ReliefWeb

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Last year broke records, but for all the wrong reasons. More people were forcibly displaced than at any time since the Second World War. Huge numbers needed humanitarian assistance to meet their most basic needs. Our budget, as a result, was the largest yet.

We also helped a record-breaking number of people affected by armed conflict.
But far too many people in need of protection and assistance remained out of reach.
For the fourth consecutive year, our largest operation in terms of spending was in Syria. We carried out dozens of operations across the front lines in partnership with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. We brought essential aid to people in areas that few other humanitarian organizations could reach. Nevertheless, getting to the people in need and keeping our staff safe were constant problems. The despicable attack on a Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy in rural Aleppo in September was just one example. Media attention focused on the catastrophic human costs of the fighting in Aleppo, but millions of people were also struggling for survival in other besieged cities and hard-to-reach areas throughout the country. In Aleppo, we played a vital role as a neutral intermediary during the December evacuation operation, and we were there to help in the other cities as well. The scale of the crisis was nevertheless staggering.

We also ran major operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the occupied territories, Nigeria and the Lake Chad region,
Somalia, South Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen. In all these places, people have been suffering the effects of drawn-out conflicts or other violence. They needed both immediate life-saving assistance and longer-term support to restore their livelihoods, infrastructure and services. At the same time, we stood ready to come to the aid of people affected by new, unpredictable or recurring outbreaks of fighting. For instance, heavy fighting broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh in April, more than two decades after an official ceasefire agreement was signed.

One of our top priorities for 2016 was working to protect and assist the alarming number of people worldwide who had been displaced by violence. Our neutral and impartial humanitarian work in conflict-affected countries and along migration routes was all the more vital given that a coherent political response remained elusive.

The massive task facing us means that we need to seek innovative solutions and engage with increasingly diverse partners – the corporate sector and research and development institutions, for instance. Over the past year we strengthened and developed numerous transformative partnerships. They helped us do more in various fields, especially health care in war-torn countries.

The main goal underpinning all our operations was, and continues to be, achieving better protection for people affected by armed conflict and other violence. But we could not do it without our donors. So thank you. You are helping us be a sign of hope to all those whose lives have been shattered by violence.