This Charter outlines guiding principles for members of the Global Alliance for Urban Crises (the Alliance). They are to be used as a basis for both policy and operational level engagement, in order to be more effective in preventing, preparing for, and responding to humanitarian crises in urban environments. Adapting to an urbanising world: By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. Accelerating urbanization is defining our global reality and will shape our future. Urbanization intersects with climate change, natural disasters, conflict and displacement. It is a critical lens through which to review national and international efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to crises, conflict and disasters

More than 1.5 million people have been displaced since the conflict in South Sudan reignited. According to the United Nations, 421,000 people have fled the new country to neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. The International Rescue Committee is responding to the influx of new arrivals in the Kiryandongo refugee settlement in Uganda, where Dr. Catherine Ndekera, IRC’s health coordinator, reports on the situation.

The Happy Families Program is a parenting and family skills intervention implemented with displaced Burmese families living on the Thai–Burmese border. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and research partners from the Harvard School of Public Health and Duke University found that the intervention had a significant impact on parenting practices, family functioning, and child behavior.