In all, more than 1 million Somalis have been displaced inside their country by drought and terrorism. Many are living in makeshift shelters in crowded conditions that are ripe for the spread of disease. And the violence that has gripped Somalia for decades has seriously weakened the country’s health care system, making it difficult for people to get medical attention. 

"Every day we see the numbers grow," says Marian Hassan Mohamud. She is referring to the one million plus people in Somalia who have been displaced from their homes by drought, hunger and war.

It’s another dusty day in Zaatari refugee camp when I meet 46-year-old Abu Raed at the International Rescue Committee’s health clinic. He seems to be well-known, everyone greeting him while we make our way to an empty caravan where we can talk. We sit facing one another. His skin has been scalded by the hot desert sun, and his eyes express deep sadness.

This story belongs to Chantal Rutonda Nyamuco, one of more than 500,000 displaced Congolese who have fled the violence that has swept over their country. Chantal, now 29 years old, still does not know what became of her family.

After two years living under ISIS, cash relief gives families the independence they need to rebuild their lives.

The Battle for Raqqa, expected to be one of the fiercest since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, is intensifying. The assault to take the city from ISIS has displaced more than 100,000 people since April. Some 200,000 are thought to remain trapped in ISIS-controlled areas of the city, which once boasted a population of more than half a million. In all, up to 370,000 people could be displaced by fighting.

The tent in Newroz, a refugee camp in northern Syria, looks homey, its span of canvas divided into small “rooms” for living and sleeping. A soft-spoken Yazidi couple, Suleiman Khalf Kajo and his wife, Khabshe, have lived here with their family since fleeing ISIS in August 2014.

Nyaboth and Gatjang are just eight and 12 months old, but already they have a lot in common. Both were born in South Sudan, where conflict and drought has left 7.5 million people in need of food. Both have caring mothers who are desperate to protect their babies.

Along with her five siblings, Aya fled to the Nargazilia camp northwest of the city, where they live with 15,000 displaced people. Twice a week, she escapes her daily routine and spends time with other girls at the International Rescue Committee’s women’s and girls’ centre, a safe, women-only space in the crowded camp.

Nazia and Rolian* bonded over their love for dance.