The geography of poverty is changing. Extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated in places characterized by fragility and violent conflict: by 2030, 85 percent of the extreme poor—some 342 million people—will live in fragile and conflict-affected states.1 Yet just one in five fragile states are on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).2 Meaningful progress on the goal of reducing global extreme poverty requires meeting the development needs of vulnerable populations in fragile contexts; but assistance in these contexts has traditionally been limited to short-term humanitarian aid, ill-equipped to address underlying development challenges. World Bank leadership, staff, and shareholders recognize that protracted crises and associated mass displacement and chronic extreme hunger, as well as threats from sudden-onset emergencies such as climate disasters and pandemics, threaten development progress. Driving progress in these complex environments is the only way that the World Bank will meet its twin goals of reducing global poverty and improving shared prosperity, and address the underlying drivers of some of the world’s most protracted crises.

2019 is a pivotal year for the SDGs. Heads of State will for the first time since 2015 attend the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on the SDGs. This is the moment to review progress and revise our strategy before it is too late.

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and reclaim control of their future. We are proud to present our 2018 Annual Report, which offers a glimpse into our work—and the impact of generous support from governments, corporations, foundations and individuals.

Asylum seekers living at Moria, the reception and identification center on the Greek island of Lesvos, are under enormous mental strain. With no choice but to live in unacceptable conditions, with little concrete information about their futures and long waits to have their asylum claims heard, suicide rates among clients of the IRC mental health centre are astonishingly high: thirty percent of our clients have attempted suicide. Sixty percent have considered attempting suicide. Over the past six months, the IRC has been gathering the testimony of clients who attend our mental health centre in Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos. This brief outlines our findings and puts forward recommendations for the Greek local and central government, EU leaders and donors, to ensure that all asylum seekers at Moria in need of mental health services are able to access it and that living conditions do not trigger or exacerbate existing trauma.

Policy Brief - Lessons from Nepal, Sierra Leone and South Sudan

Lessons from Nepal, Sierra Leone and South Sudan

This briefing assesses the impact of the law on refugee women’s right to work and access economic opportunities in high refugee hosting countries.

Ahead of the Global Refugee Forum David Miliband's writes to EU leaders urging them to address the glaring gaps in Europe’s own response to migration.

Watchlist 2020 highlights the countries where the IRC assesses there to be the greatest risk of a major deterioration in the humanitarian situation in the coming year.

The International Rescue Committee’s Emergency Watchlist 2019 highlights the countries we believe are at greatest risk of experiencing the worst humanitarian crises over the coming year.