Op-Ed: Solution to the world’s problems: Choose humanity

These are desperate times. We are witnessing the highest level of humanitarian needs since World War II. The numbers are staggering, with 125 million in dire need of assistance. Over 60 million people have been forcibly displaced, and in the last two decades 218 million people were affected by disasters each year.

More than $20 billion is needed to aid the 37 countries currently affected by these mounting issues. Time and time again it has been said that our world is at a tipping point, but now these words are truer than ever before. Unless immediate action is taken, 62% -- nearly two-thirds of our global population -- could be living in what is classified as fragile situations by 2030.

We’re coming face to face with refugees from war-torn nations and witnessing first-hand the consequences of global warming in our own backyards. The situation has hit home, and we are slowly beginning to understand that none of us is immune to the ripple effects of armed conflicts.

A boy carries food he received in a makeshift migrant camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni, on March 2, 2016, where thousands of people are stranded.

(Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP/Getty Images)

Now is the time to stand. Now is the time to reverse the rising trend of humanitarian need. Now is the time to create clear, actionable goals for change to be implemented within the next three years that are grounded in our common humanity, the one value that unites us all. This is why the United Nations secretary-general is calling on world leaders to reinforce our collective responsibility to guard humanity by attending the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit.

On May 23-24, our leaders are being asked to come together in Istanbul, Turkey, to take action and agree to a core set of actions that will chart a course for real change. This foundation for change was not born overnight, however, but rather a direct result of three years of consultations with more than 23,000 people in 153 countries.

The road map for the summit, the secretary-general’s acclaimed report “One Humanity: Shared Responsibility,” outlines a clear vision for global leadership to take swift and collective action toward strengthening the coordination of humanitarian and crisis relief.

As such, the summit is not an end point, but a kickoff toward making a real difference in the lives of millions of women, men and children. It’s an unprecedented opportunity for global leaders to mobilize the political will to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. So, how to take action?

The agenda specifies five core responsibilities that the international community must shoulder if we expect to end our shared humanitarian crises. These core responsibilities offer a framework for unified and concentrated action to summit attendees, leadership and the public at large. Once implemented, change will inevitably follow.

1. Prevent and End Conflict: Political leaders (including the U.N. Security Council) must resolve to not only manage crises but also to prevent them. They must analyze conflict risks and utilize all political and economic means necessary to prevent conflict and find solutions, working with their communities – youth, women and faith-based groups – to find the ones that work. The summit presents a unique opportunity to gain political momentum and commitment from leaders to promote and invest in conflict prevention and mediation in order to reduce the impacts of conflicts, which generate 80% of humanitarian needs.

2. Respect Rules of War: Most states have signed and implemented international humanitarian and human rights laws, but, sadly, few are respected or monitored. Unless violators are held accountable each time they break these laws, civilians will continue to make up the vast majority of those killed in conflict -- roughly 90%. Hospitals, schools and homes will continue to be obliterated, and aid workers will continue to be barred access from injured parties. The summit allows a forum at which leadership can promote the protection of civilians and respect for basic human rights.

3. Leave No One Behind: Imagine being forcibly displaced from your home, being stateless or targeted because of your race, religion or nationality. Now, imagine that development programs are put in place for the world’s poorest, world leaders are working to diminish displacement, women and girls are empowered and protected, and all children -- whether in conflict zones or not -- are able to attend school. Imagine a world that refuses to leave you behind. This world could become our reality. At the summit, the secretary-general will call on world leaders to commit to reducing internal displacement by 50% before 2030.

4. Working Differently to End Need: While sudden natural disasters often take us by surprise, many crises we respond to are predictable. It is time to commit to a better way of working hand-in-hand with local systems and development partners to meet the basic needs of at-risk communities and help them prepare for and become less vulnerable to disaster and catastrophe. Both better data collection on crisis risk and the call to act early are needed and required to reduce risk and vulnerability on a global scale. The summit will provide the necessary platform for commitment to new ways of working together toward a common goal -- humanity.

A parched cornfield in an agricultural mountain area in Mindanao, Philippines. The heat wave brought on by El Niño has severely affected food and water supplies in many countries.

(Jes Aznar / Getty Images)

5. Invest in Humanity: If we really want to act on our responsibility toward vulnerable people, we need to invest in them politically and financially, by supporting collective goals rather than individual projects. This means increasing funding not only to responses, but also to crisis preparedness, peace-building and mediation efforts. It also means being more creative about how we fund national nongovernmental organizations -- using loans, grants, bonds and insurance systems in addition to working with investment banks, credit card companies and Islamic social finance mechanisms. It requires donors to be more flexible in the way they finance crises (i.e., longer-term funding) and aid agencies to be as efficient and transparent as possible about how they are spending money.

Our world is at a tipping point. The World Humanitarian Summit and its Agenda for Humanity are necessary more today than ever before in history. We, as global citizens, must urge our global leadership to come together at the summit, commit to action to reduce human suffering, choose humanity and help make impossible choices a thing of the past.

Learn more about the World Humanitarian Summit here.

Hervé Verhoosel is spokesman for the World Humanitarian Summit, to be hosted in Istanbul on May 23-24. An initiative of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and managed by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the first World Humanitarian Summit will bring together governments, humanitarian organizations, people affected by humanitarian crises and the private sector, to propose solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.