On July 1, 2015, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guteress, addressed a congregation of international humanitarian organizations in Geneva about the escalating challenges his agency faced in what is widely being called the greatest refugee crisis the world has ever known.

“For an age of unprecedented mass displacement, we need an unprecedented humanitarian response and a renewed global commitment to tolerance and protection for people fleeing conflict and persecution,” the High Commissioner urged.

In his speech Guteress told listeners, “The moment of truth had arrived.” He was speaking in regards to the tremendous strain the world’s current refugee crisis has placed on the resources of Europe and other host countries. Across the globe, fleeing refugees are migrating at unprecedented rates.

The world’s current refugee crisis cannot be explained in simple terms. It is a complex issue with many factors involved. Political instability, devastating wars and lack of adequate economic opportunities are all reasons why people are leaving their countries in search of greener pastures.

In last month’s United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Global Trends Report: World at War, the estimated number of people displaced due to war, conflict and persecution was a staggering 59.5 million at the end of 2014. On average, 42,500 people are newly displaced per day.

A few countries are well known to all, such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, but they do not represent the entire spectrum of refugees. The refugees come from Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, Pakistan, North Korea, Mexico and many other South American countries. Most are currently fleeing to Europe, but others are going to the United States, Indonesia and Australia.

It truly is a global refugee crisis.

In a newly published Human Rights Watch report, “The Mediterranean Migration Crisis,” senior analysis reported that in 2014, over 219,000 refugees attempted to navigate the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, which is considered the world’s deadliest crossing. This was up from 60,000 the previous year. So why are people enduring such dangerous undertakings for a better life?

The report interviewed over 150 refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan. The migrants echoed similar reasons for leaving their countries—lack of security and basic necessities such as food, water and medicine. Not surprisingly, these are some of the poorest countries in the world with some of the direst need for humanitarian aid.

There is a direct correlation between humanitarian aid and fleeing refugees. The nations with the largest need for humanitarian aid are also responsible for some of the largest number of fleeing refugees.

Humanitarian aid is used to run programs that provide potential refugees with more than just food and water. Humanitarian efforts provide tools for farmers to grow crops that they can sell in market places, providing income to their families and strengthening their local markets.

The aid also provides educational facilities, training people with the skills that they need to be successful. People who are finding economic stability in their own nations are less likely to flee.

However, passing aid to the ailing countries is not the only way the world can help solve the refugee crisis. Host nations and coalitions such as the European Union (EU) need aid to support refugee and asylum seeking processing facilities. The burden of dealing with so many refugees must be equally distributed among developed nations. The blind eye approach many developed countries are practicing is not helping the situation.

Even though the United States is not the destination for the majority of refugees, it is tremendously affected by the issues of extreme poverty that are driving these migrations. An example is the situation in Greece, a country already preoccupied with economic collapse and in desperate need of a bailout. The U.N. reported more than 48,000 refugees entered the country in 2014. The economic pressure of all these issues reduces the buying power of Greece, in turn reducing U.S. exports to the country.

This year, the U.N. has declared that it needs no less than $18.1 billion to meet the needs of over 80 million people. Currently it has only received 26% of that amount.

The United States cannot continue to ignore the global refugee crisis and must work with the EU to provide more aid. The Borgen Project has demonstrated extensively how providing foreign aid in such situations reduces global threats to the United States and bolsters the U.S. economy.

If the United States does not help provide more aid and the refugees continue to flee, years of development and aid will all go to waste. Rebuilding developing nations will be a lot more expensive for future generations, considering there will be no one there left to help rebuild.

— Adnan Khalid

Sources: Human Rights Watch, International Organization for Migration, U.N. 1, U.N. 2, UNHCR
Photo: NGO News Africa