent of the funding required in El Salvador in 2022, making it one of the most underfunded crises worldwide.   The region is also vulnerable to extreme weather events. Two years after the devastating hurricanes Eta and Iota, El Salvador was again hit by severe flooding in 2022, caused by Hurricane Julia.   Desperate migrants – some from as far away as Africa and Asia – trek through these dangerous areas in search of protection and opportunities in North America. Many are disappointed. Almost 200,000 people were deported from Mexico and the United States to El Salvador, Guate­mala and Honduras over the course of the year.   Gangs take over Haiti’s capital   Insecurity in the region was not confined to the mainland. In Haiti, violence triggered 106,000 displacements during 2022. This was a five-fold increase compared to 2021 and the highest figure ever recorded for the country.   Crime-related violence has risen significantly since the assassination of the country’s president in July 2021. Incidents of violence nearly doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year, as gangs gained control of 60 per cent of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.   Can Colombia’s new president bring “total peace”?   Six years on from a historic peace deal, internal conflict continued to torment the people of Colombia in 2022. Entire communities were displaced, while armed groups forcibly confined over 100,000 people to their homes or neighbourhoods. Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in remote rural areas were particularly affected. The violence has even expanded over the border into Ecuador.   The election of a new president, Gustavo Petro, in August 2022 brought hope of positive change. In his inaugural speech, Petro outlined his vision for “total peace”, with promises of social equalisation, a new drug policy, and investment in the climate. But Colombia’s challenges are complex and there are no easy solutions.   In total, almost 5 million people are still displaced within Colombia. Others have sought refuge in neighbouring countries such as Ecuador and Panama. The country is also struggling to support the 2.4 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants who now live within its borders, as well as those who pass through.   Colombia’s status as a transit country came under scrutiny in 2022. People from Venezuela and elsewhere were increasingly attempting the notorious Darien Gap crossing from Colombia into Panama, in a bid to reach the United States. Often referred to as “the world’s most dangerous jungle”, the Darién Gap contains many hazards such as harsh terrain, high temperatures, humidity and dangerous animals. Greatest of all is the human danger: in this lawless region, sexual assaults, robberies and deadly violence are common.   A European war with global consequences   After eight years of low-level hostilities, the conflict in eastern Ukraine exploded into full-scale war on 24 February 2022. Within a matter of weeks, millions of Ukrainians had fled their homes in search of safety.   Despite initial hopes of a swift resolution, the fighting continued to ebb and flow. Six months passed, then a year. Throughout the winter, the Russian Federation attacked critical energy infrastructure, causing blackouts across cities. Thousands of people were left with no heating, water or gas. Many urban residential buildings were also targeted, killing and injuring civilians.   At time of writing, the conflict remains active yet unpredictable. Over 5 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, while 5.7 million more are scattered across Europe. This represents the largest mass displacement in Europe since World War Two.   The impact of the war has been felt far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Ukraine’s neighbours in particular have taken in large numbers of refugees, with Poland alone hosting almost a million people. The Republic of Moldova, meanwhile, is among the countries hosting the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita, including many of the most vulnerable groups such as the Roma community.   The conflict has also contributed to a rise in energy prices, leading to a cost-of-living crisis across Europe and beyond. Global trade, still fragile from the Covid-19 pandemic, has been deeply affected. Russia and Ukraine are major producers of basic food commodities such as wheat and sunflower oil. The war has led to shortages and import restrictions, causing food prices to soar as far afield as Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.   Perhaps most worryingly, the sudden outbreak of a major war in the heart of Europe has brought uncertainty, anxiety and a sense that the world is a less stable place.   Ukraine continues to be one of the world’s better funded crises. Indeed, the generosity of the international community has stood in sharp contrast to its lack of support for other, less visible crises around the world.   Even so, this generosity may have limits. Other major crises, such as Syria and Yemen, have shown that support from both institutional and private donors tends to dwindle over time. As the war in Ukraine becomes more protracted, humanitarians are bracing themselves for a steady reduction in funding.   In the last decade, the number of people displaced by conflict, violence and persecution has more than doubled.   “Every year, the world watches the number of displaced people increase, and then does too little to protect and assist the displaced.   There is a reason for the dramatic increase in refugees and internally displaced people: we fail to prevent war and violence, and national and international leaderships fail in conflict resolution where we have protracted emergencies,” said Jan Egeland in a recent statement.   But solutions are possible. We live in an interconnected world, where collaboration is the key to tackling global problems.   http://www.nrc.no/feature/2023/conflict-and-crisis-in-an-interconnected-world/ http://www.nrc.no/news/2023/june/more-than-a-doubling-of-displaced-people-this-has-been-a-dark-decade/ http://www.nrc.no/longreads/ Visit the related web page
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