Humanitarian Crises And Its Major Causes

By Ashaq Hussain Wani

The global humanitarian crises urge the people, national and

international organizations to help those people on this planet who are in

deep sufferings with respect to humanitarian crises like high level of

mortality, poverty, malnutrition, spread of diseases and epidemics,

population displacement caused mainly by social and political conflicts and

natural disasters and provide them assistance which can improve their

welfare and happiness. Since the outbreak of pandemic Covid-19 has added

the new challenges and has engaged the world to fight with deadly virus

which for the time being fall curtain on these existing humanitarian

tragedies and had made them worsen. The Secretary General, while lunching

the United Nations Covid -19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan has also

stressed that “other Humanitarian emergences must not be forgotten”.

The world today is full of humanitarian crises and millions of people

are living with a destroyed life and are in unsustainable and susceptible

situation. In December 2019, the United Nations Office for Coordination of

Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) issued a warning that in 2020, a record

number of 168 million people around the world would be in need of

humanitarian aid and as per Global Humanitarian Overview 2021; this figure

has raised to 235 million.

The different and major causes of humanitarian crises on earth are:

Social and Political Conflicts: The political instability and armed conflicts in

various countries has made people to move to other neighboring countries

and therefore create refugee crises. The United Nations Refugee Agency

(UNRA) at the end of 2019 reported that almost 80 million people around

the world had been forced to flee their homes because of conflicts arisen

due to war, violence and religious persecution. Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia

and south Sudan and Myanmar are example of crises mainly caused by social

and political instability. The social and political conflicts are consuming

countless lives of innocent people including children’s and women’s every

year. The targeting of emergency services during war like schools, hospitals

and their staff in conflict areas despite protected under international laws

and destruction of infrastructure during these conflicts are the worst

example of humanitarian tragedies.

Politics which possess the conflict removing management system

should deal these conflicts with peaceful and amicable negotiations. The

decision making system should be based on humanitarian needs and

interests and not on power and right. The political system where win and loss

and egoism prevail necessarily invites the conflicts and makes it more

difficult to resolve these conflicts. Therefore in order to minimize these

conflicts the social and political system should be based on opportunities,

tolerance and trust so that these conflicts are address early in the best

interest of people.

Climate Change and Natural Disasters: As we are constantly observing from

past couple of decades that the average climate has changed and we have

now frequent floods, droughts, heat waves and uneven weather. The natural

disasters in shape of devastating storms, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis

which not only consume millions of human lives but also caused shortage of

food, shelter and poverty which has left people in some countries on

starvation. These circumstances are forcing the people to emigrate in search

of food and thus have caused population displacement crises. As per the

reports of United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) 1.23

million people were killed by natural disasters in between 2000 to 2019 and

according to its another report 90 percent humanitarian crises on earth are

due to climate disasters. Therefore the climate changes have put massive

impact on global population and have caused the humanitarian crises. It has

transformed the ways of life. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC) recently warned in its key report that planet has only small

window left to prevent worsening effects of climate crises and indicated that

the world will breach the 1.5 degree c goal. The body has further reported

that global community is doing little to tackle the climate issue. It has

emphasized the global community that collective and more ambitious

actions are required to cutting the harmful emissions and must do everything

in order to keep climate and its disasters under control.

Healthcare emergences: The infectious diseases like epidemic also cause

humanitarian crises. As per the reports of World Health Organization (WHO)

1.6 billion people in the world have no access to basic medical care. The

diseases like Cholera, which is caused by poor sanitation and polluted water,

claims 1.40 lac lives every year and HIV is still a major disease has killed about

33 million people so for. The outbreak of corona virus disease (COVID-19)

which infected over 206 million people in about 215 countries and territories

worldwide and more than 4.3 million people have died including 4.30 lac in

India, as on August 13, 2021 and the virus is still in a good health with

tendency of spreading at high rates. The virus shakes the world and poses a

challenge before the healthcare system. In many poor countries the lack of

health care faculties like workforce shortage, poor infrastructure particularly

in rural areas, poor coordination between the lines of departments make it

difficult to fight this deadly virus with force and deal public health

emergences in binging.

Poverty, hunger and malnutrition: Poverty basically reinforces the

malnutrition by increasing the risk of food insecurity and its shortage. The

malnutrition not only adversely affects the person’s physical and

physiological health but also makes him vulnerability to various critical

diseases. Despite there is constant increase in agricultural productively from

last few decades but the survey shows 780 million people, 11% of

population, live in extreme poverty and have no reach to sufficient food. The

World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018 reported that 45% of all child

deaths worldwide are from causes related to under nutrition.

Therefore in order to provide food to suffering population the international

community has to pay attention towards this problem also and have to

develop such programs and strategies which can provide relief and aid to

these vulnerable population and make possible their access to food and

income and measures be taken to prevent and minimize the conflicts, waste

of resources, climate change which damages crops by changing rainfall

pattern and drought and agriculture land conversation for other commercial

proposes are some causes which cause shortage of food and strategies and

plans be formed to promote agriculture.

The lack of clean water, sanitation, shelter and lack of basic services

besides inequality are some other problems which also need attention of

world.

To end humanitarian crises in the world, it is also one of the propose

of United Nations, as stated in its charter “to achieve international co-

operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural

or humanitarian character”

The Humanitarian crises demand cooperation of global community

and determine factors and ways that are helpful, relevant and productive

based and system be developed for removal of humanitarian crises in world

and effective measures be designed for the survival, well being and dignity

of people affected by these crises. Besides Cooperation, the crises also

demand the humanitarian aid is necessary to meet the needs of vulnerable

people and this can be provided in shape of food aid, medical care, rebuilding

infrastructures. The safety and security of aid workers and those who are

working for humanitarian cause is also kept in mind and their work be

recognized.

By Ashaq Hussain Wani