Foreword.

AuthorNasser, Maher

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In the lead-up to the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit, to be held from 23 to 24 May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey, the UN Chronicle team invited a distinguished group of contributors to write for this issue on the theme "Humanitarian Action: A Shared Responsibility". The issue provides a wide variety of perspectives on the future of humanitarianism, along with personal reflections on how to deal with an exponential increase in humanitarian need arising from the unprecedented scale and complexity of current crises.

The United Nations continues to work with Member States and partners in civil society and the private sector to address human suffering and loss resulting from disasters both natural and man-made. UN efforts have helped meet the immediate needs of people whose lives have been devastated by events such as earthquakes, famine and war. We have also assisted affected communities in building back stronger infrastructure and institutions to help protect them from future catastrophes.

While there has been a tremendous increase in the amount of funding received for UN relief activities, it has not kept pace with recent emergency response requirements.

It is with this background that Secretary-General Ban...

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