As we at Lutheran World Relief anticipate the tremendous humanitarian challenges we might face in the coming year, a quote from Desmond Tutu comes to mind: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.”
In the wake of El Niño
We are living in the most unusually warm period in history and this is taking a huge toll on the world’s most vulnerable. 2015 was the hottest year on record and 2016 looks set to be even hotter.
As this year’s El Niño in the Pacific lurches towards becoming a La Nina1 , the run of record temperatures looks set to be broken again. But in some ways, this year is not unique. It has become widely acknowledged among the development community that weather-related disasters are the ‘new normal’.
There is agreement in the scientific community that the global food system will experience unprecedented pressure in the coming decades – demographic changes, urban growth, environmental degradation, increasing disaster risk, food price volatility, and climate change will all affect food security patterns.
At least 11 countries across Asia-Pacific experienced severe weather conditions due to El Niño.
In February, Tropical Cyclone Winston, the strongest cyclone recorded in the South Pacific, devastated Fiji.
In DPR Korea, 18million people are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance – 2016 response plan severely underfunded.
Tropical Storm Roanu triggers worst flooding in Sri Lanka in 25 years; preparedness actions mitigated loss of life in Bangladesh.
NEW REPORT: CITIES IN POLLUTING COUNTRIES MOST AT RISK FROM CLIMATE INDUCED COASTAL FLOODING
- Miami and Kolkata ranked as most vulnerable coastal cities exposed to flooding
- Cities in carbon polluters USA, China and India most at risk
- UK ranks in the top 25 for most exposed future coastline
- Next week’s World Humanitarian Summit offers hope to tackle problem
To mark the start of Christian Aid Week, a new report by the charity highlights the world cities most at risk from future coastal flooding.
BALTIMORE, Dec. 1, 2015—Lutheran World Relief, an international NGO working in 35 countries to develop sustainable solutions to poverty and food insecurity, marked #GivingTuesday by releasing its 2016 Early Warning Forecast of regions it is monitoring for potential humanitarian crises over the coming year.
Immediate Push on Climate-Smart Development Can Keep More than 100 Million People Out of Poverty
Africa and South Asia most threatened regions
WASHINGTON, November 8, 2015 – Climate change is already preventing people from escaping poverty, and without rapid, inclusive and climate-smart development, together with emissions-reductions efforts that protect the poor, there could be more than 100 million additional people in poverty by 2030, according to a new World Bank Group report released before the international climate conference in Paris.
The IASC Alert, Early Warning and Readiness report is produced bi-annually as an inter-agency effort by the Task Team on Preparedness and Resilience (TTPR) for IASC member agencies. The report highlights serious risks that were either identified as being of particular strategic operational concern or as having a high probability and impact on humanitarian needs. In addition to collaboratively assembling the report, the report includes an analysis of the state of readiness, prepared by OCHA, which is compared against each risk.
Objectives and activities
In 2015, as the Millennium Development Goals reach their deadline, the world can reflect on real progress. Since 1990, thanks to the actions of millions of people around the globe, extreme income poverty has been cut by almost two-thirds, child mortality has fallen by more than half, and more children are attending primary school than ever before.
But these achievements tell only part of the story.
El nuevo informe de la Federación solicita un mayor reconocimiento y apoyo a los actores humanitarios locales
Publicado: 24 septiembre 2015 Los actores locales muchas veces son los más eficaces en la ejecución de operaciones humanitarias. No obstante, a pesar de desempeñar un papel crítico, deben luchar por atraer los fondos y el apoyo que precisan.
Le nouveau Rapport sur les catastrophes dans le monde publié par la FICR plaide pour une meilleure reconnaissance et un soutien accru des acteurs humanitaires locaux
Publié: 24 septembre 2015
Les acteurs locaux sont souvent les plus performants dans la conduite des opérations humanitaires. Pourtant, en dépit de leur rôle crucial, ils peinent à obtenir les fonds et le soutien nécessaires.
New IFRC Report calls for greater recognition and support for local humanitarian actors
Local actors are often the most effective in conducting humanitarian operations. However, despite their critical role, they struggle to attract the funding and support they need.
The 2015 World Disasters Report – launched today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) – examines the complexities and challenges local actors face in scaling-up and sustaining their humanitarian response.
By Jed Alegado and Angeli Guadalupe
Jed Alegado is an incoming graduate student at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, Netherlands. Angeli Guadalupe is a medical doctor currently studying under the University of Tokyo's Graduate Program on Sustainability Science-Global Leadership Initiative. The two are Climate Trackers from the Adopt a Negotiator Project.
2015 - Le PNUD : oeuvrer pour les peuples et la planète
Dans toutes les régions du monde, des voix s’élèvent pour demander un leadership et des mesures en 2015 pour lutter contre la pauvreté, l’inégalité et le changement climatique.
Par Son Éminence le cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB, Président et Michel Roy, Secrétaire Général
« Nous avons mis en route la culture du “déchet” […] Les exclus ne sont pas des “exploités”, mais des déchets, “des restes”… personne ne devrait être “privé” de l’amour de Dieu ni de nos soins. »
By His Eminence Óscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB, President of Caritas Internationalis and Michel Roy, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis
“We have created a ‘throw away’ culture…the excluded are not the ‘exploited’ but the outcast, the ‘leftovers’…no one is to be ‘excluded’ from God’s love and from our care.”
Caritas aims to reduce the incidence and impact of poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world. There is no single solution to poverty and it can take many forms. Each response must be context-specific and often multifaceted. Caritas’ approach places people at the centre of development and seeks the good of every person and the whole person. It is community based, and recognises the importance of family and community in a person’s life.