The Hill: Armed conflict will fuel humanitarian crises in 2020
Daniel Speckhard, president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief and IMA World Health

“The humanitarian outlook for 2020 and beyond forecasts a situation that is both complex and insecure, even as global development gains bring millions out of extreme poverty. … Increasingly, the common underlying denominator is violent conflict. And the nature of the modern conflict is becoming more complex. … These complex humanitarian emergencies include war-torn Yemen; the Democratic Republic of Congo, where militia violence is hindering the response to end the Ebola outbreak; several perils facing Central America; extremist attacks in West Africa’s Sahel; violent protests in Iraq; South Sudan, recovering from years of civil war; and the continuing crisis in Venezuela. These scenarios present a host of challenges for nongovernmental relief and development organizations working to eliminate poverty and ease human suffering. We will need to employ new, imaginative, and innovative approaches if we hope to make an impact. … [W]e will have to employ development approaches and longer-lasting solutions that include new partners, including the private sector. And it will be vital to recognize the primacy of local partners who best know the social and political context of their communities” (1/3).