Half of the global population now live in urban areas, as opposed to a third in the 1950s. Given the current pace of urbanisation, this figure will continue to increase, particularly in lower-middle-income countries. This fundamental demographic shift is altering the lives of millions and is producing new challenges for humanitarian actors responding to crises in urban settings.

IMPACT Initiatives and UNHCR are joining forces for the UNHCR-NGO annual consultations and facilitating a workshop on area-based assessments, their use, strengths and weaknesses. Join us for an engaging session that will place you in the heart of urban refugee response planning.

Southern Idleb and northern Hama, part of the last opposition-held territory in Syria, have seen renewed intensification of conflict. Due to the intensity of escalation and the seizing of key opposition-held areas, the ongoing clashes could develop into a final offensive which is feared to spiral into one of the worst humanitarian tragedies of the 21st century.

The wind and rain had gone on for days, and they kept rising. By the 14th of March, winds had reached a speed of 195 kilometres per hour. The eye of the storm turned inland and over the coastal city of Beira. A city home to half a million people. This is the story of Cyclone Idai and REACH’s response to it.

Bordered by some of the most crisis-prone countries in the world, Uganda hosts the largest refugee population on the African continent.