Humanitarian aid: some political realities

doi:10.1136/bmj.39002.408808.80

BMJ 2006;333:817-818 (21 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.39002.408808.80

Editorial

Humanitarian aid: some political realities

Humanitarian agencies must tackle political and logistical obstaclesto their work

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The scale of current humanitarian crises in the World HealthOrganization Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) is vast andthe legacy of past wars persists. Around 60% of the world'srefugee population have fled EMRO countries,¹ and the regionis host to half of the world's refugees. The Palestinian territories,Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan are four of the five main sourcesof refugees globally, while the Palestinian territories, Pakistan,Iran, and Syria are the world's major hosts of refugees. Manyof these people have been "warehoused" for decades in long termcamps. In addition, over a third of the 21 million "internallydisplaced persons"—people who have been forced from theirhomes but have not crossed national borders—are in EMROcountries. These are startling statistics for a region thatcontains only 8% of the world's population.