* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
According to the UN, the number of registered Syrian refugees has now passed 3 million people, while 6.5 million are internally displaced in Syria. This means that close to one fifth of the world's 50 million displaced are from Syria. Although the world is witnessing a historic number of serious crises it remains important to keep focusing on the dire humanitarian situation in and around Syria.
The number of displaced people across the globe is the highest since World War II. For the first time in history, four crises in the world are categorized by the UN as so-called level three crisis - the most severe category. The international community and humanitarian actors are experiencing a severe pressure on available resources and capacity. But the crises in Iraq, Sudan and the Central African Republic must not make us forget Syria.
"In my 16 years as secretary general of the Danish Refugee Council, I have not experienced anything like this. A crisis like the one that is ravaging Syria is in itself a lengthy and demanding challenge, but right now we and other humanitarian actors are dealing with additional crises in Iraq, South Sudan and the Central African Republic and many other places. Even confronted with these huge challenges - we cannot afford to lose momentum in a Syria producing one-fifth of the world's 50 million refugees, "says Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, Andreas Kamm.
According to latest estimate almost 200.000 people have lost their lives in Syria since the outbreak of the crisis in 2011. Close to half of the Syrian population is displaced, and the country is in ruins. At the same time the conflict is spreading across the region, e.g. Iraq and the pressure of three million Syrian refugees in the neighboring countries is creating further instability.
"The Middle East is balancing on a razor's edge, and the Syrian conflict is the driving force behind a dangerous development across the region. In Iraq, militant groups fighting in Syria crossed the border and forced half million people to flee - in a situation where the country already had received more than 200,000 Syrian refugees. In Lebanon, we see a combination of internal tensions and conflicts, cross-border attacks and increasing difficulty in handling the more than 1 million Syrian refugees. Jordan, Turkey and even Egypt and Libya are all affected to some extend – we are facing an extremely difficult situation and will continue to do so for many years to come, "says Andreas Kamm.
Danish Refugee Council is a key humanitarian actor in relation to the crisis in Syria, and provides emergency relief in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. At the same time, the organization has expanded its emergency efforts in Iraq, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
